Carnival win to Red Beach
11th January 2012
Close to 400 surf athletes compete at rain-marred Owen Chapman event
Red Beach, with its strengths across all age divisions, was able to retain the Owen Chapman Cup on its home beach on Saturday 7th January.
In spite of the rain which fell during the 56th challenge for the trophy, 384 competitors fronted for the annual event.
Surf athletes came from 16 clubs across the North Island. In addition, the Rarangi club from Blenheim – in its first-ever appearance at the Owen Chapman carnival – participated with four surf boat crews.
The inclement weather didn’t deter a number of the country’s top surf athletes from delivering strong performances.
Several district selectors were on hand to watch the proceedings within a view to naming their open, under-19 and under-16 representative teams to compete at the Lion Foundation Surf League next month.
The carnival also provided opportunities for competitors to assess their chances of success at the Eastern Regional Championships - formerly known as the NRC’s - at Mount Maunganui during Anniversary weekend.
Prizes with a value exceeding $5,000 were donated to the club by the business community. The Owen Chapman Cup carnival is the longest running club day in Australasia for surf athletes.
Owen Chapman Cup Points (Northern Region Clubs):
Red Beach (164) 1, Orewa (85) 2, Mairangi Bay (75) 3, Piha (32) 4, Muriwai (24) 5, Bethells Beach (7) 6, Kariaotahi (6) 7, Karekare (6) 8.
For the full set of Owen Chapman carnival results, click here.
Canoe training day attracts 31 crews to Red Beach
11th December 2011
The inaugural canoe training day at Red Beach on Saturday 3rd December attracted a total of 31 surf canoe crews from seven Northern Region clubs. Up from the Bay of Plenty was the Hot Water Beach surf club which fronted with two female crews.
With surf canoe racing on the verge of a growth spurt, crews were treated to four rounds of racing in each age division.
Paddlers had to contend with an uneven surf, however, an underlying swell and a 10-knot nor-easterly wind gave rise to close racing over the shortened course. Fine weather prevailed for the best part of the event which began at 10 am and was wrapped up by 1.00 pm.
One of the highlights was the mixed open race which comprised of two males and two females in each crew, pitting some experienced paddlers against some not so experienced. The winning crew collected a trophy at the after-carnival BBQ and prize giving.
“It was a fun day just for canoe paddlers and very capably run by experienced arena controllers,” said co-organiser Al Presland. “Everyone was there for fun and enjoyment and a few nice waves made for some unpredictable racing.”
Thanks go to the following …
Noel Kay, Jim Coe, Ken Lee and Al Presland for organising the event and ensuring that it ran smoothly.
The officials who ran the competition arena.
The Red Beach clubbies for helping to set up the arena, for getting the canoes on and off the beach, for manning the BBQ’s and cooking up a couple of hundred sausages and burger patties.
Brian Maney and Peter Kramer for IRB duties.
Dylan Turner for supplying the sausages and patties, Norm Blunden and Ken Lee for supplying the wine and goodies for spot prizes.
Also, thanks to the bread guy for dropping off enough bread to keep everyone happy.
Results:
Open Men: Kare Kare 1, Sierra (Mairangi Bay) 2, Kariaotahi 3.
U19 Men: Renegades (RB) 1, Young Ones (RB) 2, Lima (MB) 3.
Masters Men: Flying Malyon (RB) 1, United North Piha 2, Kare Kare 3.
Open Women: Kare Kare & Kariaotahi B 1=, Kariaotahi A 3.
U19 Women: Dans Damsels (UNP) 1, Rockets (RB) 2, Zulu (MB) 3
Masters Women: Coffee Club (RB) & United North Piha 1=, Espresso (RB) 3
Open Mixed: Kare Kare 1, United B 2, United A 3.
Photos by Marie Stutz.
Pat Olsen now a Life Member
7th July 2011
Patricia Olsen the first female Life Member of Red Beach SLSC
Red Beach club stalwart Patricia Olsen has become the first female to be awarded a Life Membership of the Red Beach Surf Club. The award was presented at the club’s Annual General Meeting held on July 31st.
Pat began her lifesaving career in 1950 when she joined Milford Girls Surf Club and for eight years served as Club Captain and Secretary.
She joined Red Beach Surf Club in 1971 and in the late 70’s served as the club’s Social Convenor. She maintained a close connection during the time her two sons were involved as Nippers and then as lifeguard members.
In the late 1980’s she competed at the first NZ Masters event and continued to take a strong interest in Masters events. At the World Champs at Red Beach in 1991, where she was one of the organisers, she won 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal.
In 1987 she joined the Auckland Board of Judges and has remained a member through to this day, giving a total of 24 years’ service. She became a Nationals judge in 1991 and has maintained this role right through to the present time, a total of 21 years. She has officiated at the Northern Regional Championships for 17 years.
For eight years from 1990 up to 1999 she was an R&R coach for Red Beach, with her young charges successful in NRC’s competition. Her last stint at R&R coaching was in 2005 – with her U19 team winning the NRC’s title – just before Surf Lifesaving NZ dropped the event from the Nationals.
She has Service Awards and Distinguished Service Awards from both Auckland and New Zealand Surf Lifesaving. In 2002 she was named as Auckland’s Surf Official of the Year.
Pat was a hard-working member of the organising committee for the 50th Owen Chapman Cup carnival in 2006 and she has helped with the organising of the Owen Chapman event ever since. She has officiated at the World Rescue Championships, travelling to Florida, Italy and Egypt in the process.
Award Winners : 2010-11
15th May 2011
The following awards were presented at the club’s Prizegiving Night on Saturday 14th May 2011.
Kavanagh Cup U19/U16 Sportsmanship & Club Spirit Louise Aitken/Jared Pouwhare
Dryland Cup Most Improved Male U19 Jared Pouwhare
Piper Family Cup Most Improved Female U19 Louise Aitken
Jackson Family Cup Most Improved Senior Man Chris Moors
Watts Trophy Most Improved Senior Woman Serena Ball
Manion Trophy Best Overall Board Performer Patrick Maney
Williams Trophy Best Overall Ski Performer Caitlin Ryan
D F Mitchell Mem. Cup Best Overall Ironman Performer Chris Moors
Pukekauri Trophy Top Canoe Crew Masters Canoe Crew
Mike Smith Cup Most Improved Female Rower Kelly Andrew
Craig Dillon Cup Most Improved Male Rower Kyle Blunden
Terry Marsh Trophy Top Surf Boat Crew Red Roosters U19 Crew
Shannon Cup Best Achievement, Competitive Chris Moors
Colin Ash Cup Outstanding Achievement, Non-Competitive Centennial IRB Voting
Action Group
Chris Hailwood U-16 Lifeguard of the Year for Daniel Cairns
Memorial Cup Patrolling & Lifeguarding
Jubilee Trophy Best All-Round Patrolling Member James Grieve Snr
Patrol of the Year Award Top Patrol Team Pritchard Patrol
Presidents Cup Best Clubman Norman Blunden
Cab Savs surf boat crew now Australian champions
4th April 2011
Red Beach the first-ever international surf boat crew to win gold at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships
Photos by Bill Sheridan.
Red Beach’s Cab Savs boat crew have written themselves in the history book with their success at the Australian Titles on the Gold Coast.
Competing at Kurrawa in the final of the Masters 200 division, the crew of Chris McCullough, Gordon Williams, Duncan Reid and Nick Laurie crossed the finish line in first place to become the first-ever international surf boat crew to win an Australian gold medal.
The crew made a flying start in the heats, picking up two firsts and a second in the division which attracted 22 crews. The elimination round saw them place third which was enough to take them through to the semi-final where they finished third.
In the final, the Cab Savs lined up on buoy 5. To their left were last year’s champion crew South Curl Curl while on their right were Forster, the NSW age group champions.
“Conditions had evened out from the previous day of heats, however, the surf was at 1.5 metres and there were some big sets coming through,” said Red Beach boat captain Chris McCullough.
“We had a clean start and led through the surf line with some big calls being made by sweep Monty.
We went into the turn first although came out of it level with South Curl Curl and Forster,” he added.
From halfway home, all three boats were on the same wave. With just 100m to run, the Forster boat broached and flipped off the wave, leaving Red Beach and South Curl Curl to slug it out.
When the Cab Savs managed to punch through a wave, South Curl Curl were held back. Sweep Monty then called for a huge effort to get over the hump of the wave in front of them. South Curl Curl began to come through, only to get caught in the wave hump. Red Beach then went on to cross the finish line and win by 1 ½ - 2 boat lengths.
“It was a great race and the Aussies were very complimentary to us on our win,” said McCullough who expressed appreciation to Jase Bean of South Coast Boats for the loan of his boat. “It was a beauty; it was like we were using our own boat.”
