Big surf, hot sun at National Surf Life Saving Championships

Four days of sun, surf and competition marked the return to Christchurch of the TSB National Life Saving Championships at the weekend. 

Competitors from all over New Zealand converged on New Brighton beach to fight it out, after a seven year absence from the Garden City. 

A large crowd of spectators joined the 1000-plus athletes to enjoy the spectacle and the hot temperatures. 

The impact of the recent cyclone and travel difficulties with the Cook Strait ferries failed to impact on athlete numbers, or dampen their enthusiasm for the sporting challenge. 

Stu Bryce, Southern region manager for Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, said last week was a busy arranging gear for those athletes unable to bring their own due to the cyclone and transport difficulties.

"There was gear shared around, there was phone calls last week when the athletes couldn't get across by ferries, there was swapping gear – and I know the New Brighton Surf Club loaned Sunset Beach a surf boat. So there’s just gear getting matched around all over the place, which is great," Bryce said. 

There was plenty of action across the four days, although the big surf meant a few adjustments to the original programme.

Officials, water safety monitors and clubs worked together to find the right balance between excitement and safety while managing the surf races. 

And despite the testing conditions, crews from the Mount Maunganui club were the eventual winners of the main Senior Championships, with a total of 127 points, ahead of New Plymouth's East End club.

South Brighton was the first of the Canterbury clubs with 39 points, with Taylors Mistake close behind on 35 points. 

- John Spurdle, Public Interest Journalism Fund