BMD Northcliffe Duo Claim KNG Crowns

BMD Northcliffe's Shannon Eckstein & Courtney Hancock took out their overall series KNG crowns at Noosa Last weekend. While both finished with only a 5th placing in the final round at Noosa, it was enough to secure Shannon's 6th KNG Ironman crown and Courtney's maiden Ironwoman Series crown.

Noosa Beach provided small clean waves which allowed for fast, close racing.  Despite torrential rain and thunder storms, thousands of brave spectators stuck around for the action packed racing.

In the Men's race, which was reduced from 5 races to 3 races due to lightning, BMD Northcliffe's Zane Holmes became the only male this season to notch up 2 race wins after also winning round 4 at Portsea. The win also gave him 3rd place overall for the series.

In the women's race, BMD Northcliffe's Elizabeth Pluimers claimed her 4th race victory of the season. In the overall in the series Elizabeth finished 2nd behind Courtney with club mate's Kristyl Smith finishing in 4th and Bonnie Hancock in 10th. The top 10 in both the mens and womens gain automatic qualification into the 2011/12 series.

For detailed results go to http://surfironmanseries.com/

PORTSEA DELIVERS FOR ROUND 4

Portsea didn't dissapoint when it came to providing some swell, action and carnage for Round 4 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman Series on the weekend. The athletes were put to the test with big seas and chilly water tempretures. 

BMD Northcliffe's Zane Holmes proved he was back in form, winning 2 of the 3 races to take the overall win for the day. Clubmate, Shannon Eckstein, finished 3rd which was enough to claim back the black leaders singlet heading in to the final round.

In the women's race, series leader Elizabeth Pluimers copped the brunt of the ocean damaging two skis and a board in the two ironwoman races and in the process, relinquished her overall series lead to clubmate, Courtney Hancock. Courtney, who hasn't finished off the podium all series continued on with her consistency placing 2nd which was enough to secure the overall series lead.

There's no rest for the athletes who head to Noosa this weekend for the final round of the series. The eliminator format and expected flat conditions should provide some exciting, close, fast racing.

Liz Pluimers KNG Dominance Continues

Elizabeth Pluimers continues to dominate the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series with another win at Coolum on the weekend adding to her victories in the first two rounds.

Elizabeth led for the majority of the 50 minute endurance ironwoman race out in front on her own proving she is the one to beat this season.  Fellow clubmate, Courtney Hancock,  continued on with her consistency for the season claiming a 2nd place to add to her two 3rd placings in the previous rounds. Kristyl Smith finished in 7th place with Harriet Brown rounding out the top 10.

In the Mens race it was Tugun's Hugh Dougherty that was too good for the rest of the field finishing ahead of Caine Eckstein. Older brother, Shannon placed 4th with Zane Holmes and Pierce Leonard in 8th & 9th respectively.

The next round heads to Portsea in Victoria on the 2nd January.

For Full results and series information click here.

Cliffe Girls Clean Sweep in Round 2

It was a clean sweep of the podium for BMD Northcliffe in Round 2 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series at Bondi on Friday. 

In the eliminator format BMD Northcliffe made up half the field in the last race with 4 out of the 8 finalists, but it was Elizabeth Pluimers who was the eventual winner. Kristyl Smith returned to form claiming 2nd and the consistent Courtney Hancock in 3rd. Elizabeth sits on top of the progressive pointscore with two wins from two starts, 4 points clear of Courtney Hancock in 2nd place overall.

In the Men's race there were several shock exits in the earlier eliminator races leaving Zane Holmes the only BMD Northcliffe representative in the final race of 4 where he finished in 3rd place. Shannon Eckstein finished in 6th and Caine Eckstein in 10th. Shannon now drops back to 3rd place overall 3 points behind the lead.

For a Full list of results from Round 2 Click here.


Round 3 will be held at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday 19 December - back to the Enduro format. 

BMD Northcliffe Takes the Double in Round 1

BMD Northcliffe athletes dominated the opening round of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series on the weekend at Currumbin taking victory in both the womens and the mens enduro format races.

In the womens race, it was a come from behind victory for Elizabeth Pluimers after a bad start in the opening ski leg. Elizabeth made her way back through the field and drew level with Alicia Marriot on a wave in the board leg. Both girls hit the sand together but Elizabeth had the legs in the final 800m run leg to take the win. BMD Northcliffe's Courtney Hancock  joined Elizabeth on the podium finishing in 3rd place with Harriet Brown in 7th, Kristyl Smith in 8th and Bonnie Hancock rounding out the top 10.

In the mens race, Shannon Eckstein proved he could go the distance in the gruelling 2 hour race format taking the lead early in the race and holding on for a comfortable victory ahead of his brother and clubmate Caine Eckstein. BMD Northcliffe's Pierce Leonard finished in 7th place which was a good result considering he had a back operation in the off season. 

For full results of Round 1 click here.

Round 2 will be held at Bondi Beach on Friday 3rd December with an eliminator format.

Round 2 will be televised from 5pm (AEDST) on One HD.

2010 Coolangatta Gold

BMD Northcliffe's, Caine Eckstein, displayed his dominance of the gruelling Coolangatta Gold yesterday, claiming his 4th victory in the event. Caine and club mate Cory Hill took the early lead in the ski leg but Caine opened up a 4 minute gap in the swim leg and gradually increased his lead over the race to win by over 15 minutes. 21 year old Cory Hill held on to 2nd place improving on his 4th placing in the event last year. After missing the deep water race start by almost 10 minutes, Dean Mercer put in a courageous effort making his way through the field to eventually finish in 4th place.

In the women's event BMD Northcliffe's Courtney Hancock placed 2nd with club mate Elizabeth Pluimers fighting off her demons from last years race to claim 3rd. Courtney's younger sister, Bonnie, placed 4th with Sheree Merryfull (7th) & Harriet Brown (9th) also finishing in the top 10.

Our U19 Men had some very impressive results with Riley McGregor, Tanyn Lyndon, Jarryd McDonnell & Max Beatie finishing 1st, 3rd, 4th & 5th respectively.

In the Masters women's event, BMD Northcliffe's Tiarne Smith finished in 3rd place.

A big thank you must go to all the handlers, helpers and mums and dads that made the day such a success. Its a huge event to co-ordinate logistically and couldn't be done without you!

For all BMD Northcliffe's results from the Gold Click here.

To view all results from the Coolangatta Gold including times and splits Click here.

Left: Cory Hill & Caine lead out the opening Ski leg. Right: Courtney Hancock (2nd) & Elizabeth Pluimers (3rd) all smiles after the race on the presentation podium

South Coast Branch Interbranch Team

Congratulations to the following members who have been selected in the 2010 South Coast Branch Team.

Heidi Greenwood (U13)                  
Allabama Wyke (U13)  
Greta Peterson (U14)                      
Christie Short (U14)
Stephanie Rutherford (U14)
Jessica Unicomb (U14)                                
Zach Brown (U14)
Grayson Bell (U14)                            
Jessica Byrne (U15)                        
Joel Brown (U15)
Olivia Hall (U17)                              
Tamika Gillett (U17) 
Stefaan Demopoulos (U17)              
Lachlan Feather (U17)