Umhlanga's youth brigade supreme at SA Lifesaving Champs

Luke Nisbet of Pirates won the senior Iron race on yet another day when Umhlanga's youth brigade, led by Tatum Botha, Saskia Hockly and Nicolette Challenor were supreme at the DHL LSA Surf National Club Championships at Kings Beach, Gqeberha.

Umhlanga won a combined 20 golds and nearly as many silvers in the most dominant club display as Botha added to her gold medal tally and Hockly enjoyed a wonderful day, individually and in tandem with her youngster sister.

If (Saskia) Hockly wasn’t winning, then she was combining with sister Valma-Jean Hockly in taking in an incredible gold in the female senior Double Ski.

What made the win so remarkable for the 19 and 17 year-old sister duo was that they were beaten into second place in the u19 final, with Fish Hoek’s 15 year-old Georgia Singe and Babette van Rooyen taking gold.

The Hockly sisters had earlier won gold in the u19 and u17 Single Ski.

Umhlanga’s Challenor also did the double in winning gold in the under 19 juniors and seniors in the Sprints, and taking gold in the junior u19 Flags.

She is officially the queen of the Beach Sprints in South Africa in 2022.

Botha, so talented and dominant in the junior age groups for the past few years, won the u19 Iron title, which didn’t surprise too many. But her victory over Amica de Jager in the final of the female senior Iron race was just stunning.

Hockly also did the double in the under 19 Single Ski and senior Single Ski, where she beat De Jager in a week where South Africa’s most promising juniors made the biggest statement competing in the juniors and seniors.

If it was not Umhlanga winning, then Kwazulu-Natal was present on the podium through individuals from Marine, Durban Surf and Pirates.

Earlier, Botha’s Umhlanga Rocks teammate