COMMUNITY SPORT
Local surf clubs Fitzroy and East End continued their close rivalry at the Eastern Regional Championships held at Mount Manganui on January 26-28.
The Easterns are the second largest surf sports carnival of the season, with this year over 850 athletes from 36 clubs battling it out over two and half days of strenuous competition.
In the end, both New Plymouth clubs finished in the top 10 placegetters, with East End taking out ninth place with 31 points narrowly edging Fitzroy who were tenth on 30 points.
The overall winners were the host Mount Maunganui club, with Waikanae from Gisborne second and Omanu from Bay of Plenty in third. NPOB finished in 24th position. Individual medallists for East End were Isabella Kelly (2 golds), Lucy North (gold), Aimee Daniels (silver) while bronze medals went to Joel Meuli, Sophia Taylor and Reebekaa Robinson
For Fitzroy the individual medal winners were Zac Reid (gold, silver, bronze), Joe Collins (2 golds, 1 silver), Calum Sutherland (silver, bronze), Sasha Reid (gold, bronze) with Ryan Clough and Emma Crewe both picking up a bronze apiece.
East End also picked up five medals in team events while Fitzroy teams gained two medals. Stand-out performer for NPOB was Yannika Harrop who won gold in the U16 women’s 2km beach run. On Monday January 29, the 50 strong Todd Energy-sponsored Taranaki team competed in the eight team representative challenge against all the other main surf lifesaving districts.
In the Open section Taranaki finished a creditable fourth overall, the same position they took out last year.
The absence due to injury of some of last season’s star performers counted against the Under 19 contingent, who ended up third having won their section in 2017.
The final round of events in the Taranaki Surf Lifesaving Champs will take place today at 5.30 pm when canoe and surf boat crews will be racing at Fitzroy Beach.