Five Bellarine and Surf Coast athletes had the chance of a lifetime to compete in the Surf Life Saving Australia Super Surf Teams League, raising the curtain for the iconic Kellogg’s Nutri Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series at North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club on the weekend.
For the first time ever, Victoria fielded two teams in the event, Victoria Blues and Victoria White, who battled it out against teams from New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia over three days of competition.
Victoria Blues featured Ben Harris from Torquay SLSC in the male board disciplines and Iestyn Knapp from Ocean Grove SLSC in the male swim events, while Stephanie Reade from Ocean Grove SLSC, Puck Klassen from Torquay SLSC and Jayden Schram from Torquay SLSC represented Victoria White in the respective female ski, female board and male board disciplines.
Ocean Grove SLSC head coach Sonia Kinsey also travelled with the team as team manager for both squads.
Water events were cancelled on day three due to a tsunami warning, but Victoria was still able to put in two days of solid competition in the water and three days on the sand.
Each event saw points accrued for the teams, with Victoria Blues finishing in 10th and Victoria White finishing 12th at the event’s conclusion.
“I’m very proud of our Victorian athletes for their solid competition efforts in the Super Surf Teams League,” Kinsey said.
“Although it is disappointing that day three had to be cancelled, this competition was a valuable experience, allowing LSV to bring our younger competitors interstate to race against top quality athletes from across the nation.
“We look forward to continuing to compete at more interstate events in the future.”
