Plenty of action at Papamoa IRB Classic

The East End resurgence continued at a wildly successful Papamoa IRB Classic yesterday, with the Taranaki club's premier crew clean-sweeping their division.

Waihi Beach's Broden Wood and crewman Liam Cossey meet a wave head on during Saturday's Papamoa IRB Classic. Photos by Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services.

Scott Nelson and Scott Busing won the single rescue, mass rescue and assembly rescue on their trip to the Bay of Plenty, while East End also took out the three-person and four-person teams races.

Host club Papamoa have assumed East End's dominance over the last 18 months, and again took out overall honours at the carnival, but the gap appears to be closing again in the lead up to the national championships in Dunedin in March.

The Classic proved the perfect lead-in to nationals, with nearly 50 teams competing in 80 fast-paced races over the course of a day. Organisers included a number of innovations, such as a novice division and a 400m soft-sand run during the three-person teams race.

"We couldn't have had a better day," Papamoa spokesman Justin Martin said. "The waves were testing, it wasn't too hot and we worked hard to give crews as many races as possible over the course of a day but it all came off without a hitch."

Martin and the Papamoa club revived the Classic, after more than a decade's absence, to fill in a big gap in the IRB competition calendar between November's North Island championships and the BP Surf Rescue national championships in March.

Papamoa twins Kirby and Chad Wheeler, who starred at the North Island titles, continued their strong progress in the premier ranks by grabbing three silvers, while New Plymouth Old Boys, Waimarama and another Papamoa crew, Troy Walsh and Mitch Brady, shared the three premier bronze medals.

The women's division was evenly spread, with Waimarama's Jamie Cox and Nichola Elmsly taking home the single and assembly rescue titles and Opunake's Jemma Pentelow and Courtney Keech the mass rescue. Sunset Beach's two crews were also right in the thick of things.

Results from the Papamoa IRB Classic held at Papamoa Beach on Saturday January 31:

Premier:

Single East End (Scott Nelson/Scott Busing) 1, Papamoa (Kirby Wheeler/Chad Wheeler) 2, NPOB (Jared Coster/Sean Zieltjes) 3.

Assembly: East End (Scott Nelson/Scott Busing) 1, Papamoa (Kirby Wheeler/Chad Wheeler) 2, Papamoa (Troy Walsh/Mitch Brady) 3.

Mass: East End (Scott Nelson/Scott Busing) 1, Papamoa (Kirby Wheeler/Chad Wheeler) 2, Waimarama (Mike Harman/Ben Cross) 3.

Women:

Single: Waimarama (Jamie Cox/Nichola Elmsly) 1, Opunake (Jemma Pentelow/Courtney Keech) 2, Sunset Beach (Grace Poole/Samantha Coughlan) 3.

Assembly: Waimarama (Jamie Cox/Nichola Elmsly) 1, Opunake (Jemma Pentelow/Courtney Keech) 2, Sunset Beach (Taylor Shrimpton/Robbie Shrimpton) 3.

Mass: Opunake (Jemma Pentelow/Courtney Keech) 1, Sunset Beach (Grace Poole/Samantha Coughlan) 2, Waimarama (Jamie Cox/Nichola Elmsly) 3.

Senior:

Single: East End Black 1, Waikanae Yarnis 2, Papamoa Jason 3. B Final. Waihi B 1, Sunset Beach 2, NPOB 3.

Assembly: Waikanae Yarnis 1, Sunset Beach Mighty Midgets 2, Papamoa Jason 3. B Final. Papamoa Jason 1, Sunset Set Gold 2, Half Cutt Christmas NPOB 3.

Mass: East End Black 1, Papamoa Jason 2, Sunset Beach Mighty Midgets 3. B Final. Waihi A 1, Waihi B 2, Opunake C 3.

Under 21:

Single: East End Yellow 1, Opunake A 2, Papamoa Michael 3. B Final. Papamoa Michael 1, East End Brown 2, Himitangi 3.

Assembly: Westshore Black 1, Waikanae 2, Sunset Bach 3. B Final. Papamoa Black ST 1, Opunake A 2, NPOB 3.

Mass: Sunset Beach 1, Westshore Black 2, Papamoa Michael 3. B Final. Opunake A 1, Papamoa Ross 2, Himitangi 3.

Novice:

Single: Mighty Mount Monster Mongrels 1, Westshore Blue 2, Papamoa Marshall 3.

Assembly: Papamoa Cowley 1, East End Purple 2, Westshore Blue 3.

Mass: Westshore Blue 1, Papamoa Marshall 2, Might Mount Monster Mongrels 3.

Open:

3-person team: East End A 1, Papamoa D 2, Papamoa A 3.

4-person team: East End A 1, Papamoa B 2, Papamoa A 3.

Club points: Papamoa 113, East End 75, Sunset Beach 43, Opunake 35, Waimarama 32, NPOB 25, Westshore 17, Mairangi Bay 14, Waikanae 9, Foxton 8, Waihi 7.

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.