WHAKATĀNE Surf Lifesaving Club captain Cat Manning lent her skills to the Omanu SLS club at the world championships last week.

Omanu’s cohort was made up of lifeguards from Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Omaha England, Whakatāne and, of course, Omanu.

“We all changed clubs a bit, so we had enough women to make teams. It was nice to be at a big event,” Manning said.

She was able to compete in the surf race, board race, ski race, sprints, flags, board relay, ocean women relay, the surf teams’ race, and the ocean women event also known as the Iron Woman.

Manning placed sixth in the individual Ocean Women’s event in her age group, and ninth in her individual surf race.

Her teams placed fifth in the surf team race, sixth in the board relay and seventh in the ocean woman relay.

“They’re really into surf lifesaving, so it was a bigger event. About 50 percent were Australians, and the other 50 percent were made up of New Zealanders, lifeguards from England, Ireland, Argentina, Italy and France,” she said.

“We had lovely weather, which was great because we hadn’t done much training due to the winter weather here.”

She said being able to race over in Australia was a highlight, and she was able to see some of the competition’s opening ceremonies.

Her students and colleagues have congratulated her since she returned to her teaching post last Friday.

“It’s nice for the kids to see you still do something – I’m not just a boring old maths teacher.”

Her success at the World Championships has coincided with the beginning of recruiting season at Whakatāne Surf Lifesaving Club.

“We’re just about to start training our new lifeguards, and people can join from any age,” she said.

The first training session of the season will take place today, starting at the Aquatic Centre pool at 6pm.

The upcoming lifeguard exam for new recruits will take place in November, before the summer season.

“If you like the look of competing overseas, becoming a lifeguard is the way to get there,” Manning said.

Anyone interested in joining the club can email [email protected].