Competitors hit the surf at the 2018 Eastern Regional Surf Life-saving Championships on Saturday. Photo / Supplied
Competitors hit the surf at the 2018 Eastern Regional Surf Life-saving Championships on Saturday. Photo / Supplied
Hawke's Bay surf lifesaving teams spent the weekend battling against big surf and a rampant home team in the 2018 Eastern Regional Championships (ERCs), held in Tauranga.
Surf lifesaving teams from Ocean Beach and Waimarama took part in the competition, which attracted 850 athletes from around New Zealand.
Ocean Beach finished 12th, on 18 points, thanks to a good performance in the sprint events - taking five points for a win in the under-16 men's beach relay.
Wesley Akeripa collected two points in the under-16 beach sprint, while fellow team members Ben Lewis and Grayson Hesketh both picked up a point each in the same event.
Waimarama finished in 20th place on eight points, following good performances in the canoe events. Waimarama picked up five points for winning the open men's surf-canoe short course and another three points for a second-place finish in the long course.
Event manager Mark Inglis said the two-day competition started with a challenging day on Saturday, despite "ideal weather conditions", adding that the competitors had done extremely well with the relatively big surf.
"The weather has been perfect but the surf conditions made everything a little trickier. We had a solid swell for most of the day which really tested the athletes but they embraced it and showed us why they are the best in the region."
Mr Inglis said it was another hugely successful event.
"Overall, the Eastern Regional Championships has been a great success. The competitors put on a really good show all weekend and raced hard but fair. It was great to see a lot of friendly rivalry which I'm sure will only build over the next few weeks ahead of the TSB Surf Life Saving Championships.
"I would also like to thank everyone who helped make this event the huge success that it was. A special thanks has to go to all the volunteers and officials who stood out there in the heat to keep our athletes safe."
"Plus, of course, a huge congratulations has to go to Mt Maunganui for their win and another impressive performance at the Eastern Regional Championships," Mr Inglis added.
Mt Maunganui Lifeguard Club finished head and shoulders above everyone else, notching up a mammoth 153 points.