Midway’s Dawson named in eight-strong Black Fins’ squad

Midway’s Chris Dawson has been named in the eight-strong Black Fins’ squad to compete in the International German Cup in November. Picture by Paul Rickard

Midway’s Chris Dawson has been named in the Surf Life Saving New Zealand team for the International German Cup in Warendorf from November 23 to 25.

Dawson, from Dawson Building Midway, joins seven other athletes and a support team for the event.

The International German Cup is an annual pool rescue competition.

“It serves as a platform to test the skills and expertise of surf lifeguards in preparation for the 2024 Lifesaving World Championships,” Surf Life Saving NZ high performance sport manager Tanya Hamilton said.

Athletes will compete in events that include swimming under floating obstacles, rescuing manikins off the bottom of the pool and line-throwing.

Teams earn points for individual and relay events, with the winning team the one that accumulates the highest overall score.

This year the competition will include teams from New Zealand, Australia, and countries across Europe.

“The International German Cup offers a fantastic opportunity for athletes, providing an excellent, high-quality competition with a point-scoring system like the Lifesaving World Championships,” Hamilton said. “The Europeans also tend to lead in technique and equipment innovation compared with Southern Hemisphere countries, making it an important learning experience for us.”

The Blacks Fins will depart for Germany in the middle of next month.

“We’re excited about the upcoming competition,” Hamilton said. “We’ve worked hard on pool rescue skills this year and have a strong team, and I’m confident they will make New Zealand proud.”

Black fins’ squad: Madison Kidd (Whangamatā), Zoe Crawford (Mairangi Bay), Molly Shivnan (Omanu), Talitha McEwan (Mt Maunganui), Fergus Eadie (Mairangi Bay), Louis Clark (Taylors Mistake), Sam Brown (Mairangi Bay) and Chris Dawson (Midway).

Support team: Steve Kent (campaign/team lead), Andy McMillan (pool rescue coach), Tom Lowe (assistant coach/technical analyst) and Kayla Botha (physiotherapist).