Local lifesavers off to Japan to face competition from around the world

THE Notten brothers, Nicholas and Dominic, made it a family, club and provincial celebration with selection to the South African National team for the 2017 Sanyo International Lifesaving Cup, which will be held in the city of Fukuoka, Japan from the 24th – 26th June 2017.

Nicholas won the overall best male athlete at last week’s General Tire LifeSaving South Africa Interclub National Championships and his club Fish Hoek was crowned overall champions.

Fish Hoek, the defending champions, made it a provincial and national double in 2017 after their Western Province success in the lead in to the National Championships.

Fish Hoek, with the Notten brothers and Kirsten Flanagan and Jodi Cleworth, make up four of the national team of 10.

The inclusion of False Bay’s celebrated Beach Flags and Beach sprint specialist Ryle de Morny means 50 percent of the national team is from the Western Cape. Technically, the number is six with Durban Surf ’s sprint queen Mandi Maritz based in Cape Town.

KwaZulu-Natal won the Interprovincial honours and Marine was second to Fish Hoek in the Interclub Seniors. Durban Surf won the Interclub Juniors and were leading the Nippers National Championships going into today’s final day at Port Elizabeth’s Kings Beach.

Durban Surf ’s Simon Taylor (Nippers U14) and Tatum Botha (U13) were two of the young stars in Port Elizabeth.

Marine’s Carmel Billson was crowned the best female athlete after another imposing overall display across a range of spe- cialist categories and she was the first female name into the national equation.

Marine’s Sasha Lee Nordengen also made the South African team.

Suncoast Pirates’s icon Stacey Bowley was honoured for being inducted into the International Hall of Fame to complete a memorable championship for those from KZN.

Durban Surf ’s Tamryn Montgomery won the U19 individual title, Suncoast Pirates’s Alice Edwards took 1st among the U17s and Durban Surf ’s Tamryn McKie won the U15 overall Girls’ title.

Durban Surf ’s Connor Botha won the Boys’ U15 overall title.

Fish Hoek’s depth is without comparison and is a credit to all that is good and strong within the club structure and the Fish Hoek LifeSaving community. The club’s strength includes some of the finest Lifesavers in the world.

Durban Surf is to the juniors what Fish Hoek is to the seniors – absolutely dominant.

The Eastern Cape again produced fantastic individual performances, through the likes of Daniel Jones and Byron Lockett, who both made the national team.

Youngsters Josh Fenn (U17 overall winner), Amica de Jager and Bradley Odendaal also impressed but the Eastern Cape clubs had no answer to the best of the Western Cape (in the Seniors) and Kwazulu Natal (in the Juniors)

The story of the 2017 National Championships was 20 year-old Kwazulu Natal’s Jonathan Rorke’s stunning upset against former World Champion de Morny.

Rorke, from the Scottburgh Club, won a photo finish from De Morny in his first appearance at a National Championship.

De Morny won gold in the Flags to ensure his place in the National Team.

Springbok 2007 Rugby World Cup winner and Test Centurion Percy Montgomery won the in augural Legends Celebrity Challenge.

● General Tire recently committed in excess of R5 million to a three-year investment in LifeSaving South Africa to complement their road safety initiatives with the crucial need for water safety.