SOLID performances from South Coast surf lifesavers at the 2016 NSW Interbranch Championships on the NSW Central Coast, proved that they can more match it with the state’s best and that there are plenty of encouraging signs for the future of surf sport in the region.
At the top of the leader board, Sydney ended rival’s Sydney Northern Beaches two-year grip on the trophy, while hosts Central Coast cemented third place with an outstanding effort in the team events on Sunday. South Coast put in an inspired performance to finish seventh overall.
“This weekend has been a real eye opener for the juniors and first timers, and our seniors have been really good looking after them,” said South Coast team manager Dana Richards.
“This weekend has been a real eye opener for the juniors and first timers, and our seniors have been really good looking after them,”
- South Coast team manager Dana Richards
Mollymook’s Keegan Norwood was the sole South Coast athlete to finish on top of the podium with the under 15s beach athlete winning the sprint and was just missed out on the medals in the flags finishing a highly competitive fifth.
Younger siblings Stirling Norwood (Mollymook) and Eilish Norwood (Nowra-Culburra) also did their branch proud securing fourth place in the under 12 beach flags and third in the under 14 beach sprint respectively.
It was left to older member of the Mollymook SLSC, Steine Lofts to try and earn his branch another spot on the podium, and his solid shift on the sand resulted in a third place in the open flags and fifth spot in the open sprint.
“I’m one of the older athletes now so I’m just happy to be keeping up with the younger beachies,” Lofts said.
The 2017 NSW Interbranch Championships will be held at Stockton SLSC on 9 and 10 December which was announced at the presentation ceremony on Sunday afternoon.
Point score: Sydney - 1162, Sydney Northern Beaches - 1146, Central Coast - 1044, Hunter - 1035, Far North Coast - 928, Illawarra - 823, South Coast - 598, Mid North Coast - 518, North Coast - 513, Far South Coast - 357, Lower North Coast - 174.
South Coast team: Stirling Norwood (Mollymook), Tiffany Coote (Mollymook), Cooper Atkinson (Nowra-Culburra), Holly Abbey (Nowra-Culburra), Eilish Norwood (Mollymook), Danielle Holt (Mollymook), Keegan Norwood (Mollymook), Chloe Scott (Mollymook), Kyla Wall (Mollymook), Jessica O'Donnell (Nowra-Culburra), Breanna O'Donnell (Nowra-Culburra), Chad Poland (Nowra-Culburra), Lewis Betts (Mollymook) and Steine Lofts (Mollymook)
