REILLY AND SONS FOOD SERVICES SLSCC SURF BOAT REPRESENTATIVE TEAM
Branch pride was on the line last Sunday at Queenscliff when the SLSCC Surf Boat Representative Team, proudly sponsored by Reilly and Sons Food Services, competed valiantly against the heavy weight crews from seven other branches in the SLSNSW Best of the Best Interbranch Championships.
Central Coast were impressively placed third in the overall point score at the conclusion of racing with Sydney in second and Sydney Northern Beaches walking away victorious on 103.5 points.
The conditions were almost ideal for Surf Boat racing for the one day Championship event. There were a mixture of small waves interspersed with bigger sets, proving for great racing for the teams and spectators alike. The competition aims to bring together the Surf Boat community whilst enabling team to fine tune their skills ahead of the State and Australian Championships fast approaching.
The Umina Beach G-Stringers crew claimed a win in the Reserve Female division after two firsts and a second place in their round robin races.
The Central Coast also had had top three finishes in the Reserve men (MacMasters Beach Fat Dads), U19 Female (Avoca Beach Vagabonds) and the Open Male (Avoca Beach Z Crew) divisions.
The Coast were fortunate to be represented by the Avoca Z Crew in the Open Men Division who are respected as one of the leading Surf Boat Crews in Australia. In December, the Avoca Z Crew won the Surf Life Saving Australia Surf Boat Selection Carnival in Victoria, gaining them National Team selection where they will compete in a bilateral test series in Lone, Victoria next month.
Their leadership proved invaluable on the day inspiring the younger crews and assisting with their development.
SLSCC President, Stuart Harvey said the Branch could not be happier with all of the crews performances, “this event is still only in its second year, but we are already seeing how important it is towards the development of Surf Boat rowing on the Central Coast. The Central Coast crews performed admirably and we are proud of their efforts.”
“The pleasing thing is that we aren’t far behind the winning branch and with a bit of luck could have finished second which shows the strength of our local surf boat crews at present.”
“From all reports, the team gelled really well and had the best team spirit on the day which makes us really proud as a branch.”
“This experience is the perfect preparation for these crews leading into the Branch, State and Australian Championships. You can’t beat race practice at this time of the season, especially in such a competitive environment that this event provided.”
Surf Life Saving Central Coast wish to thank Steve and Aaron Reilly of Reilly and Sons Food Services for their generous sponsorship of the team. Reilly and Sons Food Services for not only outfitting the team with a shirt, polo shirt, dress shirt, hat and sports bag but were also an integral part of the team, passing on their vast surf boat knowledge and experience on the day.
Manager of the Team, Paul Quick said the sponsorship from Reilly and Sons Food Services made the Central Coast team the stand out team on the beach.
“A big thank you to Reilly and Sons Food Services for their sponsorship and support of the team which was greatly appreciated and warmly received by the crews,” said Quick.
Team categories included: Open, Reserve, U19’s and U23. Surf Life Saving Central Coast entered teams across all categories for both Men and Women.
Reilly and Sons SLSCC Surf Boat Representative Team
Open Men – Z Crew (Avoca Beach)
Reserve Men – Fat Dads (MacMasters Beach)
U19 Men – UFC’s (MacMasters Beach)
U23 Men – Goats (Ocean Beach)
Open Women – Who Haa (Ocean Beach)
Reserve Women – G Stingers (Umina Beach)
U19 Women – Vagabonds (Avoca Beach)
U23 Women – Mai Tai’s (MacMasters Beach)
Team Manager – Paul Quick (Terrigal SLSC)