Local surf life saving club South Brighton left the competition in its wake at the weekend’s 2025 South Island Championships, trumping nearest rivals Sumner by more than 200 points to take top club honours.
Dunedin’s Warrington Beach turned on sunny skies and great surf to host more than 230 junior surf athletes from 14 clubs across the South Island at the two-day event.
With a standout performance, the 37-strong South Brighton crew put their surf skills on show to dominate both land and water events.
Taking a clean sweep of medals in many of the U13/14 girls’ events and consistent top placings across almost all categories, the depth of talent in the club’s junior programme was undeniable.
South Brighton athletes also took out ‘top overall competitor’ awards in 5 of 14 categories: U14 girls (Chloe Jorgensen), U13 girls (Emma Cox), U12 boys (Lachlan Anderson), U8 girls (Sia Evans) and U8 boys (Harry Burns).
Overall results from the weekend show a bright future for Canterbury surf lifesaving, with local clubs claiming three of the top four positions—South Brighton 498 points, Sumner 279 points, Brighton 249 points, Taylors Mistake 212 points.
Up next, 15 of South Brighton’s top junior athletes will go head to head with the best in the country at New Zealand’s biggest junior surf life saving competition, Oceans 2025.
- Amy Anderson
