Midway’s team finished fourth in that race.
The Williams sisters Brooke and Lyv paddled with Zoe Keepa to finish fourth in the girls’ 11-12yr board relay, and the club’s 13-14yr boys finished fifth in their board relay final.
In the other beach flags results on Saturday, Wainui’s Xavier Booker was fifth in the u11 boys, his clubmate Betsy Findlay was seventh in the u13 girls, Midway’s Lilla Hain was fifth in the u14 girls, and Wainui’s Arthur Tilghman was fourth in the u13 boys.
The best-placed finish for the Gisborne clubs on Sunday was a fourth to Wainui in the mixed two-kilometre beach relay.
Midway were seventh and Wainui eighth in the 11-12yr mixed Grand Cameron relay.
Wainui ended the champs with five gold medals, four silver and three bronze, and a stack of fourth, fifth and sixth placings. They finished in fourth place overall.
Wainui head coach Dion Williams was “stoked” with the way his team performed.
“What a carnival from our 20 Wainui kids,” he said.
“We’ve had training every single week-night since September and they make the training sessions as much as they can around other sports and school commitments.
“All the efforts they have put in have blown me away and so did our results this weekend.
“Three years of bad-weather summers and few racing opportunities locally hid the progress and work of this little team getting their skills and race practice.
“This summer was back to normal and we’ve made the most of it.
“My assistant coaches this summer, Jack Keepa and Ava Smith, have been unreal. They both felt so good watching our teams and individuals perform so well. I’m stoked for us all.
“Our success is also due to our great swimming clubs here in Gizzy.
“Enterprise Swim Squad and Comet really are top-notch swimming clubs and we benefit big-time from their swimming programmes.
“I’m proud of all the kids, but two in particular were next-level.
“Rori Fukushima-Hall, in the u14 males, did unbelievably well in lots of events, but winning the diamond in particular was true grit and excellence. I loved it.
“And Brooke Williams, my little girl, had an absolutely awesome week.
“She is so strong in the u12/11 age groups. It’s great to watch.
“Overall, our whole club is very proud of our little future lifeguards.”
Williams said another highlight was how well the three Gisborne clubs worked together.
“We shared tents all carnival and combined together in as many Gisborne composite teams as we could. It was really cool.”
Midway head coach Jack Gavin said he was “very happy” with his team’s results over the weekend.
All the kids stepped up to some testing and challenging conditions.
“A couple of our highlight performers were Sophie Castles and Blake Taylor, who featured in nearly all events and are proving to be dominant athletes in their age groups.”
The pair won the run-swim-run titles in the u12 division.
“Also Lilla Hain won her sprint comfortably in her last year at Oceans.”
Gavin said Midway also had some amazing performances from the club’s newest members and Oceans first-timers Bella and Bree Barclay, Sophie Warren, Donavon Kupenga and Toby Garrett.
“They all raced extremely well and can be proud of their efforts.
“I was most impressed with the attitude and positive mindset all of our athletes maintained through the whole weekend. They raced hard for the Midway cap and had a lot of fun while doing it.
“The testing conditions meant there was lots of tent-moving and gear transportation across the weekend and I want to personally thank all of our parents, managers and supporters for hooking in and helping when needed.
“Finally, I would just like to say how awesome it was to see our mates at Wainui and Waikanae surf clubs doing so well across all age groups and facets of surf.
“It’s going to be an exciting few years ahead for the region.”
While Waikanae’s small team did not come up with any medals, they put in some good performances.
Oceans coach Edan Wilson said it was the “most fun, crazy, hectic and rewarding four days on the beach”.
“Our little Waikanae team absolutely outdid themselves and smashed their goals,” she said.
“Everyone improved so much from last year.
“Kids who made quarterfinals last year made semis and finals this year – Clancy Ryan, Jade Hopper and Bradley Douglas all made top 10 in multiple races.
“Max Latu battled hard, showing great promise for when he moves up to seniors next season.
“The under-13 kids – Tessa Webb, Lucas Thompson, Aengus Bettridge and Pippa Holden – raced their socks off to make semis and finals, and youngsters Josie Keast, Annabelle Douglas, Aurelia Ryan, Emma Webb and Blake Thompson absolutely nailed their races as mostly first-time competitors.
“Their performances in challenging surf made us all very proud.
“At this age level, continued improvement, enjoyment and confidence are just as important as medals and we’re all so proud of how the kids handled the surf and the competition . . . and we’re already looking forward to next year.
“I really want to thank all the parents, whose support has been incredible all season.”
