Bay of Islands claim 17th relay title at Bream Bay Swim Club Carnival

A happy Bay of Islands relay team celebrates winning the Lion's trophy for the 17th time in their club's history. Photo / Denise Guy

The Bay of Islands relay team went away smiling from the Bream Bay Swim Club carnival in Kawakawa on Saturday as the 20-strong group won the coveted mass relay race.

The team won the Lion's Trophy title for the 17th time in their club's history.

The carnival also gave Northland swimmers a chance to gain short course times for the upcoming division two national age group championships next month, and also gave young swimmers a last hit out before this month's Harlequins junior festival in Auckland.

A highlight of the carnival was the skins events. The six fastest 12 year and under swimmers in 50m freestyle competed against each other in a knock-out event, with the slowest swimmer in each race leaving the pool.

In a final showdown between Ariella Ripohau (12) of Bay of Islands and Bream Bay's Izaiahs Linton, 12. Ripohau emerged the winner, taking home $70 for her efforts.

Women's skins contestants (Emilia Finer (left), Kiera Carroll, Abby Wright, Rebecca Reade, Erika Paterson, Nina Matenga. Photo / Denise Guy

Senior skins swimmers were selected from the fastest competitors in the 100m event.

The stroke style for each heat was picked at random. In the women's skins, sponsored by BBS Timbers, four Bream Bay swimmers fought it out with Coast's Erika Paterson and Bay of Islands' Emilia Finer.

The final two contestants were Bream Bay's Kiera Carroll and Finer. The stroke chosen was backstroke, and Finer won by a couple of seconds.

Men's skins contestants Marvin Beckmann (left), Blake Dempster, Kori Brown, Matthew Palmer, Paul Linton, Eyad Mousad. Photo / Denise Guy

The men's skins, sponsored by Northpine, featured two Auckland swimmers who gave local swimmers a run for their money.

Manukau's Matthew Palmer was knocked out in a freestyle leg for third place, leaving Bream Bay's Paul Linton, 18, to compete with Waterhole's Eyad Masoud, 24, for first prize.

Breaststroke was drawn and Mousad proved the faster on the day, coming home in 32.22 seconds, just ahead of Linton's 32.57.

Bream Bay will play host to another of Northland's swimming events when it has its club championships on February 9 in Ruakaka.