KURRAWA ON TOP
STATE TITLES IN SIGHTS
KURRAWA will set their sights on this year’s Queensland IRB Championships after holding off a spirited charge from North Burleigh to record back-to-back Ocean Roar titles for the first time in club history.
Just six points separated the two crews heading into Saturday’s fifth and final round at Kirra, but a series of strong performances across the day saw Kurrawa pull ahead to win by 18.
Coach Scott Wheeler said it was a great all-round performance, and the perfect way to build momentum and confidence ahead of the Queensland Championships at their home beach on June 23-24.
“It was a really good day of racing on Saturday and a really hard-fought day, too, but getting the win is great, particularly heading into States,” he said.
“It shows that we’re in the right place, the boys and girls are training really well, and everyone really stepped it up over the weekend when they needed to. There was so much pressure on our guys, and we were in a real battle with North Burleigh across the day, but it was great to see all the training and work that we’ve been doing is paying off.”
Kurrawa will be out to defend another title in two weeks when they line up on home turf at the Queensland IRB Championships.
The championships will see almost 400 competitors from across the state hit the surf over two days of fast and furious action, battling it out across a range of rescue simulations and relay races.
While Wheeler said the club would love to win another state title, they weren’t getting ahead of themselves.
“Of course it’s a goal to win at States, but it’s not something that we ever sit down and talk about with the whole team,” he said.
“We’ve just been focusing on training hard and maintaining our gear, and we know if we turn up and race well, then those point scores will take care of themselves.
“Racing at home helps, but it also adds some extra pressure; you get a lot more club members down to watch and there’s obviously a bit more expectation that comes with it.
“But after the way everyone raced over the weekend, I’m sure we can handle the pressure and hopefully come out on top again,” he said.