Waikanae enjoy ‘solid build-up’ at North Island Championships

Podium finish: Connor Mitchell and Oliver Shivnan head out through the Waihi Beach waves. They earned a silver medal in the tube and team races. Picture by Jamie Troughton

The Waikanae inflatable rescue boat crews finished third overall at the North Island Championships at Waihi Beach at the weekend and described the event as a solid build-up for the national championships here in a fortnight.

The BP Surf Rescue New Zealand Championships for IRBs will be staged at Waikanae on April 9 and 10.

The four Kaiaponi Farm Waikanae crews amassed 80 points across their events at Waihi Beach on Saturday and yesterday to finish third overall behind winners Sunset Beach from the Waikato on 171 points and Bet hells Beach from Auckland on 89 points.

The Gisborne crews won a gold medal, eight silver medals and five bronze.

Open men's team Connor Mitchell and Oliver Shivnan won silver medals in the tube and teams races, and a bronze in the mass rescue event.

The open women's team of Britta Carroll and Ana Naden won silver in the mass rescue and single rescue, and bronze in the tube rescue.

Travis Mitchell and Harry Allan took out the gold in the under-23 mass rescue, and won silver in the assembly race.

The other u23 team of Cole Williams and Sam Blackburne won silver medals in the tube and single rescues.

“We were a lot more consistent as an overall team,” Waikanae IRB leader Connor Mitchell said.

“It was terrific to see how the teams stepping up a division performed.”

Mitchell said the women's team of Carroll and Naden raced really well all weekend.

“Overall we had some really good results, and it augurs well for how we might go at the New Zealand championships on our home beach in two weeks.”

Mitchell said the swells on Saturday were “challenging and exciting” to race in, and while the waves dropped a bit for the Sunday programme it was still a good test for all the crews.

The event attracted 60 IRB crews — 200 competitors — from 20 surf lifesaving clubs across the North Island.

Around 300 competitors have entered for the New Zealand championships at Waikanae next month.