Smith rules beach in Tasman battle

Waikanae’s Oska Smith performed brilliantly as captain of the Junior Black Fins in the inaugural Battle of the Tasman surf lifesaving event held on the Gold Coast at the weekend. He is pictured winning a beach flags event. Picture supplied

Gisborne’s Oska Smith shone for the New Zealand Junior Black Fins and the New Zealand Pathway teams in the Battle of the Tasman held on the Gold Coast at the weekend.

Smith, of the Waikanae club, was too hot to handle for the Aussies in beach events.

He had a win and a second in the beach sprint and beach flags on Saturday, and wins in both events on the Sunday.

Smith and Midway’s Yahni Brown were also in the NZ Junior Black Fins four who won the male beach relay.

Waikanae’s Lachie Falloon, a member of the NZ Pathway team, was third in the flags on Sunday.

Two teams represented New Zealand at the inaugural competition. They included six Gisborne surf lifesavers — Smith and Midway’s Tyron Evans and Brown in the Black Fins; Falloon and Waikanae clubmates Jack Keepa and Summer Rolston in the Pathways team.

They competed in over 37 events, with only two athletes from each team allowed to compete in any single event.

The team who collected the most points claimed the victory.

Smith’s wins were the highlights for both New Zealand teams.

“We did well in pool events and on the beach, but the Aussies outclassed us in the ocean,” was how one Kiwi observer put it.

Surf Life Saving Australia came out on top with 292 points to New Zealand’s 229 points.

Surf Life Saving NZ high performance manager Tanya Hamilton said going head to head with the Aussies in the ocean events was always going to be a challenge.

“We saw some impressive individual and team performances despite the challenging onshore conditions, and our beach sprinters were awesome, with Jordan Grylls and Oska Smith both producing excellent performances.”

The ocean events took place at Kurrawa Surf Club and the pool races were held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre – the same venues as next year’s Lifesaving World Championships.

Hamilton said although Australia won overall in points, all the Kiwi athletes and team management gained a lot from the event.

“It effectively served its purpose as a competitive learning opportunity for our youth and pathways teams.

“With the brand-new trophy now displaying 20 blank plaques, I can imagine that this won’t be the last Battle of the Tasman.”