National Teams from 44 countries are fighting it out to be crowned World Champions in ocean, pool and beach events until Sunday with the defending champions Australia the ones to beat in both Youth and Opens.
Craig Holden, Australian Team Youth Coach says the Australian Teams can’t wait to get out and compete in front of a patriotic home crowd.
“The team is looking fantastic, they’re feeling really good as well. We’ve been together since last Thursday, so it’s been a long preparation but I think it’s worthwhile because it’s really helped us develop that closeness and bond that we’re looking for with the team. We’re very excited, the team can’t wait to start racing and they’re ready to rip into the ocean tomorrow after SERC today.”
“We’re very lucky with our youth team in that we have two experienced leaders, Jasmine Rayward and Riley Brennan who are guiding their younger teammates. We have some really young members, 15-16 year olds so we have a very young team but they can learn from those who have done it all before.”
“Everyone from our Australian Team are frothing to be at Kurrawa Beach. We’re used to being here in the past with so many prior Australian Championships, so everyone is really looking forward to it. We’re hoping for a bit more surf than what’s on offer at the moment but I think for a World Championships it is probably perfect to allow an even playing field.”
“Being a home World Championships it’s great to have the local support but I have this feeling inside of my head that it’s always harder to win a World Championships at home, so we know the competition will be fierce, we know we have targets on our head. We’re the first nation to win the Youth National Teams and the Open National Teams at the same Championships [back in 2022] so we’d love to do that again on home soil, but we know it will be extremely tough and we’re certainly not underestimating the competition.”
Paul Lynch, South Africa Team Manager says they are confident of a good showing here on the Gold Coast.
“We have the full Youth and Senior Team here, so 24 athletes. It is a young team with some very talented kids and very confident, but you know the youth of today they believe they are indestructible, so we are very positive and we have a great vibe in the team at the moment. We have some expectations; we know the main opposition is obviously Australia and New Zealand, but we are fairly confident that we are going to shake and rattle a few cages this time.”
“It’s always difficult to pick six people for all three disciplines but I think in South Africa we are fortunate now; a lot of the pool people are becoming surf people and vice versa so we have a balanced team. The water is great, in South Africa a lot of our competitors come from Cape Town so the water is 12-13 degrees, so they are loving it here. We want surf – the Aussies and New Zealanders do too but you make what you can with what you have.”
Tanya Hamilton, Lifesaving NZ High Performance Manager says the Kiwis have prepared well and are ready to fire against their Trans Tasman rivals.
“The preparation started after the last World Championships in Italy; we did a good assessment of how things went last time round and the teams have prepared well, and we’ve had comments from those in prior teams who have said this is best prepared we’ve ever been so we’re hoping that will translate when it comes to competition.”
“We’re hoping to get a good spread of podiums across the teams, we’ve got a lot of strength within the team in the Pool Rescue, we’ve had some great results recently even at AUSSIES and also on the beach we have some great sprinters, and our ocean guys are really strong as well.”
“We’re one of the countries that has good surf conditions and lots to practice in. Our athletes will take whatever comes [with the conditions] they’re pretty excited. We’re all focused on ourselves and what we need to do and I think that the Trans-Tasman rivalry has existed for a long time and it’s a lot fun and it gives another level of determination especially coming and competing in Australia, but we are focused on what we’re doing and not worrying too much about what we can’t control.”
Tom McGibeny, USA National Team Manager says their athletes are thrilled to come to Australia because of the class it brings to the surf racing field.
“You know the surf clubs’, the skis, boards everywhere, It’s fun to be in that arena and see what surf lifesaving and surf racing is like in Australia.”
“I think we will go relatively well, our strengths between the pool vs the beach certainly align more to the beach, and we’ve got a few veterans there who have had some pretty good results in the past. We do feel like we’re better poised for the pool than some prior years with some of our new younger competitors that have put in some pretty good pool times. Some of those events it’s easy to fumble part of the transition or an exchange or a clip of the tube and suddenly, your race is over. I think if we go well, we’re in a good spot to do well with the athletes we’ve got.”
“Getting on a podium would be great, and I think we have some chances with a swim here and there and some team events. That’s typically where we have had success in the past so if we can do that, we’d be pretty happy.”
The International Teams competition of the Lifesaving World Championships kicks off at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 28 August with Open and Youth Teams going head-to-head in the simulated emergency response competition (SERC) which challenges the emergency response, rescue skills and initiative of lifesavers in a staged emergency situation that is unknown to the competitors before they enter the pool area.
The competition then turn its attention to ocean, beach and pool rescue events from Thursday 29 August to Sunday 1 September.
The Lifesaving World Championships is supported by Experience Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
