Club performs well at 2016 State Championships @ Umina
Bulli Surf Life Saving Club covered all bases with some outstanding performances at the recent 2016 Surf Life Saving New South Wales Championships held at Umina Beach on the Central Coast.
At the Age Championships (Nippers) it had been a bit of a dry spell for the club with the last medal obtained was back in 2012. Well the kids did the club proud with heaps of finals appearances and a swag of medals to go with it. The club finished 15 overall and was the leading Illawarra & South Coast based club.
Medals:
U12 Holly Holmesby – 2nd Female Surf, 2nd Female Board & 3rd Iron-person
U14 Kaimana Fittock – 2nd Iron-person & 3rd Female Surf
U14 Zara Sharman – 3rd Iron-person
U14 Zara Sharman & Kaimana Fittock – 3rd Female Board Rescue
Top 6 placing:
4th U11 Female Beach Sprint Karlee Moore
5th U14 Female Board Relay Zara Sharman, Bronte Sweeny & Kaimana Fittock
6th U14 Female Beach Flags Georgia Green
6th U14 Female Surf Teams Bronte Sweeny, Jasmine Locke, Zara Sharman & Kaimana Fittock
6th U10 Female Board Relay Grace Crittenden, Imogen James & Jazz Munroe
Medals:
In the Masters Championships Michael Locke came away with 2nd in the 45-49yrs Male Single Ski and then teamed with Ian Timbrell to claim 1st in the 45-49yrs Male Double Ski.
Top 6 placing:
4th 240yrs Boat Barry Lowe, Chris Mercer, Rod Mercer, Peter McLaren & Nigel Taylor
4th 45-49yrs Male Rescue Tube Race Peter Lord
5th 45-49yrs Male Surf Race Peter Lord
At the Open Championships heaps of finals for our surf/craft kids (Under17/U19) but the big winners were our two highly talented boat crews.
Medals:
The U23 Men (Barry Lowe, Albert Smeaton, Iszak Lunney, Kyle Mercer & Toby Allnutt) claimed 1st in their division and our Open Men’s crew (Shane Geloven, Dean Roberts, Ben Lowe, Heath Mercer & Fraser Worthington) claimed the Gold as well.....over the past 5 years Bulli Men’s Open crew have won the title 4 times & placed 3rd in the other, outstanding achievement.
Top 6 placing:
4th Open Female Surf Teams - Alexandra Smiroldo, Sheree Farrell, Mali & Kiah Taylor
4th U17 Female Surf Race - Sheree Farrell
6th Open Female Surf Race - Sheree Farrell
6th U19 Female Surf Teams - Alexandra Smiroldo, Sheree Farrell, Mali & Kiah Taylor
Special mention to Sheree Farrell & Alexandra Smiroldo who finished 1-2 as females across the line in the Open 2km Ocean Swim, unfortunately medals only for the first 3 placings and they swam against guys!
Massive thanks to all of our members that assisted as age managers, water safety, powercraft operators, officials, coaches, competition secretary's and the supportive parents of our members, plus of course our talented members who competed so strongly.
With the 2016 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships coming up in late April, things are looking good for our youth athletes (Kaimana & Zara) plus our Masters & Open athletes.
Club President Keith Caldwell said, “The club is really proud of the efforts of all of our competitors at the recent State Championships. I have seen the training everybody puts in during the season, so the rewards are really pleasing for all concerned. The juniors in particular with some great racing & results, young Holly, Kaimana & Zara have a big future in the sport. A big congratulations to the club coaches in the surf/craft area namely Glenn Sweeny, Brett Wheeler & Scott Jones, their efforts don’t go unnoticed. Our boaties, the A crew in particular 3 years in a row State Champions, no mean feat with some great crews in NSW contesting the championships over the years. ”