Northland surfers ride waves to national success
Multiple podium finishes in Taranaki
Northland surfers came away smiling after multiple podium finishes at the New Zealand surfing nationals this week at Oakura in Taranaki.
Lee Orton and Heather Easterbrooke, both of Ocean Beach, won the women’s over-50 division and women’s over-35 division respectively.
Easterbrooke also finished a close second in the women’s over30 division after being beaten by Taranaki local Thandi Durham in the last moments of the final.
Young Northland surfer Tai Erceg-Grey impressed in the under-13 division, finishing third. Northland surfing stalwart Rupert Newbold took third in the men’s over-60 division and a seventh in the longboard competition.
A total of 12 Northlanders competed in the event with two yet to finish. Tom Robinson will compete in the under-16 and under18 final today. Laura Griffin in the women’s open division is through to the semifinals.
“Having the Northland crew there has been one of the highlights,” Easterbrooke said
“Just having the support crew on the beach, everyone gives a high-five on the way in and out and it’s neat, just knowing they’re there.”
Easterbrooke said she was pleased with her win in what was big, strong surf.
“I was pleased with how many waves I caught in those conditions, which required quite a bit of fitness.”
Easterbrooke said she had not decided to go to the tournament until four days before it started and had done little preparation in the lead-up.
“I had quite a few surfs in that week before and I was pretty happy with how I’d been going and I thought, ‘Why not, I’ll come and give it a shot.’
“It made me think if I do a bit more preparation and put in some more effort, who knows where results will go?”
With only five in her category, Easterbrooke said she was disappointed there weren’t more competitors.
However, she understood that it Northland results Laura Griffin: Into the women’s open division final Tom Robinson: Into the final of U16 and U18 boys’ divisions Heather Easterbrooke: First in over-35 and second in over30 divisions
Lee Orton: First in women’s over-50 division
Tai Erceg Gray: Third in U14 boys’ division
Rupert Newbold: Third in men’s over-60 and seventh in longboard
Paul Moretti: 13th in open men’s division.
Jacob Buckle: 13th U18 boys’ division
Jamie Scott: Fourth in standup paddleboard
Billie Scott: 13th in women’s open division
Journey Lum: 13th in U14 boys’ division
Te Kauwhata Kauwhata: 13th in U16 boys’ division
was difficult for some women to train alongside family and work life.
Orton, who had only two other women in her category, said she was a bit disappointed with the low turnout but said it was important to include the division.
“Hopefully because they have these categories, they will encourage more women to enter but we’ll see what happens,” she said.
The open division surfing had been inspiring for the younger surfers to see and hoped it would spur them on to continue to follow surfing as they got older. Crowds of people from across Northland came to listen and learn from Waipu Cove’s surf lifesaving club team as they finished their four-day water safety education tour yesterday.
The crew of 14 started on Tuesday at Kai Iwi Lakes, moved on to Matai Bay on Wednesday, and Cable Bay and Taupo Bay on Thursday.
They finished the tour at Matapo¯ uri beach yesterday, where they gave children and adults alike the opportunity to learn more about water safety and take part in a range of lifeguard activities.
“The public have responded really well and it’s been awesome development for our younger lifeguards,” Waipu club captain Kath Manning said.
“Each beach has been different and we’ve found it’s worked best to get the kids to drag the adults into it.”
The tour included demonstrations of CPR, how to operate an IRB vessel, different rescue techniques and how to spot rips, as well as games and activities for the children.
Manning said the experience had been very valuable for her younger recruits as well as for members of the public.
“All their techniques have been fine-tuned a bit and the team bonding has been awesome too.”
She said crowds of about 60 people had turned up at Cable and Taupo Bays to take part in the initiative after being motivated to learn how to use flotation devices recently placed on their beaches.
These flotation devices had been placed at Cable Bay by an initiative called “Operation Flotation” which was started in response to a tragic drowning in the area last year. It was this initiative that spurred the Waipu club to apply for funding for the education tour.
“We’ve just been trying to push the idea of knowing your limit,” Manning said.
“Don’t just think, ‘I’m going to go straight out to help someone’, but think about it first before dashing in there and grab something that floats or call for help, all those kinds of things.”
Manning said the main blindspot for beachgoers was the ability to spot rips.
She said the important signs to look for were if there was an estuary nearby or if the waves coming in looked split with a channel running through them. She said if the club received enough funding, they would be happy to do another tour to different areas.
Young lifeguard Alyssa Flannagan said the tour had been a unique experience for her and her clubmates.
“It’s actually been really fun because you see different beaches and it’s good to get an idea of different areas because the ones we’ve been to don’t have lifeguards so we can see what the environment is like.”
Fifteen-year-old Flannagan, who became a qualified lifeguard in 2017, said she was happy to help her team raise awareness of the importance of water safety in different areas.
“Coming into summer, you don’t want anymore drownings and you can never have enough knowledge, especially on water safety.
“Letting people know how to use a water tube or CPR or recovery positions, especially at these beaches which are unpatrolled, so people can help others if they are in trouble.”
Flannagan said she would jump at the chance to do another education tour because it was of huge benefit to her as a lifeguard and the public as beachgoers.