2011_SLSNZ_SurfRescueMag

20
SURF SPORTS:
Pool Champs
Hind’s timely reminder
Finally something for Papamoa to cheer about
She’s hardly clipped a tube in anger over the last four years
but Natasha Hind gave a timely reminder of her skills at the
State New Zealand pool championships recently.
The Lyall Bay 21-year-old was in imperious form,
winning the open women’s 100m rescue medley,
200m swim with obstacles, 200m super lifesaver and
the 50m manikin carry.
She also announced her desire to have a crack
at the national team for the Rescue 2012 world
championships, after missing the last two worlds
campaigns because of the Beijing Olympics and Delhi
Commonwealth Games.
“The last two worlds have clashed with the major
competitions – this time, if I do make the Olympics,
there will be time to focus solely on swimming but
then also have a big enough build-up to Rescue
2012, if I was lucky enough to make the team,” Hind
said. “That’s definitely in the back of my mind heading
into next year.”
Her Olympic selection hinges on whether she can
whittle 0.5secs off her 200m freestyle time, down
to the Olympic A standard of 1:58.33. She’s also a
strong chance to make it in a relay, after helping the 4
x 200m relay squad to a silver medal in Delhi.
Hind didn’t have it all her own way in Hamilton, which
was hosting the pool championships for the first time,
with Lyall Bay teammate Sam Lee pushing her hard in
the 100m rescue medley and the 50m manikin carry.
Lee was just 0.44secs behind Hind’s 1:15.02 medley
time and even closer in the manikin carry, clocking
38.52secs compared to Hind’s 38.23.
But in the longer distances, Hind was in another
realm, clocking 2:07.87 in the 200m swim with
obstacles and 2:29.07 in the super lifesaver. Orewa’s
Rachel Clarke, fresh from a stint in police training in
Porirua, was second in the latter event in 2:40.38.
“I was really happy with the times because I hadn’t
competed seriously for a couple of years,” Hind
said. “The last serious pool competition I did was the
2007 German Cup so it’s been nearly four years - I
didn’t know what to expect but I was quite pleased
with the results. A couple of weeks out, I got hold of
Steve Kent and did a bit of training with him but it was
surprising how much I remembered.
“I definitely lost a little bit in the manikin carry but the
basic skills were all still there.”
Kent missed the second day to attend a wedding
but he won the two events he entered – blitzing the
100m manikin carry in 53.21secs, ahead of Piha’s
Steve Ferguson and Dylan Pahina (both 1:03.71) and
edging Glenn Anderson in the 100m tube swim.
Midway’s Chris Dawson booked himself a trip to the
German Cup with wins in the under-19 100m rescue
medley and the open 200m super lifesaver, while
Papamoa teenagers Mason Pickering and Natalie
Peat also impressed.
Away from the elites, it was the open men’s line throw
that captured one of the stories of the meet, when
41-year-old Papamoa stalwart Greg Akroyd paired
with 12-year-old clubmate Marshall Wells to win.
Their 15.94sec time was well clear of Oreti (17.22)
and Piha (17.29), though they had an anxious wait
before their golds were confirmed.
“Marshall was so excited after the event but because
of the manual timing, we had to wait six hours for
the results to be confirmed,” Akroyd explained. “He
was excited about the possibility of winning a medal
but he was out of his skin when we found out it was
gold. He’s one of those kids who is at the club every
weekend and always gives 100 percent, wins a few
things here and there but was pretty excited about
doing the line throw.”
Akroyd, whose last national title was on the beach
“a long time before Marshall was even born!”, was
originally set to compete in masters but Papamoa
manager Ange Johnston convinced him to enter the
open division for extra points.
Not that they needed it – when the final points were
tallied, the Bay of Plenty club had bolted clear, ending
Lyall Bay’s five-year winning streak.
Papamoa finished with 948.5 points, with Lyall Bay on
746 and Mount Maunganui on 722, providing a nice
boost to the club after the dramas of the Rena oil spill
disaster on their beach.
“This is certainly a timely boost for the club and
community,” Papamoa coach Kurt Wilson said.
“We’ve been training in the pool since May and, while
it’s been tough keeping them out of the ocean for the
last month, at least they’ve had something else to
focus on.”
A 16-member Australian under-20 team also
competed at the championships, including Devon
Halligan, daughter of former Waikato rugby player and
Kiwis league star Daryl.
Anderson, Kent and Lee formed the backbone of the
New Zealand team selected for the German Cup,
with Dawson, Ayla Dunlop-Barrett, Andrew McMillan,
Madison Boon and Dannielle O’Connor.
See sport.surflifesaving.org.nz
for full results.