Seven members of the Whakatāne Surf Life Saving Club arrived in the Gold Coast today to prepare for the upcoming competition, “The Aussies”.

Over the next few days, Sachin Marston, 14, Ollie Peat, 14, Harper Thompson, 13, Nikau Deane, 13, Zoe Williams, 12, Rose Morton, 13 and Georgia Standen, 13, pictured, will take part in training sessions at various clubs along the Gold Coast and fine tune their skills on the local beaches.

This time before the competition will also allow the group to acclimatize to the Gold Coast’s hot weather.

“The Aussies” is the annual Australian national surf carnival with over 7000 contestants, mainly drawn from across Australia but also attracting international representatives.

It is a week-long event with the Whakatāne team competing in individual and team events over two of the days before returning home.

Junior coordinator Sherrie Thompson said the athletes, aged 12 to 14, had been training hard for months with their coach and were very excited to have the opportunity to compete at a prestigious competition.

They were lucky recipients of grants from Ōhope Lions, Whakatāne/ Kopeopeo Lions, Whakatane Rotary, Whakatane Ōhope Community Board and have also undertaken many fundraising initiatives to make this trip a reality.

Drawn from Whakatāne High School, Trident High School and Whakatāne Intermediate, the athletes speak highly of their coach, Simon Wills, who has been driving from Tauranga each week to run training sessions across sand and water events.