KEY POINTS:
A close encounter with an angry, 4m bronze whaler shark would be enough to keep most people out of the water for good.
But lifeguard Lauren Johnson laughs off the idea that a mere shark attack would keep her from lining up for her Red Beach Surf Club in the Northern Regional Champs starting in Mt Maunganui tomorrow. Nineteen-year-old Johnson has also been selected to represent Auckland in the Lion Foundation Surf League next weekend.
It's already been an eventful summer for the young Auckland student. On January 14, Johnson was on duty in Omaha with fellow surf lifesaver Kris O'Neill checking out reports of sharks near the beach when their inflatable rescue boat was attacked by 4m of man-eating fish.
As the pair chased the shark out to sea, it rounded on them, repeatedly ramming their boat from beneath. The shark then sank its teeth into the one of the boat's rubber pontoons, which immediately began to deflate. This made for an understandably nervous ride back to shore as the animal continued to thrash its tail and circle the boat, threatening to flip the craft.
The sport and recreation student said she would not let the shark encounter put her off the sport she loves. "If it had to put me off anything, it would be the lifeguarding side of things, not the competition side because when you're competing for Redders [Red Beach] you've just got so much adrenalin and you're not really focused on what's in the water," she said.
For Johnson, who has been patrolling at Omaha, Piha and Karekare this summer, being a regional lifeguard was born out of her love of competing in the sport. She took up competitive surf lifesaving when she was 14 and her involvement has grown ever since.
This year will be her second competing in open-level events and Johnson believes that with last year's experience under her belt, she is better placed to give it a real crack this year. "I did open last year and I was a bit nervous but I've got a lot more confidence now and I'm keen to give it a go again."
Johnson has been selected in her specialty beach sprint and beach flag events for the Surf League which also includes swimming, board ski and ironman disciplines as well as canoe races and IRB races.
She expects the competition in her beach events to be stiff, and is reluctant to talk up her Auckland team's chances in the inter-provincial event, preferring instead to "see what happens on the day". Defending champions Gisborne and Bay of Plenty are shaping up as the ones to beat in the six-team event, but the Auckland student believes they can't afford to underestimate any of the squads.
"Everyone this year is looking really, really strong, so it's wide open really."
Johnson's performances this summer may determine which path she chooses to take with her sport. The athletic youngster also has ambitions of getting into multisport racing this year and she admits there may come a time when she has to choose between one or the other. "My mind is sort of divided at the moment because I really want to get into multisport racing. I'll see how I go and how my nationals are and all of that."
