Red-hot junior competition expected

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Competition is expected to be red-hot when over 150 surf lifesavers take part in the Gisborne-Tairawhiti junior championships at Midway Beach this weekend.

Athletes from Bay of Plenty clubs Omanu and Whakatane are coming to compete with Gisborne’s Waikanae, Midway and Wainui, says Surf Life Saving New Zealand club support officer Renee Wikaire.

Waikanae will have 45 athletes taking part, Midway, 70, and Wainui, 35.

The age-group range is from under-8 to u14.

“Junior surf in Gisborne has really grown over the past five years, so we are expecting a good, action-packed competition,” Wikaire said.

Dawson Building Midway scored top points overall at the 2018 junior championships.

“They will be hard to beat again this year,” Wikaire said.

Midway head coach Matt Sutton said the club would have athletes competing right across the age range.

“Jared Phelps, who is in charge of our junior surf programme, has done an amazing job with all of them,” Sutton said.

“The success we are enjoying with the kids is down to the culture that he has created within the club.

“The kids want to race for each other and Jared has taught them how to be hard workers at training every day.

“Our club is growing and the support of our parents is a key part of that.”

Kaiaponi Waikanae head coach Cory Hutchings said the club members were excited about the championships.

“We’ve rebuilt our numbers a bit on last year and are looking forward to it,” he said.

“We have some great programmes in place for the kids and we are improving, which has been a big focus for the club this season.”

One of their standout performers will be Chloe Kapene, current New Zealand board, swim and run-swim-run champion in her age group.

Chloe should do well in the under 12 events,” Hutchings said.

“And we have a lot of other strong kids who have been training well and are hungry to race.”

Riversun Wainui head coach Dion Williams said they had “an awesome little development crew going under the leadership of Sonia Keepa”.

“The work they have been doing in the surf at Wainui has brought them on in leaps and bounds.”

Williams said the youngsters’ skills were coming up to the levels required to deal with the Wainui surf.

“That always puts them in good stead for carnivals in town.”

He said Imogen Amor-Bendall and Ella Arthur would likely be a couple of their stars this weekend in the u14 and u13 age groups respectively.

“Lucy Allan should do well in the u14 beach events.”

The championships start with beach sprint, flags and relay events, and tube and board rescues tomorrow at 5.30pm.

The programme continues on Saturday with swim and board events, diamond/ironman races and the Grand Cameron (taplin) relays.