Youngsters show their mettle at SA Lifesaving Championships

Llandudno’s Ryley Smith and Clifton’s Rebecca Fury were supreme in taking gold in the male and female under 14 Iron races, but it was Summerstrand who were edging club honours in the DHL Lifesaving South Africa Nippers Surf competition at Kings Beach in Gqeberha.

The Nippers complete their three-day challenge on Wednesday, but locals Summerstrand were proving the most consistent in the under 10s, 12s and 14s, which also include under 9s, 11s and 13s.

The Iron race is always considered the blue-ribbon event for the surf, with the flags and sprints the treasured titles for those who claim sand over surf as their forte.

More than 700 Nippers have showcased their talents over the past two days and reinforced how healthy competitive lifesaving is in South Africa.

There are so many talents among the youngsters and the past two days have been testimony to that.

In the u13s, Summerstrand’s Lisa de Villiers and Plett’s Liam Stephenson have been among the biggest standouts, taking several gold medals, including the respective Iron titles.

Stephenson beat Fish Hoek’s Samuel Mocke into second place, but the silver of Mocke will sit just nicely next to father Dawid and mother Nikki, who won the Masters’ golds in the Iron, aged 40-44 years.

In the Nippers Surf Championship, Clifton turned up the heat in the under 14s, under 12s and under 10s categories, and their combined running team totals had them edging Fish Hoek and the 2021 overall defending champions Summerstrand and Durban Surf with one day to go.

The Nippers continue their rivalry in the surf and sand through to Wednesday, with Tuesday’s competition characterized by the under 13 and under 14 Iron titles, surf swim and beach sprints.

Gold medal winners among the Nippers over