Twenty golds between them, Waikanae fifth, Wainui have best-ever finish - seventh

GOLD and silver: Open women's board race winner Ava Smith, of Wainui, also won silver in the under-19 women's race. Photo by Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services

THE Waikanae and Wainui clubs scored 20 gold medals at the Eastern Regional Championships at the weekend and Wainui recorded their best-ever points score and overall position in a major carnival.

Surf lifeguards from Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae collected 12 gold, five silver and six bronze medals at Mount Maunganui.

Riversun Wainui athletes won eight gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

Waikanae finished fifth on 60 points, Wainui seventh on 42, and Dawson Building Midway 21st out of 34 competing clubs.

Midway's sole medal was a silver in the open women's ski relay, in what is believed to be the club's poorest result in the Eastern Regional Champs.

Mount Maunganui retained the overall title with 157 points, followed by Omanu (75), Mairangi Bay (65) and Red Beach (63).

Waikanae started strongly in the beach events on Friday afternoon. Briana Irving won double-gold in the u19 and open sprints, the club's relay teams won the u19 and open women's titles, and Oska Smith won the u16 male sprint.

Smith and Irving won their beach-flag events on Saturday.

Waikanae's other golds went to Georgie Pitkethley and Lauren Pickett in the open women's board rescue, and Summer Wilson in the u16 female surf race.

The Wainui golds were won by Hue Cowie, Jack Keepa and Jonty Evans in the u16 taplin, Keepa and Evans in the u16 board rescue, and Sarah Lockwood in the open women's two-kilometre beach run.

Ava Smith won the gold in the open women's board, minutes after being pipped for gold in the u19 board final.

She combined with her sister Stella and Hannah King to win the u19 women's board relay.

Another highlight for Wainui was the performance of their top u19 women's canoe team.

Sofia Zame, Daizee Rawls, Olivia Whitfield and Lucy Allan won both the long- and short-course gold medals.

Club coaches' comments and more pictures will be in The Herald tomorrow.