Northcliffe taking up youth challenge
NORTHCLIFFE will lead the charge as Gold Coast clubs try to stop the Sunshine Coast domination of the Queensland youth surf lifesaving championships this week.
Northcliffe last won the state Nippers championship in 2014 and haven’t been out of the top three clubs in the overall pointscore in the past 10 years.
But even they concede powerful Sunshine Coast clubs Alexandra Headland and Maroochydore will be hard to displace from the top two.
“As much as we’d love to take out the pointscore again, we think that the top two Sunshine Coast clubs will be very hard to beat,” said Northcliffe junior activities co-ordinator and coach Tiarne Smith.
“We’ll also have tough competition from Gold Coast clubs, especially from Currumbin and Kurrawa who have made improvements this season.
“Top four is our goal but we believe a podium finish is still within our reach.”
Northcliffe have a team of 69 Nippers qualified for the championships, which will be held at Alexandra Headland from tomorrow until Sunday.
They will be led by a host of competitors who are defending state titles won last season.
They include Ryley Harland (under-12 ironman and swim), Lucas Miller (under-13 ironman and swim), Kai Watson (under-15 board), Eva Parish (under-13 1km run and board rescue) and Emily Gauld (under-13 beach flags and board rescue).
While Northcliffe and Kurrawa have been dominant in the South Coast branch this season, Smith has a healthy respect for Currumbin, from the neighbouring Point Danger branch.
“Currumbin have been steadily climbing up the pointscore and have a strong presence in their younger age groups,” she said.
Currumbin, with 82, have the largest representation of any club in the two Gold Coast branches.
They are particularly strong in relays and their defending championships include Ellie Beer (under-15 flags and beach sprint) and Apsen Anderson (under-12 1km beach run) and Hugh Munro (under-14 ironman).
Surf Life Saving Queensland sports manager Stuart Hogben said it was great to see so many Coast Nippers.
“The championships provide a great opportunity for these young competitors to test their skills in the surf and against some of the best junior surf lifesavers from across the state, and it’s really exciting to think we may be seeing the next Shannon Eckstein or Courtney Hancock in action,” he said.
IT’S REALLY EXCITING TO THINK WE MAY BE SEEING THE NEXT SHANNON ECKSTEIN OR COURTNEY HANCOCK IN ACTION