Pluimers Back in Black

It never seemed likely after her dissapointing race at Portsea in Round 2, but Pluimers is back in the black togs after claiming victory in Round 4 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series in Perth on the weekend. After Courtney bombed out in Newcastle, Kristyl took over the leaders jersey but was unable to consolidate the lead in Round 4 being the marathon format with an 11th place. Courtney Hancock bounced back from her dissapointing result in Newcastle to be back on the podium with a 3rd placing. Kirsty Holmes continued with her recent form to claim another 5th placing, with the always consistent Harriet Brown in 7th. 

In the Men's race, Caine Eckstein was always the red hot favourite for the marathon format and claimed a convinsing 2nd victory of the series. Shannon Eckstein was very happy with his result placing 3rd in his least favourite format and Cory Hill had his first top 10 finish with an 8th place. Shannon now sits in 3rd place overall in the series still in contention.

For a full list of the women's results click here.

For a full list of the men's results click here.

Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series - Rnd 3

Kristyl Smith & Zane Holmes made it a BMD Northliffe double for Round 3 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series in Newcastle. Big seas, strong winds and even marine life made for some exciting racing. Kristyl, who hadn't been off the podium so far in the series, climbed to the top for the first time ahead of Elizabeth Pluimers. Kristyl also claimed the overall series lead after Courtney Hancock lost her ski and finished 19th in the first race relegating her back to 3rd place on the leader board behind Kristyl and Elizabeth. Veteran, Kirsty Holmes, demonstrated her experience finishing in 5th, her best result so far for the series with Harriet Brown in 7th. 

In the men's race, Zane Holmes was the lone BMD Northcliffe representative in the final with Shannon Eckstein just missing out with a 9th place after being knocked of his ski several times. Zane went on to claim his first victory of the season and move further up the leader board in the overall series. 

Close examination of the television footage revealed a pilot whale rounding the cans in the final girls race. With a shark attack at nearby Redhead Beach just days before, people were quick to speculate that it was a shark.

Round 4 heads to Western Australia on the 29th January where they'll take on the Marathon format.

For the full women's results from Round 3 click here.

For the full men's results from Round 3 click here.

Courtney Overcomes Portsea Carnage to Claim Second Win

While Portsea didn't live up to its usual reputation for huge seas, it certainly threw up enough to cause some carnage in Round 2 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series on the weekend.

Race 1 of the double sprint race ran smoothly with Courtney taking it out ahead of clubmates Liz Pluimers and Bonnie Hancock.

Race 2 saw Liz Pluimers take a commanding early lead with a strong first board leg only to be pegged back at the conclusion of the board leg when several competitors pulled down a large wave behind her. Leading in to the final ski leg BMD Northcliffe were looking good with Liz, Courtney and Kristyl Smith in the top 3 until a nasty collision in the shore break saw all 3 lose their craft and relinquish their lead. Kristyl and Courtney managed to catch back up to 3rd & 4th place respectively but for Liz Pluimers, who fared the worse from the earlier collision,  her Portsea curse from last season continued, ending up in 20th.

This dissapointing finish added with her 2nd place in race 1 meant that she ended up in 11th place for the round. Courtney's 1st & 4th gave her the overall Round win to make it two from two in the series and Kristyl Smith finished with another 3rd place. Other BMD Northcliffe athletes to finsh in the top 10 were Bonnie Hancock in 6th and Harriet Brown in 8th.   Courtney now has a comfortable lead in the overall standings with 50 points followed by Kristyl in 2nd with 40 points and Liz Pluimers in 3rd with 32 points.

In the mens race, Shannon Eckstein showed he was re-gaining form, claiming a win in the 3rd and final mens race. A 4th and a 5th placing in the earlier races meant that he was back on the podium for Round 2 with a 2nd placing behind Kurrawa's Ky Hurst. The mens overall pointscore still remains tight with only 5 points seperating the top 6 competitors. Shannon sits in 4th place, 3 points off the lead.

Round 3 heads to Newcastle on the 22 January for the eliminator format. 

Click here for Round 2 - Male Results

Click here for Round 2 - Female Results

Click here for overall Male Standings after Round 2

Click here for overall Female Standings after Round 2

Click here to visit the Surf Ironman Series website

Click here to check out the carnage from the womens race

BMD Northcliffe Claim Trifecta in Rnd 1 of KNG

BMD Northcliffe Ironwoman, Courtney Hancock, proved any of her doubters wrong when she took out the opening round of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series at Surfers Paradise on the weekend. After claiming the overall series title last season without claiming a race victory, Courtney was quick to prove that she had deserved the crown.

BMD Northcliffe's, Kristyl Smith was the early leader with Courtney and clubmate, Elizabeth Pluimers mid-field after the opening board leg. Both Courtney and Elizabeth made up ground in the run and swim legs and were neck and neck in the final ski leg but Courtney had the goods edging away from Elizabeth in the closing stages. Kristyl Smith held on for 3rd place making it a BMD Northcliffe trifecta. BMD Northcliffe's, Harriet Brown, finished in 7th place with Kirsty Holmes in 15th and Bonnie Hancock in 17th.

In the mens race, BMD Northcliffe's Shannon Eckstein found himself in unfamiliar teritory turning the M shape board flag in equal last. Shannon clawed his way back to mid-field but it just wasn't his day, finishing 9th. Shannon's brother, Caine, was the eventual race winner on the day proving he is the enduro king. BMD Northcliffe's, Zane Holmes, ended up in 11th place with Cory Hill & Tanyn Lyndon finishing 14th & 15th respectively.

Round 2 heads to Portsea in Victoria which is reknown for dishing up big swells making for exciting racing in the 'Triple Sprint' format.

http://surfironmanseries.com/

Surf Safe Appeal Documentary

In conjunction with this year's Surf Safe Appeal which runs from Monday 21 November through to Sunday 4 December, Channel 9 will be airing a documentary called "Between the Flags... Beyond the Beach" and will highlight the extraordinary people involved in surf life saving, share real life stories of what services we provide to the public and inform the wider community as to why Surf Life Saving Queensland needs their help this summer during the appeal. The documentary will feature BMD Northcliffe nippers, patrol members and bronze award training. 

Tune in at 6.30pm on Sunday 27 November at 6.30pm to check out BMD Northcliffe in action.

2011-12 South Coast Branch Team Announced

BMD Northcliffe will have a strong representation in the 2011/12 South Coast Branch Team this season. 17 BMD Northcliffe members will represent the Branch at the Interbranch Champs being held in December. The team was selected from a selection trial carnival held at Mermaid Beach on the weekend.

Congratulations to the following members selected in the team -

Under 13
Elly Wikaire
Laura Taylor
Bailey Armstrong
Toby Redler
Kobe Schulz

Under 14
Allabama Wyke
Grace Rosato

Under 15
Jessica Unicomb
Stephanie Rutherford
Zach Brown
Andrew Byrne
Ben Bannan

Under 17
Alana McGoldrick
Abby Clarke
Courtney Innes
Lachlan Feather
Stefaan Demopoulos

For a full list of the whole team, Click Here.

2011 Coolangatta Gold

It's not often that a 30km race comes down to a sprint finish, but yesterday spectators witnessed one of the closest Coolangatta Gold finishes in history between BMD Northcliffe Clubmates, Courtney Hancock and Elizabeth Pluimers. The two girls went head to head in the final 7.5km sand run. In the end it was Courtney Hancock who had just that little bit more left in the tank to secure her first victory in the event. Elizabeth would have to settle for 2nd place as she collapsed after crossing the line. Other BMD Northcliffe athletes to finish in the top 10 in the womens race were Harriet Brown in 8th and Kristyl Smith in 10th.

In the Mens race, illness almost forced BMD Northcliffe's Cory Hill who was runner up in last years Coolangatta Gold to withdraw from the race before it had even begun. Cory pushed on to finish a credible 6th place. Other BMD Northcliffe Ironmen to finish  in the top 10 were Cameron Gordon 5th and Stuart Snell in 7th place.

In the 30-39 Female Masters event, Tiarne Smith claimed her first victory in the event and Richard Bedford finished 6th in the 50+ Male Masters event.

For all results including split times, click here.