REPRESENTING GISBORNE: Gisborne surf life savers selected for an inaugural, a high performance event known as the Representative Challenge, will compete at the Eastern Region Championships in Mount Maunganui this weekend then will stay on for the Representative Challenge on Monday. The Gisborne team is (front, left) Lauren Pickett, Alicia Hoskin, Olivia Corrin, Danielle Scott, (second row) coach Cory Hutchings, Casie Fyall, Kirby Scammell, Jessica Blakeman, Sophie Twigley, Jamie Gedye, coach Dion Williams, (third row) manager Dave Corrin, Zach Ferkins, Jack Virtue, Aberdeen Falwasser-Logan, Georgia Harris, Blake Brown, Tom Dods, manager Renee Wikaire, (fourth row) Quaid Thompson, Harry Dods, Matt Scott, Jacques Klavs, Jonty Low, Alex Bristow and Callum Torrie. Absent: Josh Adams and Emma Godwin. Picture supplied
REPRESENTING GISBORNE: Gisborne surf life savers selected for an inaugural, a high performance event known as the Representative Challenge, will compete at the Eastern Region Championships in Mount Maunganui this weekend then will stay on for the Representative Challenge on Monday. The Gisborne team is (front, left) Lauren Pickett, Alicia Hoskin, Olivia Corrin, Danielle Scott, (second row) coach Cory Hutchings, Casie Fyall, Kirby Scammell, Jessica Blakeman, Sophie Twigley, Jamie Gedye, coach Dion Williams, (third row) manager Dave Corrin, Zach Ferkins, Jack Virtue, Aberdeen Falwasser-Logan, Georgia Harris, Blake Brown, Tom Dods, manager Renee Wikaire, (fourth row) Quaid Thompson, Harry Dods, Matt Scott, Jacques Klavs, Jonty Low, Alex Bristow and Callum Torrie. Absent: Josh Adams and Emma Godwin. Picture supplied
A HIGH-powered surf lifesaving event known as the Representative Challenge will be held for the first time on Monday and Gisborne is sending a team of young athletes to compete with New Zealand’s best.
Held at Mt Maunganui, the 2016 New Zealand Representative Challenge is a one-day event of high-levelracing that includes surf races, ski relays, beach flags, board races, tube rescues, beach relays and beach sprints.
Gisborne is one of eight regions to be represented at the challenge. The other regions are Otago, Canterbury, Wellington, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and the Northern Region. Open and youth teams, each comprising six males and six females, have been selected.
Because top competitors such as Laura Quilter, Cory Taylor and Chris Dawson are committed to training for overseas events, younger athletes will represent the region at the challenge on Monday. All except one of the competitors in the Gisborne open team are under 19.
Coaches Dion Williams and Cory Hutchings see the event as an opportunity for the up-and-coming athletes to develop.
“We are sending a really young team to compete with New Zealand’s best,” Williams said.
“It could be daunting for them, but we have talked to them about their development and learning, to try to win this event in two or three years. We will develop who we have and that will set us up nicely for the future.
Gisborne’s Representative Challenge competitors and organisers are grateful for BDO’s sponsorship, Williams says. Without that support, the cost of taking part in the challenge would be prohibitive.
Event manager Prue Younger says the representative challenges are all about reinstating a high-performance event for surf lifesaving.
“It offers provinces the chance to compete with the best of the best and is a key stepping stone for athletes to achieve national representation in their surf lifesaving career.”
Gisborne’s surf lifesaving athletes have a testing few days ahead of them. They will represent their clubs in the Eastern Regional Championships at Mt Maunganui this weekend, then the BDO Gisborne representative youth and open teams will compete at the inaugural Representative Challenge on Monday.
About 70 Gisborne surf lifesavers will compete in the Eastern Region Championships, arguably the second-biggest surf sports carnival on the surf lifesaving calendar.
