Davis knocks off big club kids

IT was great to see Moore Park Surf Life Saving Club youngster Benjamin Davis finally break through for a victory on the “big stage” last Sunday at the Maroochy Surf Classic when he took out the under-17 Ironman event.

Ben puts in a tremendous amount of effort to his training and while he is quiet, he is also a determined and focused competitor, who deserves success.

There is no greater satisfaction for our regional athletes than for them to venture down to South East Queensland and kick some butt.

I am sure there were some stunned on-lookers watching the final who were thinking “Who is this kid?” and “Where is Moore Park?” Well done!

As well as winning the Ironman event, Davis also backed up his efforts by qualifying for both the under-17 male board and surf race finals, where he was also extremely competitive, placing in the top seven in the former and top 15 in the latter.

Also making the trek to Maroochydore last Sunday were Ben’s younger brother Matthew and club-mate Calida Felton.

Both of these competitors also performed extremely well in the challenging conditions, with Matthew qualifying for the under-15 male surf race and Ironman finals and finishing in the top 12 in both.

Felton also qualified for the finals of the under-17 female surf race, board race and Ironwoman.

Overall, it was a great result for these youngsters and a great result for Moore Park (MP).

Local competitors will be focused on competing in Round 2 of the WBC Branch Premiership Series at Agnes Water this Saturday.

For many, it will be their final hit-out before representing Queensland Country at the Queensland Interbranch Championships on the Gold Coast the following weekend.

Competition will start at 9.30am sharp on Saturday, with around 100 competitors from the eight local clubs, as well as one competitor from Christies Beach (SA), nominated to compete.

Competition will be conducted across all age groups and genders from under-15 through to Masters categories, with surf race, board race, ironperson, single ski, rescue tube, beach sprint and beach flags events, along with beach cameron/taplin relays.

I expect to see some fierce competition in some of the younger age groups especially, with the under-15s and under-17s loaded with some up and coming stars of the surf.

In the under-17 male water events, Benjamin Davis and Jeremy Rethamel (Bundaberg) will wage war as they battle to assert authority over each other, but you cannot discount others such as another Bundaberg duo Jordan Findlay and Sam Lester in their favoured board race event.

On the beach, young guns Braydon Batt (Elliott Heads - EH) and Christopher Powell (MP) will again be out to gain bragging rights over each other, but they should not underestimate other EH competitors in Brandon Harvey and Connell Crozier.

In the under-17 female events, I expect to see Calida Felton dominate the water events, while Kayla Osborn (EH) will be hard to beat on the beach.

The under-15 events are also expected to be close, with Matthew Davis and Bundaberg’s Brodie Johnston and Toby Sheppard set to battle each other for supremacy in the male water events, and Daniel Crook (MP) set to be the benchmark in male beach events.

In the female category, it will be intriguing to watch the battle between Bundaberg’s Bonnie Stehbens and Emma Finnis as they fight it out with Emu Park young gun, Brooke Wacker in water events.

On the beach, Annelise Wesley (Bundaberg) will be out to continue her recent good form that has seen her claim a victory and several placings in the Fastest Man on Sand Series.

Good luck to all local competitors this weekend and hopefully the swell hangs around to provide a challenge to all!