With 861 athletes from 22 clubs, Scarborough Beach was the place to be over the weekend as it played host to the 2021 SunSmart WA Senior Surf Life Saving Championships, bringing the State’s best surf sports athletes together for some fierce competition.
Clubs travelled from as far as Broome, Albany, and Denmark to get in on the weekend’s action, which was highly anticipated by all athletes after the cancellation of the event due to COVID-19 in 2020.
Day 1 – Saturday, 27 March
The weekend began with the 2km beach run, before spectators gathered to watch the Official Opening Ceremony, opened by Surf Life Saving WA President Craig Smith-Gander. Spectators were treated to the traditional and iconic March Past event, which was accompanied by the WA Police Pipe Band.
Conditions for the day kicked off with a light offshore wind, before the breeze changed direction, making for choppy conditions and interesting racing in the afternoon.
On the beach, Charlie Rigby from Sorrento dominated in the Open Male Sprint – claiming the crown in the absence of his old teammate and beach sprint/flags champion Jackson Symonds.
City of Perth dominated in the female beach events, with Sophie Watts and Montana Waters taking Gold and Silver in the Open Female Beach Sprints, and City teams taking Gold & Silver in the Open Female Beach Relay and U19 Beach Relay
The water events saw a number of great battles, including a hard-fought race between Dan Humble (Trigg Island) and Steve Bird (North Cottesloe) in the final leg of the Open Male Ski Relay, which resulted in a North Cottesloe win.
18-year-old Will Savage (Trigg Island) continued his impressive display of athleticism with gold medals in the U19 and Open Ironman events
Day 2 – Sunday, 28 March
There was an air of anticipation from the get-go of Day 2, with the schedule for the day jam packed full of finals, live commentary by Hayden Marchetto and Mick Colliss, and a live-stream of the event to Facebook & YouTube ensuring the day would be an exciting nail biter.
The weather on Day 2 was a carbon copy to the start of Day 1, with blue skies, a light offshore wind and small wave that made for tight racing in the water arenas throughout the day.
Dan Humble and Jazmin Shipway Carr (Trigg Island) took out the Open Mixed Double Ski ahead of two incredible North Cottesloe teams, before the dream team of Jesse Phillips and Steve Bird (North Cottesloe) – who represented Australia together in the 2012 London Olympics – claimed the win in the Open Male Double Ski.
City of Perth’s Alysse Priddis and Sophie Watts went head-to-head in the Open Female Beach Flags, with Alysse just inching ahead of Sophie to take the win.
The U17 Female Ironwoman event ended in a neck-and-neck race to the finish line, with Sophie Baron-Hay (City of Perth) claiming the gold.
Over in the Surf Boat arena, North Cottesloe dominated across the weekend, with wins in the U23 & U19 Male and Female Surf Boat, Open Female Surf Boat, Open Mixed Surf Boat Relay, Open & U19 Male and Female Short Course, and Open Male & Female Reserve Grade!
The Open Female (3 person) and Male (6 person) Taplin Relays made for a great end to the Championships on Sunday, with a horde of spectators cheering on their clubs in a race to the finish. The Male event came down to the wire, with City of Perth powerhouse Matt Colliss sealing the win for his team ahead of two strong Trigg Island teams.
Overall Results
Trigg Island Surf Life Saving Club’s huge effort over the weekend saw the club take out the Championship Club title for another consecutive year, while North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club was named both the Champion Youth Club and the Champion Handicap Club.
2021 Club Standing
1st – Trigg Island Surf Life Saving Club – 740 points
2nd – City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club – 586 points
3rd – North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club – 581 points
Youth Champion Club Points
1st – North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club – 170 points
2nd – Mullaloo Surf Life Saving Club – 112 points
3rd – City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club – 101 points
Other SunSmart WA Surf Life Saving Championship Events:
SunSmart Country Surf Life Saving Championships – Champion Club & Handicap – City of Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club – 971 points
SunSmart WA Masters Surf Life Saving Championships – Champion Club – North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club – 601 points
Individual results can be found here, or download the full results here.
Check out our photo galleries of the Championships over on our Facebook page.
These events don’t happen without the support of many people. We would like to extend a thank you to our surf sports and naming rights partner Healthway, promoting the SunSmart message. Their support enables us to deliver a comprehensive, year-round surf sports calendar, including these Championships.
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