U17, U19 teens to watch at Australian surf life saving titles from NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, WA
They are our next generation surf stars. Teens with talent to burn and ready to put their bodies on the line for their state and club. U17 and U19 guns to watch at Australian surf life saving titles
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They are our next generation surf stars.
Teens with talent to burn ready to put their bodies on the line for their state and club.
Some have been competing on the Aussies stage since they were 13 and have already made a mark.
Others have been excelling in other sports while still competing in the surf and sand for their life saving clubs.
We’ve spoken to the experts and have identified some of the U17 and U19 young guns expected to turn heads when their competition kicks off on Wednesday.
Lani Waller – Redhead – U17 Female
Lani Waller was a standout performer in the U17 age group at the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships. Lani is strong in the surf and has the knowledge to navigate different conditions.
Charlie Burns – Redhead – U17 Female
An U17 competitor who also races up in the Opens competition.
At the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships, Charlie had a breakthrough performance, winning the Open Female Surf Race.
Brodie Wright – Redhead – U17 Male
Brodie is a renown board paddler, winning gold in both the Board Relay and Board
Race at the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships.
Brodie was also part of the Redhead Open Male Taplin team that won the club’s first ever State title.
Dominique Melbourn – Newport – U17 Female
A real rising star of the sport. She is also one of Newport SLSC’s newest members, having previously competed for North Curl Curl, a club where she had many successful State and Australian Championships.
In 2023, Dominique finished second in the Open Female Surf Race, behind fellow U17
competitor Charlie Burns.
Poppy Doran – Swansea Belmont – U17 Female
Perth’s Scarborough Beach is renowned for its beach flags amphitheatre and this event will be one of the highlights of Aussies.
Poppy is a tip to turn heads in the event, winning gold in the U17 Beach Sprint and silver in the U17 Beach Flags at the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships.
Conner Maggs – Newport – U17 Male
A rising star of ironman and a talented NSW pool swimmer.
Conner burst onto the scene in the 2022/23 Nutri-Grain Ironman Series thanks to a late call-up to replace an injured Jy Timperley.
He is the NSW U17 iron champion and also won a silver medal in the Surf Race, Ski Relay and Surf Teams at the state titles.
Conner also joined his older Newport SLSC clubmates in a number of Open Teams events,
holding his own against some of the best in the sport.
Alexander Walker – Cooks Hill – U17 Male
A great competitor. Alexander starred for his club at the 2021 Aussies when he claimed the triple crown – winning the U14 Ironman, surf race and board race finals.
Fast forward two years, and Alexander will be chasing more success.
Alex won the U17 Male Surf Race at the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships, and finished a close second to Newport’s Conner Maggs in the U17 Ironman.
Zara Lammers – Wanda – U19 Female
Zara Lammers is a speedster and is eyeing off an Australian title in
the beach events.
She takes a confidence boosting win into the Beach Sprint at Aussies after winning the event at the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships.
Lily Finati – North Bondi – U19 Female
Lily gained invaluable experience by racing in the 2022 Nutri-Grain Iron series.
She has gone from strength to strength and is the reigning NSW U19 Iron champion.
Analise Kibble – Newport – U19 Female
Analise Kibble competed in a whopping 19 races at the NSW championships.
She then raced off with gold in the Single Ski and Double Ski, and silver in the U19 Ironwoman.
She also competed in a number of team events.,
Kai Robertson – Elouera – U19 Male
A top swimmer who took out the U19 Male Surf Race at the 2023 Surf Life Saving NSW State Championships.
Kai also won the Saxon Bird Memorial Trophy, which is awarded each year to the winner of the U19 Male Surf Race.
Oceania Eustace – Ulverstone – U17 Female
This young Tasmanian is an U17 competitor, who also races in Open events.
At the 2023 Surf Life Saving Tasmania State Championships, Oceania had a breakthrough performance, winning the Open Female Board Race. She also collected medals in the Open Beach Sprint (silver), Open Ironwoman (silver), U17 Beach Sprint (gold), U17 Board Race (gold) and U17 Ironwoman (silver). One to watch.
Elsie Menzie – Burnie – U19 Female
Elsie Menzie also enjoyed a successful campaign at the recent Surf Life Saving Tasmania State Championships.
There she won four gold (Open Beach Flags, Open Beach Sprint, U19 Beach Flags, U19 Board Race) in a stunning performance.
She also won two silver medals in the U19 Beach Sprint and U19 Single Ski.
Georgia Askew – Burnie – U19 Female
In an extraordinary display Georgia Askew won 20 medals at the Tasmanian State Championships, the second most by any athlete.
In the individual events, she won three gold (U19 Ironwoman, U19 Single Ski, U19 Surf Race), one silver (U19 Board Race) and three bronze (Open Surf Race, Open Board Race, Open Ironwoman).
Jules Fredonnet – City of Perth – U17 Male
Perth local Jules Fredonnet is a U17 craft specialist from City of Perth SLSC.
He comes into Aussies with a second place at his state titles in the Single Ski and third in the Board Race.
Tex Cross – North Cottesloe – U17 Male
Tex Cross is an all rounder from the host state.
At he 2023 State Championships, he won three gold medals in individual events – Ironman, Surf Race and Board Race.
Mullaloo Stormbringers – U19 Surf Boats
Thy Mullaloo Stormbringers will be a crew to watch at the Aussies. They took out the Interstate title in 2023 and will be looking for a big campaign at Aussies.
Mitch Eady – Mullaloo – U19 Male
Mitch Eady is a beachie and competes in both the Beach Sprint and Beach Flags.
Hailing from Mullaloo SLSC, the U19 athlete won state titles in both the Sprint and Flags at the 2023 State Championships.
Annika Negus – Trigg Island – U17 Female
Annika Negus is the reigning U17 Ironwoman state champion from Trigg Island SLSC.
She also won a gold medal in the Board Race at the 2023 Surf Life Saving WA State Championships.
Femke Negus – Trigg Island – U19 Female
Femke Negus is the older sister of U17 competitor Annika Negus.
Similarly to her sister, Femke is the state ironwoman champion in her age group – U19 Female.
Jasmine Rayward – Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park – U17 Female
Well known to followers of the sport.
Jasmine was a standout performer at the 2023 Queensland state titles, winning gold medals in the Surf Race, Board Race, Single Ski, Board Rescue, Board Relay and 2x1km Beach Run Relay.
These results came after she broke through for her first State championships medal just a year earlier.
In 2022 she was named in four Australian Junior teams racing at world championships – in kayaking, open water swimming, surf life saving and ocean skiing.
She was also selected in the Australian junior marathon kayak team but had to withdraw due to a programming clash.
Chelsea Wood – Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park – U17 Female
Chelsea Wood finished a close second to clubmate Jasmine Rayward in the U17 Female Board Race and Ironwoman at the 2023 Surf Life Saving Queensland Championships.
She’ll look to continue to push her teammate and go one better at Aussies.
Britney Ingr – Kurrawa – U17 Female
Britney Ingr is a beachie who trains under the legendary Melissa Cracroft Wilson, winner of 10 Australian Beach Flags gold medals and five World Championships flags gold medals.
Ingr dominated the U17 Female beach events at the Queensland state titles, taking gold in both the Beach Flags and Beach Sprint events.
She was also a member of the Australian Youth Lifesaving team for the 2022 World Championships.
Riley Brennan – Currumbin – U17 Male
The younger brother of Callum Brennan, Riley is also renowned for his surf swimming skills. At the 2023 Surf Life Saving Queensland Championships, Riley took out the U17 Male Surf Race and finished third in the U17 Male Ironman.
Ethan Callaghan – Burleigh Heads Mowbray Heads Park – U17 Male
Ethan Callaghan trains under legendary coach Michael King and alongside some of the best Ironmen in the country at his club, including Nutri-Grain Ironman Ben Carberry.
At the 2023 Surf Life Saving Queensland Championships, Ethan finished second in the U17 Male Board Race and the Ironman, and third in the Surf Race.
Ryley Harland – Northcliffe – U17 Male
Ryley Harland is the younger cousin of swimming and pop sensation Cody Simpson. But Harland’s own skills as a competitor cannot be underestimated.
Harland finished second in the U17 Male Surf Race and fourth in the U17 Ironman at the 2023 Surf Life Saving Queensland Championships.
Jett Milford-Ferguson – Surfers Paradise – U17 Male
Jett Milford-Ferguson is a young gun beach flags competitor who trains under Australian beach flags legend Simon Harris.
He has gone from strength to strength in 2023, winning gold in the U17 Male Beach Flags at the Queensland states and also picked a surprise fourth place in the Open Male Beach Flags.
Jake and Mitch Morris – Northcliffe – U19 Male
Surf life saving’s best known male twins.
Jake and Mitch Morris have been dominating eater events for years with the NHSW pair relocating to Queensland recently.
At the state titles they teamed up for gold in the U19 Male Double Ski, Board Rescue, Single Ski Relay, Board Relay, Taplin Relay and Surf Teams.
Jake also won the U19 Ironman and Single Ski with Mitch winning the Board Race.
Callum Brennan – Currumbin – U19 Male
Callum was a member of the Australian Youth Lifesaving team for the 2022 World Championships in Italy and won six silver medals in pool rescue events.
He is renowned for his surf knowledge and strength in the swim, winning gold in the U19 Surf Race at the Queensland Championships on the Sunshine Coast.
Joel Piper – Maroochydore – U19 Male
Joel Piper is fast making a name for himself in the sport of surf life saving. The young gun from Maroochydore SLSC finished third in the 2022/23 Nutri-Grain Next Gen Series behind Northcliffe twins Mitch and Jake Morris.
Piper also won five silver medals (Board Race, Single Ski Relay, Single Ski, Taplin, Rescue Tube Rescue) and two bronze (Board Relay and Ironman) at the Queensland states.
Oska Smith – Northcliffe – U19 Male
Oska Smith is making waves in the sport, winning both the U19 Male Beach Sprint and Beach Flags at the 2023 Surf Life Saving Queensland Championships.
He also raced the Open Male Beach Flags where he finished fourth.
Lily O’Sullivan – Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park – U19 Female
Lily O’Sullivan is a major talent in the surf.
Lily won eight gold medals, one silver and one bronze at the state titles.
She also had a breakthrough performance in the 2022/23 Nutri-Grain series, finishing eighth overall and earning automatic qualification for next years’ series.
Claudia Bailey – Northcliffe – U19 Female
Claudia Bailey made a big impact at the recent Queensland championships.
Also a talented sprint ski paddler, she won the U19 Female Board Race and took silver in the U19 Female Taplin, Rescue Tube Rescue, Board Relay and Surf Teams.
She is also a member of the Australian sprint kayaking team.
Ruby Meehan – Northcliffe – U19 Female
This young powerhouse won seven medals at the recent 2023 Surf Life Saving Queensland Championships on the Sunshine Coast.
She also had a breakthrough performance in the Nutri-Grain Next Gen Series, winning overall and earning automatic qualification to the 2023/24 Nutri-Grain iron series.
Grace Otto – Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park – U19 Female
Grace Otto made the move to Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park ahead of the 2022/23 season, to train under Michael King and made her Nutri-Grain Iron series debut this year after qualifying through the Next Gen Series.
Returning to her U19 age group at the state titles, she achieved a number of top finishes including a third in the iron race and single ski.
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Originally published as U17, U19 teens to watch at Australian surf life saving titles from NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, WA
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