Papamoa Rookie Lifeguards have won gold and silver at the Eastern Region Rookie Team Challenge.

The junior (B) team came first overall and the A team was second at this year's event in Waihi.

Finn Anderson brings in Emily Pol in a Board Rescue. Photo: Leeann Millington.

The best performance was in the team surf swim with all 10 Papamoa rookies coming in the top 11 places.

Rookies are junior lifeguards, usually 12 or 13-years-old, who are transitioning from the junior to the senior programme.

The rookie programme is designed to develop young Surf Lifeguards in the areas of lifesaving education, beach management, patrol experience, and through participation and social development. Papamoa Surf Life Saving Club has a large and strong contingent of those rookies.

Nine teams from seven clubs from Coromandel and Bay of Plenty, and Hawke's Bay competed in the regional challenge. Some skills were tested individually and some as part of a team. The overall points decided the winning team.

Apart from theory and swimming they had to perform a tube or board rescue: bringing people back on to the beach from the water. Other skills tested including CPR and first aid. As a team they had to set up a beach patrol, assess the conditions and decide where to put the flags, for example.

Individually Papamoa took out most top spots: Max Milligan (1), Finn Anderson (2), Jack Hitchfield (3) for the boys and for the girls (1) Emily Pol, (3) Jenna Stephenson.

Papamoa's winning B team members are Jack Hitchfield, Kian Grey, Connor McCarthy, Lucy Mano and Chanel West.