For a bunch of fathers who followed their kids along to surf lifesaving the Westshore Red surfboat crew are doing themselves and club proud.
"That's all we are. Only one of us did surf lifesaving in their younger days and that gold medal is the result of four years of effort," Jude Minor said as he reflected on the crew's victory in the 160-180 years (the combined age of the four rowers, the sweep isn't included) at the national championships which ended on New Brighton Beach in Christchurch at the weekend.
The victorious crew consisted of Minor, who was in a Westshore lineup which won bronze in Ohope in 2014, sweeper Aidan Charman, who competed as a teenager, Eric Forster and Rob Robinson.
They recorded two firsts and a second to beat five other crews in two divisions at the nationals. This title followed a second placing to Fitzroy of New Plymouth in a national series which they won last year.
"The nationals is like our FA Cup and the series is like the Premier League," Forster quipped as he compared the crew's feats with those of English football teams.