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)

Rescue 2010

Congratulations to all the BMD Northcliffe athletes that competed at Rescue 2010 World Surf Life Saving Championships representing the club as well as their National Teams. In the National Teams, Shannon Eckstein & Kristyl Smith representing Australia, cleaned up both claiming their respective Ironperson titles. Kristyl also added a gold in the Board Race, Rescue Tube Rescue & Taplin Relay and 4 silvers in the Surf Race, Ski Race, Board Rescue and 4 x 50m Obstacles Relay and a Bronze in the Beach Realy. Shannon also took gold in the Surf Race, Board Rescue and SERC event as well as silver in the Taplin Relay. Dan Moodie won Gold in the Male Board Race representing NZ and also teamed with fellow BMD Northcliffe Kiwi clubmate Kevin Morrison in the winning NZ Taplin Relay team. Dan also picked up 4 silvers in the Ironman, 4 x 50m Obstacles Relay, 4 x 50m Medley Relay and the Beach Relay. Kev picked up another 2 silvers in the Rescue Tube Rescue & Beach Relay. Flora Manciet won gold in the female Board Rescue event representing France as well as a silver in Board Race and a Bronze in the Ski Race.

In the Interclub Competition, Shannon & Kristyl cleaned up again ,both winning their individual Surf Race, Board Race and Ironperson titles. Kristyl also partnered with Flora Manciet to take out the Board Rescue Title and Shannon teamed up with Dan Moodie, Kev Morrison & Steve Fry to take out the Taplin Relay. Shannon and Dan took silver in the Board Rescue and Flora Manciet picked up a silver in the Ski Race.

In the Masters events Steve Fry won gold in the 50-54 Male Surf Race and a silver in the 50-54 200m Obstacles.

For all of BMD Northcliffe Results Click Here.

To visit the Rescue 2010 Website Click Here.

2010 BMD Northcliffe Dolphin Ocean Classic

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the 10th Annual BMD Northcliffe Dolphin Ocean Classic on the weekend. Unfortunately, due to terrible surf conditions, Officials were forced to shorten  the distance of most of the events. 

In the Open Male Ski it was BMD Northcliffe's Zane Holmes that took out the event convinsingly, proving he is back to full fitness after a season off. In the Open Female Ski, defending Coolangatta Gold Champion, Alicia Marriott from Mooloolaba had a win ahead of BMD Northcliffe's Courtney Hancock and Mooloolaba's Gemma Newbiggin.

In the Open Male Board, Tugun's Hugh Dougherty took the winners cheque with BMD Northcliffe's Elizabeth Pluimers taking home the womens event. Mooloolaba's Josh Minogue won the Open Male Swim and Danielle De Francesco claimed a win in the womens event.

The addition of a Dash for Cash event for ski and board paddlers made for some excitement at the end of the day with Cam Gordon and Sheree Merryfull claiming the cash in the ski events while two youngsters Zach Orchard and Jordan Mercer beat their more fancied rivals in Open Board Dash for Cash.

For a full list of results in all age groups click here.

2010/11 KELLOGG'S NUTRI-GRAIN SERIES TRIALS

It was all smiles from BMD Northcliffe's Harriet Brown and Bonnie Hancock as they crossed the line together in first place in the final of the KNG Trial race yesterday. After three gruelling 45 minute races held over the weekend in testing surf conditions, the result safely secured both girls a spot in the 2010/11 Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series which kicks off in November. There were 10 spots up for grabs from yesterday's final with Terri Sullivan also gaining a spot in 10th place. Sheree Merryfull (12th), Casey Leo-Litzow (14th) and Tatum Lawler (15th) will have a nervous wait to see if they pick up one of the 6 wildcards up for grabs.

In the mens race, BMD Northcliffe's Cory Hill and Michael Booth had a great start and were equal leaders after the first ski leg but unfortunately were hit by a set going out in the second ski leg which allowed the rest of the field to catch them.

The selected trialists and wilcards will join automatic qualifiers from last year - Shannon Eckstein, Elizabeth Pluimers, Kristyl Smith and Courtney Hancock. Zane Holmes and Pierce Leonard have already picked up two of the male wildcards on offer after having operations on injuries during the off season. Dean Mercer and Caine Eckstein will also join the list of wishful wildcards.

Round 1 of the KNG Series will be held at Currumbin on the 21 November.

For more information on the 2010/11 series go to http://surfironmanseries.com/.

2010 BMD Northcliffe Dolphin Ocean Classic

http://www.dolphinoceanclassic.com/

New Gaming Promo - Cash Tornado

Come and check out the new gaming promo - "CASH TORNADO!"

• Play any gaming machine on any day to go in the draw to win a key
  

• Daily Draws to win a key

• You don't have to be here to win your key
  

• Win a key and come back on Sunday to see if your key opens the padlock

• If it does, step into the tornado booth and grabs as much cash as you can! *

The cash tornado goes off every Sunday at 4pm!!!

* terms and conditions apply

Australian Teams Announced

Congratulations to Shannon Eckstein and Kristyl Smith who have just been named in the Australian Team to compete in Alexandria, Egypt, at the World Surf Life Saving Championships to be held later this year. Shannon Eckstein has also been given the honour of captaining the team.

Notable exclusions from the Australian team were BMD Northcliffe's Dev Lahey and Elizabeth Pluimers who both performed very well at the recent Australian Pool Rescue Championships.

Other BMD Members that have been selected to compete for their countries at the championships include Daniel Moodie & Kevin Morrison (New Zealand), Flora Manciet, Jon Desperges and Julien Lalanne (France).

Congratulations also to Bonnie Hancock, Michael Booth & Harriet Brown who made the Australian Under 21 Development Team who will be heading to Japan later in the year. BMD Northcliffe's Daniel Norton-Smith was also named the coach of the Under 21 team. BMD Northcliffe's Lachlan Feather also made the Australian Under 21 Development Team heading to New Zealand to compete in a Pool Rescue Competition in October.

Well Done Everyone!

2010 Australian Pool Rescue Championships

BMD Northcliffe Surf Club took out the overall pointscore at the recent Australian Pool Rescue Championships held in Melbourne on 5 & 6 June, 2010.

Impressive performances from Dev Lahey, Kristyl Smith, Elizabeth Pluimers and young guns Lachlan Feather and Jordan Harrison helped seal the unexpected victory with only a small team travelling down to Melbourne for the event.

Congratulations to all of our members who braved the cold of an outdoor pool in Melbourne in June!

For all of the results from the 2010 Australian Pool Rescue Championships click here.

2010 Clubs QLD Achievement Awards

BMD Northcliffe Surf Life Saving Supporters Club was named QLD's Best Surf Life Saving Supporters Club for the 3rd time in a row at the recent Clubs QLD Achievement Awards.

We also took out Best Club on the Gold Coast for the first time.

Well done to all the Management and staff for this fantastic achiement!

OUR VICTORIOUS MASTERS TAKE THE CROWN AGAIN!!!

The BMD Northcliffe Masters dominated competition in testing conditions at the 2010 Australian Championships winning the overall champion club title by over 100 points! It was BMD Northcliffe's 14th win from the past 16 championships - A very impressive record.

Tiarne Smith, living up to the "Smith Family" reputation, was the stand out performer in her debut as a Master, claiming 6 Gold and 2 Silver Medals. Gavin Hill and Stephen Fry both won two gold each.

For all BMD Northcliffe Masters Results click here.

For more information on the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships go the Aussies Website here.

KELLOGG'S NUTRI-GRAIN SERIES FINAL

Shannon Eckstein continued his domination of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman Series with a thrilling sprint finish victory in Round 5 at North Cronulla on the weekend. The race win secured the overall series crown for the 5th time with an impressive 4 wins from 5 starts this season. Club mate, Nathan Smith, who will retire from Ironman Competition at the end of the season, had a great race placing 4th with Pierce Leonard in 7th.

In the women's race, Elizabeth Pluimers claimed her second win of the series in a BMD Northcliffe trifecta with Kristyl Smith in 2nd place and Courtney Hancock in 3rd. Unfortunately the win wasn't enough to claim the overall series pointscore, finishing in 2nd behind Mooloolaba's Alicia Marriott.




Overall Series Pointscore:

Male
1st - Shannon Eckstein
7th - Nathan Smith
8th - Pierce Leonard

Female
2nd - Elizabeth Pluimers
4th - Kristyl Smith
6th - Courtney Hancock

For all the series results in full click here.


Photos courtesy of Harvie Allison Photography

Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series

After 4 rounds of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series completed, Shannon Eckstein looks set to defend his Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman Series title. Shannon won the opening two rounds at Kurrawa, placed 2nd in Round 3 and then claimed victory once again in Round 4 in big surf at Alexandra Headlands. Shannon sits on top of the leader board 6 points clear of his nearest rival.

In the women's field, Kristyl Smith took the overall lead after round 3 where she claimed her first race win of the series. Unfortunately her reign at the top of the table was short lived after losing her ski in the final leg of Round 4 and finished in 18th place. Clubmate, Elizabeth Pluimers, claimed victory in Round 4 for her first race win of the series. Elizabeth is the highest ranked BMD Northcliffe in 4th place with Courtney in 5th and Kristyl now relegated to 6th place.


The 5th and final round, the "eliminator", will be held at North Cronulla on Sunday 21 February with double points on offer.

BMD Northcliffe Athletes Progressive pointscore (after 4 rounds)

Male
1st Shannon Eckstein
7th Pierce Leonard
8th Nathan Smith
11th Cory Hill

16th Daniel Moodie

21st Cameron Gordon (wild card)

Female
4th Elizabeth Pluimers
5th Courtney Hancock
6th Kristyl Smith
8th Terri Sullivan
9th Bonnie Hancock
13th Flora Manciet
16th Sheree Merryfull
18th Harriet Brown (wild card)
19th Katie Graham
20th Casey Leo-Litzow (wild card)
21st Jessica Walker (wild card)

For more information on this years Kellogg's Ironman Series click here.