Oceans 2015 (03/03/2015)

Over a very tough 4 days, 32 of Maranui's finest Under 14 athletes competed against over 800 athletes from 42 surf clubs.

Once again Maranui obtained the prime position on the beach and with our 3 tents forming a small red village, we had ample room to eat, drink, rest, recuperate and plot and plan our way to a total of 41 national finals. No - your eyes do not decieve - 41 national finals. There was a total of 8 medals won during the 4 days of competition. This included 4 national titles.

Results:

Gold Medals 

Sam Brown in U11 Boys Run-Swim-Run

Sam Brown in U11 Boys Surf Race

Sam Brown in U11 Boys Diamond

Sophie Irving in U12 Girls Surf Race

Silver Medals 

Sophie Irving in U12 Girls Run-Swim-Run

U12 Mixed Grand Cameron Relay Team (Sam Brown, Sophie Irving, Hugo Blackwood, Tamrah Titcombe, Logan Philp, Taika Davies)

Bronze Medals 

U12 Girls Board Relay Team (Bailey Reddish, Tamrah Titcombe, Sophie Irving)

U12 Boys Tube Rescue Team (Sam Brown, Logan Philp)

There was also several 4th and 5th placings.

Although the surf itself was medium in size the often challenging rips, drfts and holes inherent at the Mount presented new challenges every day for the athletes. The Maranui Team proved that we can compete against the top athletes in the country and that our nippers and oceans programmes are working well and able to achieve great results for the Club. The morale and atmosphere in the team was fantastic and we had great group of parents and siblings who all pitched in to make this yet another memorable event for Maranui.

Well done everyone and thanks for a great after party at Wayne and Vanessa! 

Mayor accepts pontoons at Oriental Bay (09/11/2014)

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown accepted this gift on behalf of the City of Wellington from the Oriental Bay Residents Group. New pontoons for all to enjoy at Oriental Bay beach.

As the lifeguarding Club for this beach this season, Maranui showed a strong presence to be a part of the ceremony. A plaque was erected by the steps onto the beach marking the occasion. 

From left to right: Racheal Wilson, John Tuia, Liam Brown, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, Finn O'Neill and Matthew Wood. 

After the ceremony the Mayor decided to swim to the pontoon. She obviously couldn't do the swim with out an escort from Maranui lifeguards, Marc Pulepule provided the escort to refresh at the same time.

This summer these pontoons will provide lots of fun for all. 

U16 are primed and ready for action  (04/11/2014)

Last season saw our U16 make a welcome return to Centrals and Nationals. The greater Surf community acknowledged this occasion by making an announcement at Nationals. This season the U16 Team want to build on this. A committed athlete to a scheduled training regime is not only what the Coach, Rhys Speirs, is calling for. He is also calling to have more fun.

Pre-season training has been on for the last month and the Team has been doing a lot of individual training over winter... I understand from the U16 atheletes; '...the water is getting warmer.' (that's goo to hear) 

Beach training welcomes Natasha Perkins. Her involvement gains much needed work for our Flaggers and Sprinters.

From left to right: Rhys Speirs (Coach), John Tuia, Natasha Perkins and Finn Gaupset

Elation on gaining their Lifeguard Award (01/11/2014)

Over 40 candidates were at the first Surf exam held at Paekakariki SLSC on the 1st Nov. The Surf Exam was performed differently with the swim component examined separately before the 1st Nov.

Georgia Brown and Olivia Wood were our two candidates; they represent the compressed course Class. This Surf Class was designed for our Nippers that have gained their Surf Levels, Surf Lifesaving Certificate and who are still competing. The course recognises already built up surf knowledge and surf skills and  focuses on the other parts of the Lifeguard Award course, therefore is a little shorter. This course was trialled last year to great success.

Jubilant and elated the two girls pose in their red and yellow lifeguard uniforms. They have been allocated to patrol teams and are excited about donning the uniform and returning to Nippers in the capacity as Lifeguards. This is part of our mentoring programme that Maranui has built into becoming a Maranui Lifeguard.

Congratulations and well done girls...

Mount Lifeguards talk to LGA Candidates (22/10/2014)

Training had finished for these three Mount Lifeguards but it seemed their work was not over... The winter Surf Class was very lucky to have Cameron, Hadyn and Jessica talk to them about their lifeguarding experiences at the Mount.

The Mount is considered to be one of New Zealand's busiest beach, coping with close to a massive 10,000 beach goers at any given time. The worst is at New Years; the lifeguards recount New Years Eve parties of beach goers and the service that they provide during this time. They talked about the surf conditions and patrol set-up which extend all the way to Tay Street along the beach front of the Mount (It is such a difference from Oriental Bay beach...).

Their perspective shed light on the service and the importance of understanding the basics; what the candidates were learning during Surf Class relates to all situations and surf conditions. Their insights gained a few ums and ahs as they continued to tell of the share volume and power of the waves at the Mount. They stressed the importance of keeping fit as a lifeguard because you will never know when you will be needed.

Thank you to our visitors for stopping in for a chat; they now return to a warmer climate, but maybe, not exactly a restful time on the beach at the Mount.