Over 1,100 competitors representing 20 clubs made the trek to beautiful Smiths Beach for the annual SunSmart Country Carnival held over the Australia Day long weekend.
Competition kicked off on Saturday with near perfect conditions for the Little Nippers and Nippers, with early comers greeted by the Smiths’ Beach resident dolphins who were checking out what all the fuss was about! Sorrento SLSC were out in force and dominated many of the events, however in the water it was Cottesloe’s Jackson Anderson showing he was a force to reckoned with as he took out the U13 surf and board races before joining forces with his club mates to also take out the U13 male cameron.
Australia Day Sunday was seniors day with another postcard perfect day on the beach and, as is their tradition, Swanbourne Nedlands athletes were out in force dressed like Super Mario.
City of Bunbury had an impressive day with their youth as young gun James Kiely (U15) kicked off the day’s events with a win in the all ages mixed 2km run, while club mates Tristan White and Noah Cartledge took first and third respectively in the U15 Ironman, with Trigg Island’s Liam Foley in second. The U14 Male Ironman came down to the wire as Fremantle’s Eben Prinsloo got the edge over City of Bunbury’s Joel Doddy, winning in the run up the beach.
The water events kicked off with twenty Ironman athletes on the line which was great to see. The North Cottesloe ski squad showed that they can also swim with Brendan Peters taking it out with a strong last ski leg ahead of club mates Kris Taylor and Tom Flower. In the open Ironwoman it was great to see Swanny take the win with Natalie Woolfitt first across the line ahead of Trigg Island’s Olivia Schou and Hannah Greenfield.
While there were many highlights in the racing it was great to see Max Campbell from Esperance-Goldfields win the U17 Male Beach Sprint then back it up with a second in the U17 Male Beach Flags.
Surf Boats raced in the middle of the bay and, whilst a bit of a trek to get there, it was a great stretch of beach which allowed for 5 lanes of racing. A small even swell provided fun racing for all crews and there was no surprise as North Cottesloe dominated in both the men’s and women’s divisions. The NC Boatmen continued the form which saw them selected as the A crew in the Western Suns Surf Boat Rowers Team with a strong performance and solid win over club mates Yeah the Boys (U23) while in the female boats North Cottesloe Riff Raff took the win in front of North Cottesloe First Ladies.
Big thanks to all the officials, led by Carnival Referee Justin Meldrum, for their work ensuring the 2020 SunSmart Country Carnival was a fun, well run event. Stay tuned for the location of the 2021 SunSmart Country Carnival.
