Papamoa complete dominant surf display

Papamoa’s junior surf lifesaving reign became something of a dynasty today when the Bay of Plenty club claimed a third consecutive Ocean Athletes national under-14 championship in Mount Maunganui.
After storms wiped out yesterday’s programme, the lingering 2m swells forced organisers to transfer all water events to the sheltered harbourside in Pilot Bay, while the beach events kicked off just after dawn for the 750 junior lifeguards.
Despite the weather disruptions, only two events were lost from the three-day carnival, but that only meant Papamoa’s winning margin wasn’t as great as it could have been, with the Kurt Wilson-coached club collecting 83 points, more than double that of second-placed Bay of Plenty neighbours Omanu.
Omanu, mentored by New Zealand coach Scott Bartlett, needed a late win by their under-13 beach relay team to sneak ahead of the chasing pack, with Gisborne’s Waikanae finishing a point behind on 36, Red Beach ending on 35 and Wellington’s Lyall Bay on 34.
Papamoa collected consistent wins on the final day, including an incredible eighth consecutive 2km relay title – the only year they haven’t won that particular race was in the very first year of Ocean Athletes in 2001.
Under-14 star Natalie Peat collected the run-swim-run title to go with her surf race crown and Caitlin Procter won the beach flags to go with her board race win and her silver in the beach sprint.
Waikanae grabbed valuable points through under-11 girls Georgia Donnelly and Breigh Biddle, who finished one-two in both the surf race and run-swim-run.
Two Mount Maunganui athletes dominated their team’s medal haul, with under-13 girl Jess Miller collecting the run-swim-run, surf race and diamond race golds and under-12 Matthew Hyde collecting the surf race, tube rescue and run-swim-run titles.
Mairangi Bay under-12 athlete Claudia Brick, the daughter of former top New Zealand duathlete Dr Mat Brick, showed her pool swimming abilities in the calm waters of Pilot Bay, also grabbing the run-swim-run and surf race doubles.
The Whangamata under-12 beach relay team grabbed a thrilling win for the small Coromandel club, with Taine Sweeney, Grace Gill, Sebastian Wright and Maddie Kidd heading off their Omanu and Papamoa rivals.
Christchurch clubs South Brighton, Taylor’s Mistake and Spencer Park all got in on the act as well, collecting two points each with Taylor’s Mistake’s Tom Moulai grabbing a notable third in the under-11 beach flags.

Final points: Papamoa 83 1, Omanu 37 2, Waikanae 36 3, Red Beach 35 4, Lyall Bay 34 5, Mt Maunganui 24 6, Orewa 18 7, New Plymouth Old Boys 16 8, Paekakariki 15 9, Westshore and Midway 11 each 10 equal, Wainui 9 12, Mairangi Bay 8 13, Whangamata and East End 7 each 14 equal, Fitzroy and Whakatane 6 each 16 equal, Titahi Bay 5 18, Piha 4 19, United North Piha 3 20, Worser Bay, Taylors Mistake, Spencer Park and South Brighton 2 each 21 equal, Waihi 1 25.