A crew of seven athletes representing Whakatāne Surf Lifesaving Club had a taste of international sports competition, following their trip to compete at the Australian Surf Life Saving Nationals – ‘The Aussies’ – last month.

Surf Lifesaving in Australia is a popular sport with 314 clubs around the country, compared to 74 in New Zealand. Athletes representing Australian clubs who make it to The Aussies are the top in their field, with clubs only allowed to take four competitors for each event.

It’s a different playing field to New Zealand and the opportunity for New Zealand athletes to participate, offers a window into competing at an international level.

The Whakatāne crew, led by coach Simon Wills, included Ollie Peat, Sachin Marston, Harper Thompson, Nikau Deane, Rose Morton, Georgia Standen and Zoe Williams.

Ranging in age from 12 to 14, Wills said the young team did their club and country proud.

“Competing in Australia is not only tough in terms of competition, but there’s other things to contend with such as different surf conditions and extreme heat.

“On this trip we experienced a real weather rollercoaster, which, unfortunately, impacted the number of events able to go ahead. We had rain, wind, six-metre swells and baking hot sun,” he said.

“It was challenging, but all our competitors got out there and completed every event they could. It was great to see their hard work in training pay off, and I’m super proud of them all.”

The kids from Whakatāne not only competed but came away with some impressive results. Harper came tantalising close to the podium with fourth place in the 2km Beach Run. Sachin placed 13th overall in the Under 15 Male Beach Flags and Rose made it through several rounds in the Under 14 Female Beach Flags, placing 20th overall.

The group fundraised for the trip and key funders included Ōhope Lions Club, Whakatāne/Kopeopeo Lions Club, Whakatāne Rotary and the Whakatāne and Ōhope Community Board. Other fundraising efforts undertaken include event catering, BBQ’s, event parking marshalls and furniture removal.

Whakatāne Surf Lifesaving Club has seen a resurgence in junior members in recent years, with training, competitive events and the Rookies Lifeguard programme offering a pathway towards becoming volunteer lifeguards. Whakatāne Surf Lifesaving Club president Hamish Reid said becoming a lifeguard had far-reaching benefits.

“The more people we can encourage to complete their lifeguard award, the better. Not only does it teach our rangatahi about giving back to the community, but the path to get there is about learning to be capable in the water and understanding risks. This is invaluable to anyone who enjoys spending time at the beach.”

The trip to The Aussies was a first for the Whakatāne Surf Lifesaving Club and Wills hopes to take more competitors in the future.

“While there are other individual athletes from New Zealand who compete at The Aussies, we were the only club that attended as a larger group of youth, and it was well received,” he said.

“Surf Lifesaving Australia loved having us there - our athletes were interviewed several times and commentators regularly mentioned the competitors from Whakatane, NZ. It was an amazing experience all round and we look forward to developing our next cohort to participate again.”