MARCH 2019 GOLD COAST
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL IRONMAN 50 YEARS OF NIPPERS LIVESTREAM the ACTION on Facebook!
lifesavingchamps.com.au
WELCOME TO SURF SPORTS The action will be fast and furious when more than 3,000 competitors from across the state line up on the Gold Coast over the next two weekends to contest the 2019 Queensland Surf Life Saving Championships. Some of the sport’s biggest names will be in action across the six days of competition, along with nippers, masters, and other surf lifesavers from all corners of the state. The Youth Championships will be held at Burleigh Heads from March 8-10, featuring some of Queensland’s top junior surf lifesavers. This year
Queensland, and we'll no doubt be in for a great few days of racing. Meanwhile, the action continues at Broadbeach from March 15-17, where the state’s top beach and ocean athletes will battle it out at the Masters and Open Championships. If you haven’t been to a surf sports carnival before, this is a wonderful opportunity to come down and experience the action and excitement of competitive surf lifesaving. Good luck to all athletes, officials, and volunteers in action!
marks the 50th anniversary of the Youth Championships and Nippers in
Mark Fife OAM
SLSQ President
Surf Life Saving is part of the Australian
We also pioneered the use of jet skis in
way of life. It is iconic and celebrates
Australia and were the first lifeguard
two of our best qualities – a willingness
service to have staff trained in the use
to serve others and a desire to enjoy an
of defibrillators.
active and healthy lifestyle.
Let me offer a great Gold Coast welcome
For well over a century, our surf life
to the more than 3,000 competitors from
saving clubs have been protecting bathers from the might of the ocean and
around the nation who will show great heart and athleticism during
the need never diminishes. Nearly 4,000
the championships.
people owe their lives to surf lifesavers so far this season alone. City of Gold Coast is proud to have
Tom Tate
played a pioneering role in surf life saving, too. Our lifeguard service was the first in Australia to adopt a formal surveillance tower plan along the coastal strip that began in 1989
Mayor - City of Gold Coast
Images courtesy of Shane Myers (@monkeyfoto), Ocean6 Series and Harvie Allision (Harvpix). 2
WHAT TO WATCH It will literally be on for young and old when some of the state’s top beach and ocean athletes converge on the Gold Coast over the next two weekends for the 2019 Queensland Youth, Open, and Masters Surf Life Saving Championships. The pinnacle sporting events on Surf Life Saving Queensland’s calendar will see more than 3,000 competitors, aged from under 11 through to over 80, put their fitness, skill, and determination to the ultimate test in their quest for glory.
Youth CHAMPIONSHIPS MARCH 8 - 10 @ BURLEIGH HEADS FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
•• Under-15 Male and Female Board Rescue
•• Under-12 and Under-14 Board Rescue
•• Ironman and Ironwoman – all ages
•• Surf Teams – all ages
•• Under-13 and Under-15 Beach Sprint
•• All Age Beach Relay
•• Under-12 and Under-14 Beach Sprints
•• Under-15 Beach Relay
•• Under-15 Board Race
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS MARCH 15 - 17 @ BROADBEACH FRIDAY
SATURDAY
•• Masters competition
•• Beach Sprints and Flags
•• Open Board Rescue
•• Under-17 and Under-19 Taplin Relay
•• Open Rescue Tube
•• Open Female Surf Team
SUNDAY •• Open Ironman and Ironwoman •• Open Board Race •• Open Taplin Relays
Livestream all the finals action! Sunday, March 17 @lifesavingQLD
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SURF SPORTS 101
New to surf sports? Don’t know your Taplins from your boards and skis? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
SURF BOATS
TAPLIN RELAY
SURF SKIS
There are few sports in the world
The Taplin Relay is the most
Ski paddling not only challenges
that can match surf boat racing
prestigious team event on the
an athlete’s physical capacity, but
for its unique combination of raw
championship calendar, with each
also their ability to read and adjust
power, precision, and tactical nous.
club nominating their top athletes in
to the surf conditions. Competitors
Its excitement and unpredictability
swimming, ski, and board paddling
use their ocean experience to
make it a favourite amongst
to race off over a fast-and-furious
navigate a marked course, while
spectators and competitors alike.
relay circuit. Competitors head into
making the most of any waves on
Each race features teams of four
the surf, around a buoy, and back to
offer. Competitors race off in single
rowers, plus a ‘sweep’ who guides the boat, battling the waves and
shore, before tagging their teammate who completes the next leg.
ski, double ski, and ski relay events.
each other over an out-and-
but they are slimmer, longer,
Relay, youth competitors compete in
and specifically designed to
Still confused? Think rowing, but
the Cameron Relay, a combination
handle waves.
in the surf, and with much
of swimming, running, and
bigger waves!
board paddling.
back course.
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Surf skis might look like kayaks,
Did you know? Instead of the Taplin
IRONMAN AND IRONWOMAN If there’s one event that captures the drama and romance of
To succeed at the top level, competitors need to master all four
competitive surf lifesaving, it’s the ironman and woman. It’s the
disciplines, with even a single weak leg potentially leaving them
arena where reputations are made and where legends are born.
well off the pace.
As one of the sport’s most iconic and popular events, iron
Did you know? While all iron races include a combination of
racing remains the ultimate test of a lifesaver’s skill, fitness, and
swimming, board, and ski paddling, the exact order of events is
courage. Competitors battle it out over a gruelling course made
unknown in advance and determined by a random draw at the
up of swimming, board paddling, and surf skiing, with a bit of
start of each carnival.
running thrown in for good measure.
BOARD RACING
BEACH SPRINTS & FLAGS
MARCH PAST
Every year lifesavers pull hundreds
Queensland’s fastest lifesavers
The March Past has been part of the
of swimmers from the water using
will go for gold in the beach sprint,
surf lifesaving movement since the
rescue boards. These skills are put to the test in board racing, where
racing off in a flat-out dash to the finish line. Think a 100m sprint, but
beginning of competition. Dressed in traditional club uniform, lifesavers
competitors paddle through the surf
on sand!
march in time to music around a set
and around a marked course before racing back to shore.
Meanwhile, beach flags is often
Meanwhile, competitors pair up to
compared to a game of musical chairs; lifesavers lay facedown on
compete in the surf board rescue,
the sand, before jumping up and
with one person acting as a patient.
racing to grab one of a number of
The pair completes a simulated
batons roughly 20m away. There are
‘rescue’ in the water, before paddling back to the beach.
always fewer batons than athletes,
course carrying a surf reel, line, and belt. Teams are judged on a number of factors including timing and presentation.
and those who fail to secure one are eliminated.
LIFESAVINGCHAMPS.COM.AU
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BRISBANE • SLSQ Awards of Excellence | 24 August • Westpac Chopper Fundraiser Lunch
SAVE 10%*
When you use promo code SLSQ
To book, visit MantraHotels.com Remember to use promo code SLSQ to receive your exclusive deal.
* Terms and conditions apply. Promo codes are valid for bookings made online only. 10% off is only applicable to the daily date, not valid with any other sale rates. Rooms are subject to availability. Full payment is required at time of booking. Bookings subject to a minimum night stay restrictions as listed on the website. Dates of events are correct as of 08 February 2019, please confirm event dates on the SLSQ official website.
State Champs BY the NUMBERS
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In 2018/19 Nippers is officially celebrating its
To mark the historic milestone, the 2019
50th anniversary in Queensland and half-a-
Queensland Youth Championships are returning
century on from its launch, the iconic Surf Life
to Burleigh Beach, 50 years after the inaugural
Saving program is proving more popular
competition was first held there on 3 March 1969.
than ever.
Some of Australia’s greatest athletes have lined
Initially designed to help boost membership
up at the Championships over the years, from
across the state, Nippers has since developed
emerging ironmen and women right through to
into one of the most popular and long-standing
future Olympic legends including Susie O’Neill,
youth activities in the country. More than 280,000
Grant Hackett, and Clint Robinson.
youngsters have been involved since its inception, having fun and learning crucial water safety skills along the way. “Nippers has been built on the philosophy of family, friends, and fun, but it’s also so much more than that,” explains SLSQ membership manager Jamie Findlay. “There aren’t many youth sports in the world where you have the opportunity to learn lifelong and lifesaving skills, and that’s what makes Nippers so important.”
Former Nipper and Brisbane Broncos star Matt Gillett still remembers the joy of winning the under-11 beach relay for Bribie Island in 1999. “There are a lot of good memories from back then, particularly going away to those state carnivals,” he said. “I think surf lifesaving in general is such a good environment – you’re on the beach, out in the sun, enjoying the ocean – what more could you ask for?”
JOIN TODAY! lifesaving.com.au/nippers
LIFESAVINGCHAMPS.COM.AU
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The Youth Championships have always been a breeding ground for tomorrow’s superstars. 10
YOUTH CHAMPS Nippers flock to Burleigh for Youth Champs A wave of nippers will hit the Gold Coast this
“Many of our clubs have been in training now for
month, when the 2019 Queensland Youth Surf
months, and I’m sure they’ll be raring and ready
Life Saving Championships kick off at Burleigh
to go this weekend,” he said.
Heads (March 8-10).
“All of our sport’s biggest names, including the
More than 1,650 of the sport’s top juniors, from
likes of Shannon Eckstein, Courtney Hancock,
Port Douglas down to Rainbow Bay, will dive in
and even going back to guys like Trevor Hendy
to contest the championships, which remain the
and Grant Kenny, they all started off as nippers
pinnacle sporting event for all nippers aged 11 to
and junior surf lifesavers.
15 years old.
“The Youth Championships have always been
The youngsters will compete against each other
a breeding ground for tomorrow’s superstars,
in a variety of lifesaving disciplines including
and it’s really exciting to think about how many
the ironman and ironwoman, surf swims, beach
future Australian or World Champions we might
flags, sprints, and relays.
see running around this weekend.”
SLSQ surf sports manager Stuart Hogben
Last year Gold Coast’s Currumbin won its first
expects the competition to be fierce over the
title in more than 20 years, with Northcliffe and
coming three days of action.
Maroochydore rounding out the podium.
#BackToBurleigh
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We’re for keeping our beaches safe
livestream THE IRON ACTION
Sunday, 17 March @ Broadbeach or livestream @LifesavingQLD 14
A day in the life of A PROFESSIONAL IRONMAN For most people, the idea of waking up at 4:30am and training three times a day, six days a week, sounds like the stuff of nightmares. But for professional ironman Matt Poole, it’s all part of staying on top of his sport.
>
TRAINING “Every day’s different for us because we’re trying to balance all of the specific training around
Then I’ll normally hop out, have some breakfast, and around 9:00am to 11:00am
our various disciplines with board, skis, and
I’ll either have a gym session or a running
swimming, and then running transitions as well.
session. Then in the afternoon, we’re usually
On an average day, I’m generally up early and at the pool from around 5:30am until 7:00am and we’ll cover anywhere from four to six kilometres during that time.
> >
down at Kurrawa Surf Club from around 4:00pm for a board or ski session. We normally get through an average of around 12 to 15 sessions per week.”
DIET “I’m not too selective with my food, and I don’t
In the morning I’ll have anything from eggs
have any crazy sort of specifications or diets. I try
to Nutri-Grain cereal and fruit. For lunch I’ll
to keep it as simple as possible by eating good,
generally have any type of meat, whether it’s
healthy, natural foods. I’ll generally try to get my
chicken or steak, with rice and vegetables or
proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into each meal and then obviously some salads and vegetables.
salad, and then dinner is something similar.”
RECOVERY “On top of our regular sessions, I’ll also do a lot of
all at 100% intensity. With some sessions the
recovery, which includes anything from massage
intensity is really high, whereas other sessions
through to ice baths and stretching.
are focusing more on the skills side of it.”
You have to listen to your body; if you’re doing 12 to 15 sessions per week, you can’t do them
LIFESAVINGCHAMPS.COM.AU
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IRONWOMAN
ONES TO
Brielle Copper
Maddy Dunn
Courtney Hancock
Over the past 12 months Kurrawa young
Maddy Dunn won her first Nutri-Grain
There isn’t much in the sport that Courtney
gun Brielle Cooper has well and truly stamped herself as a genuine superstar,
Series round at just 18 years of age, and has since emerged as one of surf
Hancock hasn’t achieved. With a resume boasting multiple Queensland and
with a series of dominant performances
lifesaving’s most consistent performers.
Australian titles, three Nutri-Grain Series,
helping secure a breakthrough title at last
She’ll line up at Broadbeach full of
and three Coolangatta Golds, it’s easy
year’s Nutri-Grain IronWoman Series.
confidence after another strong summer
to see why she’s regarded as one of the
of racing.
sport’s premier athletes.
DOB: 25/03/1999 CLUB: Kurrawa
DOB: 02/11/1994 CLUB: Northcliffe
DOB: 03/08/1988 CLUB: Northcliffe
Karlee Nurthen
Georgia Miller
Lana Rogers
Years of hard work paid off for Currumbin’s Karlee Nurthen when she broke through to
An incredible run of form over the past 12 months has seen Northcliffe’s Georgia
Noosa’s Lana Rogers continues to forge a reputation as one of surf
win the world ironwoman and board titles
Miller secure her first Coolangatta Gold
lifesaving’s toughest competitors. One
late last year. The dual world champion
crown, win six gold medals for Australia at
of the top swimmers in the field, Rogers
will be eager to add more gold to her
the Lifesaving World Championships, and
stormed home at last year’s Australian
collection at Broadbeach.
securea maiden title at t this year’s
Championships to take out a maiden
Nutri-Grain IronWoman Series.
national ironwoman title.
DOB: 09/02/1996 CLUB: Northcliffe
DOB: 18/04/1996 CLUB: Noosa Heads
DOB: 21/12/1995 CLUB: Currumbin 16
O WATCH
IRONMAN
Matt Bevilacqua
Ben Carberry
Ali Day
Kurrawa’s Matt Bevilacqua continues
A renewed focus on surf lifesaving has paid
Ali Day showed his class at last year’s
to emerge as one of the sport’s top competitors, with four paddleboard
dividends for Ben Carberry, following a stint in rugby league. Carberry returned
Coolangatta Gold, taking out a recordbreaking sixth title at the gruelling event.
world titles and a Nutri-Grain Ironman
to the surf this summer and immediately
The reigning world ironman champion has
Series already to his name. He’ll line
impressed, showing his class with a
been in top form over summer, and will
up at Broadbeach in search of a second
number of strong performances in the
be looking to win back-to-back
Queensland ironman title.
Ocean6 Series.
Queensland titles.
DOB: 30/03/1992 CLUB: Kurrrawa
DOB: 05/07/1994 CLUB: Currumbin
DOB: 20/07/1990 CLUB: Surfers Paradise
Caine Eckstein
Shannon Eckstein
Matt Poole
A five-time Coolangatta Gold champion, Caine Eckstein is widely viewed as one of
With eight Australian titles and six world titles under his belt, it’s easy to see why
A nail-biting win in the 2017 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Series saw Matt Poole achieve
the endurance kings of ironman racing.
Shannon Eckstein is widely regarded as the
a lifelong ambition, and strengthen his
His reputation was further enhanced when
greatest ironman of all time. He’ll be lining
place amongst the sport’s elite. Another
he broke the Guinness World Record for
up at his last Queensland Championships
big summer of racing has the veteran well-
the most number of pull-ups completed in
after recently announcing his retirement
placed and ready to strike heading into the
both 12 and 24 hours.
from professional racing.
Queensland Championships.
DOB: 16/11/1985 CLUB: Northcliffe
DOB: 07/05/1983 CLUB: Northcliffe
DOB: 20/05/1988 CLUB: Kurrawa
LIFESAVINGCHAMPS.COM.AU
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SURF SPORT SAVING LIVES Actual rescue that unfolded during the 2018 State Championships.
Rivalries will be reignited and reputations put on the line when the state’s top surf sport athletes line up at the 2019 Queensland Surf Life Saving Championships. The Championships will see some of the
or discipline, the underlying purpose of surf
world’s fittest and fastest athletes go head-
sport is to improve and refine lifesaving skills
to-head as they battle the surf, sand, and each other in their quest to be crowned
and ultimately, support Surf Life Saving Queensland's goal of eliminating drowning
Queensland's best.
deaths across the state.
However, what can often be lost amongst the
This was no more evident than during last
excitement of racing is that each and every
year’s Championships, when a routine
competitor lining up is a highly-trained surf
qualifier turned into a genuine life and death
lifesaver in their own right, with the skills
race against time.
and knowledge to protect beachgoers up and down the coast.
As competitors lined up to contest the
From surf swims to beach sprints and
under-19 taplin relay, they were alerted to a group of Asian tourists struggling in the water
everything in between, all of the skills
at an unpatrolled stretch of beach nearby.
performed in the competitive arena are also
The group was caught in a treacherous rip,
on display when lifesavers and lifeguards
struggling to stay afloat, and getting dragged
patrol their local beach.
further out to sea by the minute.
“Skills such as reading the surf, navigating rips, and getting out past the break as quickly
With no hesitation, a group of four athletes and a coach immediately abandoned the race
as possible might help someone win gold
and rushed to assist, using years of lifesaving
at events like this but, more importantly,
training to safely navigate the tricky surf and
the exact same skillset could help save a life
assist the group of swimmers back to shore.
under different circumstances,” explains SLSQ sport manager Stuart Hogben.
There will be hundreds of gold medals up for grabs over the next two weeks but, for the
And therein lies the key difference between
thousands of lifesavers lining up, it doesn’t
surf lifesaving and other competitions across
get any better than using their skills to help
the country. Regardless of the event, athlete,
someone when it really matters.
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the exact same skillset could help save a life under different circumstances. LIFESAVINGCHAMPS.COM.AU
19
Welcome to 2019 State Titles l<racka is proud to continue our long running Business Partnership with Surf Life Saving Queensland for 2019. Our focus in 2019 remains to continue to provide our customers with the best boards we can produce. We promise you that our 30 plus years of experience will ensure that you have a board that not only performs well and looks good, but lasts as well. We are THE BOARD specialists Thank you to all our customers and best of luck over the State weekends. #krackafamily www.krackasurfcraft.com.au
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Water zone 2
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First Aid / Emergency services
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2019 Queensland Senior Championships, Broadbeach QLD
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