Whanganui’s first junior surf carnival in 45 years fills Castlecliff Beach

Maia Paki competing in the under-9 beach flags event. Photo / Alanah Brown Photography

Clubs from across the North Island were in action at the Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Service’s first junior carnival in 45 years.

Whanganui patrol co-ordinator Daniel Comp said the local team was 45-strong, ranging from under-8s to under-14s.

“That’s the biggest group we’ve ever had, with 17 kids on debut. It was just awesome,” he said.

“Around 140 kids took part in total, from Whanganui, Fitzroy, East End, New Plymouth Old Boys, Ōpunake, Foxton and Levin-Waiterere.”

Comp said the local club did well and claimed a lot of podium places, especially in the under-8 and under-10 categories.

Events included board runs, beach flags and beach sprints.

“For the under-11s and under-14s, the surf was absolutely huge,” Comp said.

In the run-swim-run, they had to run 120m, swim 250m and run back up the beach.

“You can imagine a 10-year-old in that. They just look like a little pin.”

The event will return at the same time next year.

Comp said Castlecliff Beach’s sand had a similar consistency to Mount Maunganui’s where the national competition is held.

“It’s Mount Whanganui. Perfect training conditions for those bigger events.”

East End took out top club for 2024.

“A lot of people from the other clubs said they didn’t realise how much beach we’ve got,” Comp said.

“There is so much space here and they loved it. For a lot of them, it was the first time they had been to Whanganui.

“It was just a great event for the beach, for Castlecliff and the city.”

Comp said the Whanganui club was starting to create real depth within its ranks.

“Kids are coming through and becoming lifeguards and, hopefully, they carry on with the sport side of things as well.

“Participation is the main thing and having a bit of fun along the way.

“It can be challenging but the skills you learn stay with you - how to swim in the surf, how to paddle in the surf, how to duck dive under waves.

The sport itself was “really inclusive”, with kids from different clubs helping each other during races, he said.

“Competition is always strong but at the end of the day, they are all ‘clubbies’ and they are there for each other.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.