Fifty-nine surf boat crews from Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales competed at the National Team Selection Event (NTSE) at Ocean Beach, NSW, with the top crews earning the honour of representing Australia at Waihi Beach, New Zealand in 2025.
The Australian Surf Boat Team will be represented by back-to-back representatives, Currumbin Cockatoos (Open Women) and Bulli Gold (Open Men), who were successful in the Open Women and Open Male competitions at the NTSE. Both Open crews were victorious in seven out of eight races.
The Australian Development Surf Boat Team will be represented by Newport Stingers (U23 Women), who were undefeated in all eight races, and South Curl Curl Burley (U23 Men).
Newport's U23 Female team, the 'Stingers', are Alani Barros, Zoe Ellis, Ella Gale, April McCarney and Michael King – Sweep.
This is the second time in recent years a crew from Newport SLSC has represented Australia in the Trans Tasman in New Zealand and on the waters off Waihi Beach. In 2017 the Newport 'Pistol Shrimps', which included Michael's then 19 year old daughter Zoe, along with Under 23 2017 Trans-Tasman Representatives Celestine May, Katy Hulton, Piret May and Michael King.
Following on from that Newport's Under 23's Newport 'Thunder' took Gold at Aussies over successive years.
Newport Thunder were crowned Australian Champions 2021 too.
Sweep Michael King said then:
''Newport Thunder are now back to back Australian U23 womens surfboat champions, reinforcing their 2019 win with a powerful performance at Alexandra Heads last Saturday. The crew were also part of the winning Lifesaver Relay team.
The season has been disrupted with Covid lockdowns and injury, but the crew showed resilience and unwavering self belief to overcome a red hot final.
Instead of starting the season post SNB lockdown at Manly carnival in January, the crew had to withdraw as bow, Ellie Clubb, making sandwiches the night before, dropped a knife and stabbed her foot. Three weeks later and all healed, the crew had their first race together at Ocean Thunder, Ellie jumped out of the boat and broke her ankle. After a frantic search, Ella Smith (Bilgola) joined Tara Doyle, Abby Ballesty and Claudia Harris in the boat.
In the U23 final, by the last one hundred metres it was between Newport, Dicky Beach (Qld) and the always strong Palm Beach Panthers. Newport had the gas to take it up a notch and crossed the line a length clear.''
This year's edition of the Trans-Tasman Surf Boat Test will be held alongside the North Island Championships on Saturday 8 February 2025. Waihi Beach is a coastal town at the western end of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. It lies 10 kilometres to the east of the town of Waihi, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula. The main beach is 10 kilometres long.
We'll all be looking east this coming Saturday, February 8th, - willing on South Curly and Newport's girls.
The weekend after that the BIG event in the annual surf boat calendar of carnivals takes place - the Australian Surf Rowers League Open - this year to be held at be held in the picturesque coastal city of Coffs Harbour, NSW, from the 13th to the 16th of February. Teams from across the peninsula, and across Australia, will head to Coffs.
This weekend crews representing Sydney Northern Beaches Boat Series are taking part in the 2025 NSW Surf Boat Metropolitan, Regional & Interseries Championships at Ocean Beach, Umina. Results in so far from Surf Life Saving NSW are Palm Beach showed its strength in the women’s categories once again with wins in the U19 Metro, U23 Metro and Open Female.
Last weekend they were all having a great time at the annual 'Weekend at the Roy' (Collaroy) where the Newport Stingers again came in in first place.
Over December 29 2024 to January 4 2025 a crew from Avalon Beach SLSC and crews from Long Reef and North Steyne took part in the 50th anniversary year of the George Bass Surf Marathon, the World's longest and toughest Surf boat and ski marathon; 190 Kilometres over 7 days along the NSW South Coast from Batemans Bay to Eden.
Although it's a full calendar for local surf club boat crews, and many commence training in mid-winter, these carnivals are opportunities to finesse form as everyone heads into the what they want to be in form for over the finals weeks of the surf sports Season - the Open, States, and Aussies - and the chance and privilege to represent your country, state, branch, and ultimately, your surf club and community.
Pittwater Online spoke to Michael King, Sweep of the Stingers, who has coached Newport crews to victories in local, state and Australian titles for over 50 years and still has a great passion for everything being part of a surf boat crew gives you.
Waihi Beach is the same location Newport SLSC Rowers competed on when you were part of the Australian team in 2017 – what’s it like to row there?
It’s a beautiful beach and place. Waihi reminds me of a mid-north coastal town in the 1970’s. it’s surrounded by National Park, nothing is over-developed, there’s a caravan park, a motel and a couple of shops and is just the most delightful spot.
The Newport crew has also secured representing NSW in the Interstate competition at the ASRL Open on Friday February 14. That will be a BIG week for Newport?
Yes, it is. We’ll get home Monday night from New Zealand and then on the Thursday we’ll be driving up to Coffs. It will be like being professional athletes – although now that I have retired, I am a full-time athlete.
How many teams in surf boats at Newport this Season?
We have two crews, the Under 23 girls, the Stingers, and the Reserve girls, the Swordfish, but the Ressie girls due to work and other commitments can’t go to the ASRL Open this year. They have been rowing well across the carnivals and have just missed out on the finals a few times.
Newport’s Under 23 girls have done phenomenally well in recent years – they’re either talking gold at the Australian Nationals (the Aussies) along with scooping the ocean in local carnivals or representing in the Trans-Tasman – where does that come from?
We’ve had a bit of a gold run in recent years. As you pointed out, we’ve taken two gold medals at Aussies and a second, and the only reason they didn’t get an opportunity to win another one was because of Covid.
So we’ve had two Australian representatives runs and three State representative runs, but it comes down to the girls really.
This crew did well in their first year rowing together 2 years ago, they got 2nd in the Under 19’s, and then a silver as well at Aussies in Perth. Then they had a new girl come in last year as one of the girls was doing around 5 sports and couldn’t commit. They’re all great friends and have known each since school – they all went to Brigidine. So they all went through school together, and have remained good mates. Crews are all good friends anyway but they had bonded before they took up rowing and have only become better at working together for their results.
Last year they were going really well, and just missed out on State selection, and then one of the girls had a car accident and although she wasn’t badly injured had to miss the Season and then another had an injury, so that their 2023-2024 Season was disrupted.
By the middle of 2024 their injuries were healed and we got together and started planning. They got in the boat and in the gym. They are all smart girls too – some are working, one is an Apprentice Plumber, and she loves it, and some are at Uni – and they’re just great kids really, so they just work well together. Because they went through school together the parents also know each other, and are all really nice people as well – so it’s a really nice group and a privilege to be able to work with them.
There’s been a fair amount of travelling involved in getting to represent this Season – you have had to go up to Ocean Beach for one lot of the trials – and will head north for Aussies again this Season. What’s involved in getting organised for all the away carnivals – do you have to organise accommodation and how is it all paid for?
As the girls are keen to do all the carnivals we have been travelling a bit and will do so until the end of the Season, with Aussies in Queensland. Ocean Beach was easy as one of the girls grandparents lives up that way, so we were fortunate to stay there.
The girls also organise fundraisers to cover costs – even when they were under 19’s and going to Perth the girls organised a trivia night, and they have done so again this year. Last year they did another one with the Open women. Everyone had a good time and we raised some money as well to defray the expenses incurred in travelling and representing.
Will you be taking the Newport boat up to Aussies?
Yes – it’s actually not as far and long now with the new road. When we went up to Maroochydore it took us 12 hours – and that wasn’t flogging it – we just took it easy and had plenty of stops and enjoyed the journey. So it’s not that bad a trip – I’ll be towing the boat up again this year and I’m sure we’ll enjoy it again.
Your involvement with the sport of surf boast goes back several decades – didn't it commence with your dad Bert, who was also passionate about surf boats?
Yes, I started rowing surf boats when I was 15. I had some friends from school and we started rowing. I got the bug and it has gone on from there, I’ve stuck with it.
My first Aussies rowing was 1972.
That’s 52 years of Aussies!?
It doesn’t seem that long.
Do you dream about being in surf boats?
It wouldn’t surprise me if I do. No, seriously, I can’t say I dream about being in the surf boat – but I do love it, it’s a great sport and I count myself as extremely fortunate to be able to still be doing it and to have had that connection not just with this crew of people but all whom I’ve met over the years.
I think I've been very lucky getting to know and share experiences with all these young people, and especially having been able to spend time with my son and daughter sharing a passion for the surf boats and this sport, as they both rowed. To be able to do that and to be fortunate to have learnt stuff from them as well, has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.
The other thing is I’ve got to stay fit, as fit as I can, in order to keep doing it. If I don’t make the effort to keep fit and strong and healthy then I’m letting myself down and letting them down, and that will shorten my time playing in surf boats.
It’s a highlight just to be on the water and out on the boat. Being out there and seeing things you don’t normally see is great – we see penguins, sharks, whales – so that is definitely one of the highlights.
One of the competition highlights was doing well in the World Masters with my wife. Another would be when my son and I came 3rd in the Australian Championships in the Under 19’s.
A third would be being involved in Surf Life Saving and the surfboats where you can pretty much rock up to any beach in Australia and know someone.
What are you looking forward to – with the BIG carnivals for the rest of the Season coming up; the Trans-Tasman, the ASRL Open, States then Aussies - ?
We set some goals and we’ve achieved two of them, and we’re not going to say ‘that’ll do’ for the Season – but it’s a pretty good lead into what else may come.
Obviously we’ll be doing what we can, and this is a good opportunity for us to contribute to Newport’s points score at Aussies, which is important.
I also look forward to catching up with people I’ve seen for years at Aussies, those that are part of surf clubs far from here. I was chatting to a bloke who was of the officials for North Cronulla’s carnival just a few weeks back and we rowed against each other in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. So it’s lovely to catch up with people.
Over the last weekend we were at North Steyne for a carnival and that seems to be the place to run into people, probably because a lot of people get down to Manly over Summer. Just walking along the promenade I caught up with around half a dozen of my old rowers who happened to be down there walking the dog or going for a run – so it’s a sport that makes you mates for life.
What is you favourite place/s in Pittwater and why?
The little beach just inside Longnose Point, it’s gorgeous. When I was going out on dad’s boat we would go in there to hide form the nor’easter. As I kid I loved climbing up the creek and the waterfall through there.
I take every opportunity when we’re out rowing to stop in there for a little break - it’s a beautiful place.
What is your ‘motto for life’ or a favourite phrase you try to live by?
Be nice to everyone.
If everyone did that we wouldn’t have too many problems. When you break every religion down to its most basic message that message is ‘be nice to each other’!
It’s not hard, is it?
