Aussies 2007 Huge Success

Surf lifesaving officials and competitors have declared the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships a huge successâ„¢ and are looking forward to returning to Scarborough Beach in 2008 and 2009.


Surf lifesaving officials and competitors have declared the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships ‘a huge success’ and are looking forward to returning to Scarborough Beach in 2008 and 2009.

At the conclusion of the week long ‘festival of surf lifesaving’ more than 6,300 competitors from nearly 200 clubs had taken part in the Centenary Year Masters and Open Championships at Scarborough Beach in Perth.

SLSA President, Ron Rankin AM said the championships was one of the best in the event’s long history and a fitting culmination to the first part of the Year of the Surf Lifesaver. “There is no doubt the facilities at Scarborough Beach were world-class and a great way to showcase the talents of the world’s fittest and fastest surf lifesavers”, he said. “My congratulations to all who participated, whether as competitor, official, team manager, workforce or spectator. Of course, there is always room for improvement for next year’s event and I will be shortly writing to every club which attended asking for any constructive feedback”, he said.

SLSA Director of Surf Sports, Dave Thompson, said that all performance measures for the event had been met, and officials were particularly pleased with the strong competitor and spectator numbers. “The Beach Flags finals held in the amphitheatre on Saturday afternoon, in front of a fantastic crowd has added a whole new dimension to the championships, and today’s finals really lifted the roof,” he said. “No previous Australian championships have had spectator facilities as good as we have here, demonstrating the wisdom of the City of Stirling’s investment in purpose-built facilities. “Although the transition from the previous venue has been virtually seamless, there is always room for improvement and we will now go through a full review of every aspect of the championships to ensure that it is even better next year.”

Competitors also gave the venue the thumbs up, with defending champion Shannon Eckstein saying the more consistent conditions allowed for ‘really tough racing’. This sentiment was echoed by Open Ironwoman Champion, Kristy Harris who said that her win today came down to who was the fittest athlete. “The last time I won the Ironwoman title in 2004 there was a lot of luck involved, but the conditions here are very fair,” she said.

Carnival Referee, John Brennan praised the facilities, saying they had brought the championships into a new era. “Although the conditions were mild, Scarborough presented a new challenge for the competitors and officials, especially with the closeness of the results” he said. “There is no doubt that Scarborough Beach is a world-class venue and now the challenge is to take it to another level in 2008”, he said.