Seeing grown men reduced to fan boys cheering for the ball to find its way into the hands of a youngster with a sprained knee ranks as an early contender.

The third national beach hockey championships will take centre stage on the sands of Mount Maunganui's Main Beach tomorrow.

The Bay women's sevens team have lost two of their star players ahead of the Bayleys National Sevens in Rotorua.

There were a few small surprises along the way, but the Bay of Plenty Times NZ Beach Volleyball Champs at Main Beach went according to form when it mattered most.

The Port of Tauranga Half is one of the highlights of the Western Bay’s summer sporting calendar. Craig Alexander and Gina Crawford both won their second titles on Saturday. The event also included junior competitors and the ever popular teams event. Photographer George Novak was there.

Craig Alexander has not been back to race the Port of Tauranga Half since he won in 2005. But the 41-year-old Australian, dubbed the King of Kona after his fifth World Ironman title win in Hawaii, rolled back the years with a consummate victory in Saturday's feature event of the Mount Multisport Festival.

An up-and-coming sports star who drowned in a tragic paddle boarding accident in Coromandel has been remembered by her family as a "vibrant and energetic" girl.

A record number of 233 swimmers took on the Classic Builders Round the Mount race.