SURF LIFESAVING - Northland clubs get swamped in the surf

Northland clubs were swamped by the size of their Auckland competitors in the annual Northern Regional Senior Surf Lifesaving championships held at Ruakaka Beach over the weekend.
The Orewa Surf Lifesaving Club scored 545.5 points to win the overall club competition, more than 100 points ahead of Red Beach in second place. It was a great result for the two clubs who far outstripped last year's winner, Mairangi Bay, forcing them into third place with Piha fourth.
At the other end of the scale, Northland clubs Mangawhai Heads, Waipu Cove and hosts Ruakaka battled it out for points and bragging rights wherever they could get them.
The smaller clubs have learned how to savour their success when they can get it in the Northern region, which is dominated by the big Auckland clubs.
Waipu Cove finished with the best points total, with 13 points after success in the canoe events.
Club spokesman Rick Stolwerk said a couple of bronze medals to his masters men's team - made up of Anthony Uphof, Wayne Hana, Nelson Palmer - and similar success for the under-19 girl's team of Siobahan Hayward, Abby McLean, Samantha Ellis and Garby Smith, saw Ruakaka and Mangawhai finish the day on eight points apiece.
Ruakaka club president Derek Hulse said the club's IRB competitors had scooped most of their points with Kyle Taylor and Dom Wells finding success with a bronze in the under-19 assembly rescue and a silver in the single rescue.
He said competing with the big clubs was always a one-sided affair with a predictable outcome.
"Those clubs have professional coaches and hundreds of competitors and are a little out of our range, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy the competition," Hulse said. Heavy rain and rising swells cut the competition short on Saturday, but great weather on Sunday saved the event.
"All but two of the events that were cut on Saturday were run on Sunday so it all went pretty well in the end," he said.
Hulse said the extra swell was still evident on Sunday with a few more injuries than usual being reported from the boat arena. This weekend the region's more numerous junior competitors will attend the Northern junior championships at Orewa.
The club's senior competitors will be training toward the national championships in Gisborne on March 14-15.