Ocean Grove Surf Lifesaving Club has produced what head coach Sonia Kinsey described as “pleasing” results at the Australian Surf Life Saving titles in Perth.
The ‘Aussies’ were held in almost flat surf conditions at Scarborough Beach and Kinsey said although the conditions were not the team’s most favoured, they still produced a number of pleasing results against the best in Australia.
The youth weekend began the racing, with individual events first.
A number of the club’s younger athletes were not far off the pace with Toby Hallam and Georgie McIntyre just missing the final of 15 in the under 14 age group.
Will Goldstraw also did well making the final of the under 14 surf race, coming 28th overall.
The junior boys team also made the Cameron relay and board relay final on day two with a number of these athletes still very young in racing.
“Top 15 against the strongest junior clubs in this sport is an achievement and there is lots to take away from those two days of racing,” Kinsey said.
The next two days saw the Masters racing with the flat conditions suiting the Ocean Grove women
of Amenah McDonald and Mel Fitzgerald, with McDonald winning a bronze in the 50 plus Ironwoman
and teaming up with Fitzgerald to win a silver in the double ski.
Campbell Asher won the Under 17 surfing event which took place in small waves at Trigg beach just up from the main competition area.
Wednesday marked the beginning of the Open racing and day one began with Tom Perez-Pages
making the semi-final of the Ironman which was a great result for him after a successful season
locally, being the only Victorian male to make it to the semis.
As the week progressed Asher and Hudson Pearce made the semi of the Under 17 boys board and Niamh Partridge came 10th in the Under 17 2km run.
On Saturday April 1, the boys came seventh in the final of the swim teams and then eighth in the final of the under 17 board relay, a race that was clearly the one they had waited for all week.
It was clearly a great result against the best young board paddlers in the country.
“I think if you look at the teams and athletes ahead of us in many of the events, the kids can be happy with their level of racing this week,” Kinsey said.
