It may not have the best beach in the world any more, but it's not stopping the Westshore Surf Lifesaving club as it prepares to defend a record of 14 consecutive Hawke's Bay club championships next week.
The countdown starts on Friday with a team of 21 members entered in the three-day Surf Lifesaving New Zealand Eastern Region Championships at Mt Maunganui.
Also among the 850 competitors will be members of Waimarama and Ocean Beach Kiwi clubs.
The Hawke's Bay championships will be held at Waimarama on February 3-4, and veteran club member Brian Quirk is well aware the others will be out to make sure Westshore don't make it win No 15.
But the club is prepared, going through a revival in strength in what is a typical Kiwi sport honing skills to better carry out some other role, in this case, keeping beaches safe and saving lives.