Australian Surf Life Saving Championships 2024 held at Alexandra Headland, Sunshine Coast
The largest surf lifesaving competition in the world is underway amid pouring rain on the Sunshine Coast, but it was a tribute, not the weather, which put everything on pause. VIDEO, PHOTOS, WINNERS.
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The Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships made its long-awaited return to the Sunshine Coast this weekend, with more than 8100 competitors going head-to-head across three beaches and nine action packed days of competition.
‘The Aussies’, as they are affectionately known, brings together the country’s fittest surf lifesavers who have spent the summer keeping watch over our beaches and will now have the opportunity to test their rescue ready skills across the sand and the surf.
For the first time since 2021, the largest Surf Life Saving event in the world is on the Sunshine Coast across three of its most iconic beaches – Alexandra Headland, Maroochydore and Mooloolaba.
This morning the row boat crews raised their oars in honour of colleagues who had passed away at the Aussie titles in the pouring rain at Alexandra Headland.
They played the song You’ll Never Walk Alone which mentions the wind, the rain and the storm.
The 2024 event is one of the largest Aussies hosted on the Sunshine Coast, with more than 8100 competitors from 222 surf clubs across Australia.
The event will feature competitors in the youth events aged as young as 12 years old through to masters which has competitors up to 87 years old taking part.
“The Aussies is the hallmark event on our surf sports calendar, and we’re looking forward to the next nine days of competition,” said Surf Life Saving Australia President John Baker ESM.
“Since we last hosted the Aussies on the Sunshine Coast in 2021, our participation numbers have grown by almost 2000 with 8155 competitors ready to put it all on the line.
“We’re excited this year for the addition of the adaptive events to the surf sports program, making surf life saving even more accessible and inclusive.”
WINNERS
Ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, Nick Sloman (Northcliffe) has given Aussie fans at home something to cheer about, taking gold in the ocean swim at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships at Mooloolaba beach on Sunday, April 14.
Youth Championships – across two days with more than 1500 youth competitors aged U13-U15s
Trigg Island’s Trent Yates claimed back-to-back Beach Flags titles, taking out the U14 Boys Championship.
The crowd roared as Maroochydore’s U14/U15 boys closed out the Youth Championships with a win in the Cameron Relay on their home beach.
The team of Bailen Noy, Stanley Jarrott, Jack Patel, Jarvys Chubb powered home to deliver the win, ahead of Grange (SA) in second and North Burleigh in third.
In their first season together, the Avoca Beach team of Ciara Williams and Amber-Skye Stephenson won gold in the U14/U15 Female Board Rescue.
Sadie Maggs teamed up with her Newport clubmates to take out gold in the U14/15 Female Board Relay.
Wanda has rounded out the Australian Youth Surf Life Saving Championships with a gold in the 14/15 Female Cameron Relay, thanks to the combination of ‘Charlie’s Angels’.
The combination of Charlotte Bowmer, Poppy Hulbert, Piper Phillips and Jade Seidel have picked the team name in honour of veteran coach Charlie Brown, crossing the line in first place ahead of Maroochydore and Newport.
Racing at her first ever Aussies, Brighton’s Evelyn Cornish won two gold medals – beach sprint and beach flags.
Travelling from across the ditch, Charlize Duncan from Fitzroy SLSC made the most of the opportunity to race against her trans-tasman rivals, winning gold in the U15 Female Beach Flags.
Masters of the Sand and Surf
One man who has become an Aussies legend is Paul Lemmon (Terrigal), who picked up another three gold medals in the ocean events winning the 55-59 male board, swim and Ironman.
Warilla Barrack Point’s Nicole Sims took home gold in the 40-44 Female board, swim and Ironwoman as well as silver in the ski.
There was another gold for the Warilla Barrack Point club with a familiar Surf Life Saving name.
Blair Day took home gold medal 35-39 years male surf swim, his first Aussies gold medal.
Hailing from Australia’s most southern State Tasmania, Don Marsh from Carlton Park SLSC won a silver surf swim and bronze in the Ironman in 70-74 age division.
Craig Parker took home a Gold for Mooloolaba in the 60-64 years beach sprint and is looking forward to seeing his club compete on home soil.
“It feels fantastic to win, love the home crowd here, especially with whole family here. I have been racing at the Aussies for 15 years, I started racing when I was 50 because my daughter joined Nippers.
I’m the coach at Mooloolaba, we have got the opens later in the week, Mooloolaba has 10 relay teams tonight so really excited for all that still to come.”
Competing at her first Aussies, Olivia Burmester from Manly won gold in Female 30-34 2km Beach Run.
Burmester moved to Australia from Denmark two years ago, and has found a new community at her local surf life saving club.
“I’ve never won a gold medal before. This is my first Aussies, so I’m very excited,” Burmester said.
One of the host Clubs, Alexandra Headlands, managed to have more than 100 masters competitors competing to make the Club’s 100th year. Two of its members Martin Kenny and Darren Naylor won gold medals in the 50-54 Male Double Ski.
“We’ve had a few years paddling double together, so we’re pretty comfortable but it’s always good to be against Kirk (Jarrott) and Ashley (Massie) from Maroochydore, it’s a good competition there,” Kenny said.
“It’s 50 years or so that I’ve been in the sport myself, so it’s a great reminder of how the sport has grown. I was here in 1980 when Grant (Kenny) won the double and it was a little patch of beach we took up then.
“But now it extends from Alex, all the way through to the northern part of Maroochydore…running into people we’ve competed with for 40 odd years and then you come down later on in the week and you watch their kids race. So it’s really special, it’s a great event,” he said.
Western Australia’s beachies took to the sands of Mooloolaba, highlighted by Scarboro’s Jose Desfosses taking out the 70-74 Male 1km Beach Run.
It was a family affair for the Half Moon Bay ski relay team, with brothers Russell and Cary Fox taking the gold in the 110 years min relay.
Bronwyn Kemp (Grange SLSC) won the 65-69 yrs Female Beach Flags against her great friend Penelope Cohen (City of Perth) with whom she has been competing and enjoying the Aussies experience for over 20 years.
With a red-hot field in the Open Male Double Ski Final with Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park SLSC (QLD) narrowly taking victory, while Newport SLSC (NSW) comfortably took out the U19 Male Double Ski for the third consecutive year.
Olympic medallist Lachlan Tame, who joined Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park this season from Avoca on the Central Coast of New South Wales, teamed up another former Avoca paddler, Peter Mitchell, to claim the gold, just edging out neighbours North Burleigh SLSC.
Australian Olympic team member Nick Sloman headlined the Northcliffe team that took out gold in the open surf teams along with fellow Dolphin Bailey Armstrong, and Nutri-Grain Ironmen Zach Morris and Joe Collins to win Northcliffe’s first teams’ gold medal at the 2024 Aussies.
Samuel McAuliffe scored his third Open Male 2km beach run for Kurrawa.
North Cronulla’s Sari McKee made it back-to-back Australian titles in the U17 female 2km beach run and came fourth in the open 2km beach run.
Cate Clingeleffer was proud to represent Tasmania on the podium, placing third in the U19 Female 2km beach run for Clifton Beach.
Northcliffe teammates Georgia Miller and Danielle McKenzie delivered a gold medal for their club in the much loved Double Skis.
In the Mixed Double Ski final, it was a red hot race from start to finish, with Newport’s Jasmine Locke and Jayke Rees claiming line honours over clubmates Jemma Smith and Mitchell Trim.
It was one of the most emotive wins of the day when the Trigg Island U17 girls side took out the board relay.
Family, friends and teammates were cheering at the top of their youngs, as the WA trio soured to golden success.
Trigg Island – U17 Female Board Relay – Annika Negus, Olivia Doddy, Millie Kok.
More to come.
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Originally published as Australian Surf Life Saving Championships 2024 held at Alexandra Headland, Sunshine Coast
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