Papamoa's surf athletes took home five medals, including three golds, from the Australian surf lifesaving championships on the Gold Coast.
The 33-member team's success was all the sweeter for beating the Australians in their own backyard.
The success started when the boys' under-17 ski relay team of Michael Bryant, JacksonEdwards and Seth Merrett qualified for the final on the opening day last week.
The medals tally began in earnest when 13-year-old Maia Bryant won silver in the under-15 2km beach sprint, an event she was not initially entered in.
The first gold came later on Saturday when Kodi Harman, fresh from his success on the track in the men's 20 100m final, won the open men's beach sprint. Harman added another medal when he combined with Danny Kayes, Hamish Smith and Jordan Hills to take out under-19 beach relay.
On the final day of competition Natalie Peat got Papamoa off to a great start with silver in the under-17 ski race in the hot Queensland sunshine while her clubmates Mason Pickering and Danny Kayes were fifth and sixth in their first attempt at the under-17 belt race. This was followed by the under-17 ski relay team continuing their dominance, taking home gold.
Tragedy struck earlier in the week with the death of a teenage competitor, who disappeared in rough conditions during the under-15 board race.
The body of Matthew Barclay, 14, was found at Kurrawa Beach on Friday. He is the third person to die at the national championships at Kurrawa since 1996.
