Injury blow for Waikanae as IRB’s best descend on Gisborne for nationals

A lake-like Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Poverty Bay looks in prospect for the New Zealand IRB championships at Waikanae Beach. Unfortunately Connor Mitchell (right) will be without long time crewman Oliver Shivnan (at left) this weekend due to injury. Silke McNaught is the patient in this photo. Photo / Gisborne Herald

Connor Mitchell will spearhead the Waikanae club efforts at the BP New Zealand IRB championships on his home beach.

But he will be without injured crewmate Oliver Shivnan for the first time since they started racing together.

Sunset Beach from Port Waikato go into the championships as defending national champions (overall points winners) from the Waipu Cove-hosted nationals in 2025.

This time there will be 69 male and 49 female crews in action, representing 30 New Zealand clubs and some from Australia.

If the swell does get up a bit then expect to see plenty of air time as crews from across the country hammer their way off the beach and back. Photo / NZ Herald

Crews compete across five disciplines designed around rescue scenarios - the single rescue, mass rescue, assembly rescue, tube rescue and team rescue.

The single involves a race out and back, picking up a patient up at the turning buoy, while the mass requires several patients being picked up.

The assembly is putting a boat together with motor and fuel bladder, then racing out to grab a patient and heading back to the beach.

The tube is a race out to a buoy, a swim with a rescue tube to a patient, then back to the boat and returning to shore.

The team event involves two crews racing in relay.

Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae’s Mitchell and long-time crewman Shivnan won gold in the single, tube and assembly events at the North Island championships at Paekākāriki last month. They also earned silver in the mass and Waikanae won the team event.

However, Shivnan broke his hand four weeks ago.

“I will be joined by Callum McKenzie, from Foxton SLSC, who has come to Waikanae to partner me in the boat,” Mitchell said. “We have only had limited training together, but Callum is an excellent IRB operator. He’s fit and strong, so I like our chances together.”

Waikanae’s Under-23 men’s team have also been hit by injury.

“Usual driver Hamish Swann has a shoulder injury and looks unlikely to race this weekend at this stage,” Mitchell said. “That team will be most likely be scratched.”

Swann and crewman Taran Wilson won silver in their age group in the mass and the assembly at Paekākāriki and were part of the team victory.

Waikanae will have an U19 men’s team racing. Driver Felix Macalister and Ashar McKnight will look to build on their North Island champs performance, where they showed promising form.

The club has two masters crews in action - Rodney Richards and Eric Clearwater, and Matt Cairns and Joe Williams.

Patients for all Waikanae crews are Lucas Thompson, Aengus Bettridge, Michaela Clearwater and Max Latu.

The Waikanae team at the North Island championships from which they came home with four gold and three silver medals. Waikanae is hosting the national champs, starting on Friday. Photo / Supplied

Riversun Wainui will have a crew racing in the open women’s division. Ruby Lobb will drive, Zyanja Rudge will crew, and their patients will be Harry Sheldrake and Moana Holden-Judd.

“They are very much a learning crew,” Wainui head coach Dion Williams said. “Ruby’s team have not raced before and they wanted to take the opportunity to race in Gisborne. Ruby’s a great IRB driver. She and her team are about to learn a lot.”

Dawson Building Midway will also have a team competing - Matt Kemp and Alan Thorpe, with Emily Aitken their patient.

“This will be their first outing as a team, but they have been working hard and will have a good crack,” Midway head coach Jack Gavin said.

The championships will be officially opened on Friday morning with a mihi whakatau at 11am at Waikanae SLSC.

Racing is from midday Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm Saturday and 9.30am to 2pm Sunday.