Sadly,
the 2012 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships were marred by
tragedy with the loss of one our movement's finest young competitors,
Mathew Barclay. Fourteen-year-old
Matthew Barclay from Maroochydore disappeared in the surf while taking
part in a board race at Kurrawa beach on the first day of competition.
In Matthew's honour and at his parent's request, competition resumed at
North Kirra two days later. A touching memorial service was held at
Kurrawa on the Sunday morning attended by thousands of lifesavers who
paid their respects to Mathew. Following the service, competitors
returned to North Kirra for the final day of competition.
BMD
Northcliffe dominated the competition, taking out the overall carnival
point score by an amazing 154.5 points. Some of the highlights include
Shannon Eckstein defending his Australian Open Ironman Championship,
exciting narrow victories in both the Open Male Ski & Board Relays
and BMD Northcliffe taking both gold and silver in the final event of
the competition - The prestigious Open Male Taplin Relay.
Our
Masters also claimed a last minute unexpected victory, only taking over
the masters point score lead at the conclusion of the board riding
events held on Wednesday. This was a great result for our under-strength
team with several members unable to compete due to injury and work
commitments.
Click here for BMD Northcliffe's Open Results.
