Clubs Queensland Achievement Awards

The BMD Northcliffe Supporters Club has recently picked up some fantastic accolades at the Clubs Queensland Achievement Awards being named the Best Surf Life Saving Supporters Club and Best Bistro in Queensland. The success is not new to the Supporters club after taking out the 2007 Regional Restaurant and Catering Award for Best Casual Dining and then going on to take out the State Restaurant and Catering Award in the same category.

Congratulations to to all the team on a fantastic accolade.

Australian Champions 5 Years in a Row!!!

The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships were held in Perth in the first week of April. BMD Northcliffe Surf Club once again returned victorious, retaining the Australian Championship pointscore title for the 5th year in a row, 57 points clear of our nearest rival, Burleigh Heads. It was a fantastic team effort, but some notable performances were from Nick Crilly - 4 gold, 2 silver, Shannon Eckstein - 4 gold, 3 silver, Zane Holmes, 4 gold, 1 silver, Tate Smith - 4 gold, 1 silver and Elizabeth Pluimers - 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze.

Director of Coaching, Pat O'Keeffe was also honoured at the Australian Championships being named SLSA Coach of the Year. A well deserved award indeed.

For more results from the Australian Championships click here.

Crazy Johns QLD Surf Life Saving Championships

BMD Northcliffe Surf Club had a successful weekend at the Crazy Johns QLD Surf Life Saving Championships on the weekend, taking home both the Masters and Open Overall Pointscore Titles.

Despite not having a full strength open team due to members competing at the New Zealand National Surf Life Saving Championships as well as the Oceana Kayak Championships, Northcliffe won the pointscore convincingly by 59 points. The result is seen as a good confidence boost leading into the Australian Championships in the first week of April where the team will be back to full strength.

For all the results of the Crazy Johns QLD Surf Life Saving Championships Click here.

Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series Final

The 5th and final round of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series was held at Coogee on the weekend with two of Northcliffe's athletes claiming series wins.

Zane Holmes went into the final trailing club mate, Shannon Eckstein, by 3 points. Zane needed Shannon to finish at least 2 places behind him to claim series honours. Zane did all that he good do by claiming a race win but had to look over his shoulder to determine his fate for overall series supremacy. Club mate Pierce Leonard, managed to pull into 2nd place in the concluding stages of the final board leg meaning Zane had the series won. Eckstein ended up in 4th place which was enough to secure runner up in the series.

In the womens field, Elizabeth Pluimers hoped to finally claim her first race win of the series, only to miss out by a fingernail in a photo finish with City of Perth's Alicia Marriot. Despite not claiming a win, Elizabeth, who was tagged "Miss Consistency" in the series, still managed to claim her first series win by and inpressive 6 points.

Northcliffe athletes have dominated the Kellogg's Series in recent years taking out both the mens and womens series for the past 5 years in a row. Kristy Harris, who would have been going for 5 titles in a row this year, missed the series after receiving extensive injuries in a scooter accident earlier in the year.

E-toll Ocean Assault Finals - Round 1 & 2

Round 1 & 2 of the Etoll Ocean Assualt Finals were held at Southport on the weekend in messy conditions. Northcliffe had some impressive results lead by Shannon Eckstein who took out the Ironman on both days and Courtney Hancock who took out the Ironwoman on Saturday and placed 3rd on Sunday. Another Northcliffe competitor to pull off the weekend double was Simon Harris in the Beach Flags events.

For all results from the Ocean Assault Series Click here.

Kellogg's Nutri Grain Series Round 1 and 2

The first two rounds of the Kellogg's Nutri Grain Ironman series was held on the 2nd and 3rd February in testing Kurrawa conditions. In the men's race, Zane Holmes came away with a win in a thrilling sprint finish at the end of the 40 minute race. Clubmate, Shannon Eckstein, also involved in the sprint finished 3rd.

In the women's race, Northcliffe youngster Courtney Hancock was unlucky not to come away with a debut win after leading for most of the race only to be passed in the concluding stages of the final ski leg. At only 19, Courtney was content with her 2nd placing with club mate Elizabeth Pluimers finishing 3rd.

Other Northcliffe members to gain a top ten finish were Pierce Leonard (6th), Sheree Merryfull (7th), Matt Poole (8th), and Flora Manciet (10th).

Round 3 and 4 of the Nutri-Grain Series will be held at Coolum on the 16th & 17th February with the final round being held at Coogee on the 1st March.

Australian Team Honours

Congratulations to the following members who have been selected in the Australian Team for the International Challenge being held in Sydney at the end of the month:

Open Team:
Shannon Eckstein, Zane Holmes, Nick Crilly, Kristy Harris

U23 Team:
Pierce Leonard, Elizabeth Pluimers, Brooke Fletcher

Other Northcliffe Members selected to represent their home country teams are - Dan Moodie (NZ), Kendall Loots (SA) and Eloise Van Gysen (SA)