Due to recent flooding and water quality issues in the Wellington region, the BP Surf Rescue NZ Championships changed venue from Waikanae Beach to Mahia on the East Coast, over the weekend of 9th and 10th April. Two Columba students travelled to the North Island to participate in the event, and both came away with medals!

The BP Surf Rescue New Zealand Championships has a proud history of hard and fast, action-packed racing. The largest Inflatable Rescue Boat competition on the Surf Life Saving calendar, crews from around the country line up to showcase their surf skills, fitness and experience amongst their peers. 

Mia Stout (Year 13) and Amelia Loudon (Year 11) competed in the Surf Rescue Champs, representing their surf lifesaving clubs, St Clair and St. Kilda respectively.

For St. Clair, Mia had a great weekend and achieved 3rd place in the U19 single rescue race with her crew. She also came away with a 4th placing in the U19 female assembly rescue race. A bronze medal to bring home - well done Mia!

Amelia achieved two bronze medals for finishing 3rd place for her role as patient in the U23 Male mass rescue, and U19 female assembly rescue race. The St. Kilda Club was crowned 3rd overall at the championships which was a fantastic achievement. Well done Amelia and St. Kilda SLSC! 

With 45 female crews competing in the event, 29 clubs and over 325 competitors, achieving a podium finish in your event is an impressive feat, and we congratulate both Mia and Amelia for their efforts. It has been reported that the competition has seen a marked increase in the number of female IRB crews participating and numbers have jumped by almost a third from last year's competition. This increase in female participation is most likely attributed to the 'Wāhine on Water' IRB programme which aims to get more women surf lifeguards crewing and driving Inflatable Rescue Boats. This same report states that "half of surf lifeguards are female and they make up 49% of lifeguards qualifying as crew members, yet they make up only 28% of IRB drivers". The aim of the 'Wahine on Water' initiative is to change these statistics, and encourage more females into the IRB driving seat.  

Past Columba students Madi Loudon and Emily Peacock also competed at the event, and came away with 2 silver medals and 1 bronze for their first year in the U23 female division. Madi and Emily were also selected for the NZ development squad. Congratulations girls!

A big thank you to our Columba families who consistently support Surf Lifesaving events across the country, and to our students who devote many hours of time training and competing in this incredible sport. Thank you also to Jamie Troughton from Dscribe Media Services for allowing us to use some of his amazing photos from the weekend.