aussies2015 on beach newspaper issue2

TUESDAY APRIL 14, 2015 • SLS.COM.AU/AUSSIES #AUSSIES100

MASTERS OF THE

UNIVERSESURF LIFE SAVING GREATS

SHINE AT THE AUSSIES

PAUL COCHRANE

THEY call it tent city. And Ken Bird is the man

who built it.

“It feels good. I look out over the

venue and I’m really happy with how it’s

come together. There is a real sense of

achievement,” Ken said.

After nine years as the President of Surf

Life Saving Queensland, Ken took on the

venue manager role for The Aussies. This is

the fifth year he’s been in charge, but this one

is special for more personal reasons.

You see, in November last year, he was

diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was news

he didn’t see coming. He had surgery two

days after Christmas.

“My Christmas present this year was

getting the all-clear from the doc. That was

the greatest gift I could have received.”

Just a month later he was back at work,

piecing together The Aussies site.

“There is a lot of pre-planning that

goes into it but once that gets sorted it’s

all systems go. It’s a challenge to build it

and it can be quite stressful but it’s bloody

rewarding. I probably take criticism pretty

badly but I’m pretty proud of what we’ve

done,” he said.

It’s a four-week build with the help of a

small band of volunteers.

“We tailor-make it as we go along to

make it work. But the way I see it, I’m just

here to support the officials and give them

every chance.”

The Aussies wouldn’t be the same

without him.

MORGANA JONES

HE is The Aussies’ mononymous man. You

know, when one name is enough.

Sport has Pele. Music has Cher, Sting and

Madonna. The Aussies has Butch. And that’s

what he’s been known as on the beach at The

Aussies for more than 20 years.

“I am first on the water and last off.”

He has been working in water safety at all

major events since 1996 and has been a part

of Surf Life Saving since he was seven.

He began competing in IRBs, better known

as the Ducks and naturally moved on to using

his skills to keep other competitors safe.

“It is the best seat in the house, but I also

make sure I set up the best and fairest course

possible,” he said.

“I enjoy it. I come back because of the

friendships.”

And that’s the constant thread over the

years among The Ducks. One conversation

with them will guarantee you a laugh.

“We thrive off the banter, there is always

good banter,” On-Beach coordinator Roy

Anderson said.

Even if you’re not quite sure exactly who

you’re talking to!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY OF THE AUSSIES?

“Back in 1965 I won’t

forget when the

Victorians showed up with plastic decks in

their skis, and how the next year was a turning

point, with guidelines being set and an even

playing field started.”

“My favourite memory of

Aussies was probably last

year coming 3rd in the swim titles, of course

it’s great to be back here again.”

“I remember back when

the waves were huge,

it became a chance of

survival trying to avoid having to go over or

under any.”

“I remember back in

1989 when the ski relay got re-run twice due

to technicalities, and both times the same

team, Surfers Paradise took out Gold.”

JOHN NEWTONCURRUMBIN SLSC, QLD

BRYAN MAYNORTH BONDI SLSC, NSW

MARK EPPERMANLY SLSC, NSW

DEAN PARRYELOUERA SLSC, NSWJEREMY NORTONBURNIE SLSC TAS

1,000LITRES OF DIESEL PER DAY

LITRES OF PETROL PER DAY

45 MARQUEES

8 JET SKIS

12 4WD’S

SCAFFOLD TOWERS

2KILOMETRESOF FENCING

15 ATV’S

9 GENERATORS

33 DEMOUNTABLEBUILDINGS

THE AUSSIES 2015BY THE NUMBERSHE BUILT THIS CITY

It’s a four-week build with the help of a small band of volunteers.

Ken Bird

LIKE A DUCK TO WATER

LEFT : The Aussies 2015 Venue Manager Ken Bird.

LEFT: Butch living the life of a duck at The Aussies 2015.

I enjoy it. I come back because of the friendships.Butch

02 | The Aussies 2015 Tuesday April 14, 2015

AS winter approaches, the warmer

Queensland water is a welcome

relief for the Anglesea SLSC athletes

competing at The Aussies 2015.

Formed in 1952, with over 9000

members, this active Victorian club

also boasts some of Australia’s most

scenic views along the Great Ocean

Road and Surf Coast.

A strong contingent of green and

white striped caps are competing

across all three age categories at this

year’s championships.

The club atmosphere is a unique

one, with people from all over Victoria

coming together to form this great

club.

Wanda SLSC had the R&R team to beat back in the 80’s winning 4 successive Open 6 Man R&R’s with the same team from 1985 to 1988. The team consisted of G. Allum, G. Dyson, I. McGuinness, N. McGuinness, C.Wetherall, C.Ricketts and their instructor R.Sandstrom.

CLUB IN FOCUSANGELSEA SLSC, VICTORIA

DID YOUKNOW

ABOVE: Double gold medalist Wendy Reyntjes with a proud Fairhaven SLSC Team Manager.

APRIL CLARKE

AUSSIES legend Grant Kenny called

upon all his experience and ocean skill to

win yet another national championships

gold medal yesterday.

The surf sports great held a handy

lead through the ski, only to fall behind

North Bondi’s Scott Thomson on the

swim leg of the 50-54 Ironman event.

But his crucial, race-winning move

on the final wave of the board leg

catapulted him to victory.

“I’ve trained hard. I’ve been doing a

bit of travel. But it doesn’t hurt any less

being back here,” Kenny said.

“On that last wave I just got Scotty. I

pushed pretty hard at the ends and had

to chase him. It was a bit of a tactical

move. I knew where his board was mid

pack so he got the short turn, so I knew

exactly what ground I had to get there.”

Despite having his summer

hampered by a calf injury, Kenny

appeared untroubled through the

Ironman race. However, he almost

suffered a facial injury in his pursuit of

the gold.

“I nearly broke my nose on the back

of Scotty’s board there,” he said.

Almost fittingly, Kenny was among

the Masters winners as Surf Life Saving

celebrates the 100th anniversary of The

Aussies. This win coming 35 years after

his history-making double when he took

out the junior and senior Ironman titles

on the same day.

“It’s great to be a part of it this year.

There are so many good guys down

here. It’s good to reminisce and renew

those friendships.”

AUSSIES LEGEND DOES IT AGAIN

SUPER COOPER TO LIGHT UP DAY TWO

ABOVE : Ingilby Dickson, Masters competitor and proud representative of Angelsea SLSC.

MORGANA JONES

WENDY Reyntjes is the Victorian Supermum

who came to The Aussies and picked up

double gold.

In her debut as a Masters competitor, the

Whitehaven SLSC athlete started her day with

victory in the 40-44 Ski race.

“I wasn’t expecting that as I’m more used

to long distance races. It was so much fun out

there, I loved it,” Wendy said.

“I just won the Australian Ocean Racing

Series, so I am more used to 15 to 20 km

racing. I haven’t trained for this.”

By day’s end she had also added the

40-44 years Ironwoman national title to her

collection.

“I am a Mum, so the only reason I got to

come up from Victoria was because it just

happened to line up with school holidays,”

she said.

She’s glad she did now!

SUPER MUM’S AUSSIES ADVENTURE

IAN HANSON

THIRTY-FOUR years after his dramatic last

ditch win over Grant Kenny in the 1981

Australian Junior Ironman final, Russell

Cooper will team up with his arch rival in the

famous Alexandra Headlands cap on day two

of the Masters today.

Cooper, racing for his beloved Cronulla,

was the man who stopped Kenny from

repeating his historic 1980 Junior-Senior

Ironman double.

A Virgin pilot, based in Brisbane, Cooper

joined Alexandra Headland this season to

complete a 150 years “dream team”

single ski relay with Kenny and club coach

Jeff Lemarseny.

Kenny, after stints with Mooloolaba and

Noosa has returned to “Alex” to compete with

son Jett, a fitting return to the club where his

father Hayden became a legendary figure.

Kenny welcomed Russell into the club

yesterday saying: “It’s great to come to the

Aussies and relive past races and stories and it’s

great to have Russell join the club after all these

years. Teams events are always a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile Northcliffe trio - multiple gold

medallists Anna Ballara, Lee Vrolyks and Tiarne

Smith will also be striving to add to their medal

tallies in the 110 years single ski relay.

Ballara, despite a hamstring injury and

a bulging disk finished sixth in the 45-49

years female single ski while Vrolyks claimed

bronze in the 30-34 event with Smith also

claiming bronze in the same event in the

35-39 age group.

It’s great to come to the Aussies and relive past races and stories.

sls.com.au/aussies • #Aussies100 The Aussies 2015 | 03

RIGHT : Off and running in the board Final.

RIGHT : North Manly SLSC in the 50-54s Single Ski Race.

FAR RIGHT : Cudgen Headland SLSC, Kurrawa SLSC and Swansea Belmont SLSC Women Competitors.

LEFT : Lee Vrolyks from Northcliffe SLSC in 30-34 Womens Single Ski Race.

LEFT : Ken Cook from Urunga SLSC in 70+ Surf Race.


RIGHT : Coogee NSW SLSC in Womens Sprints.

ABOVE : Surf Life Saving Australia Referee, Andrew Buhk.

FAR LEFT : Tweed Heads & Coolangatta SLSC in Board Race.

LEFT : Womens Board Race with Maroochydore SLSC and Manly SLSC.

LEFT : Rainbow Bay SLSC.

LEFT : North Kirra SLSC starting Womens Surf Race.

Championship photos available at harvpix.com


WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE AUSSIES

“I love how here at the

Masters everyone shows

up with a different ability, some are serious

competitors, some are here for the laugh and

then there are us who show up for the holiday

and beers.”

“I love the atmosphere

here, seeing all the colours, the mix of people,

ages, the culture here at the beach, it’s my

first year as an official and I will definitely be

back for more!”

“I love being down here

supporting Dad on the

beach, but also then reversing the roles

and having Dad here to cheer me on when I

compete.”

“I love how here at The

Aussies we have the opportunity to compete

against people from all around Australia, plus

a few days off work isn’t too bad.”

TONY SHEPPARD & JAMES GILTINANCOOGEE SLSC, WA

ANNA MICKAE – OFFICIALCOLLAROY SLSC, NSW

ANAIS LOUBETCOOLANGATTA SLSC, QLD

SCOTT BRYDSON & CRAIG STRINGERKAWANA SLSC, QLD

What advice can you give the athletes this year?

Organisation is key. Making sure you have your bags packed the night

before is something I was always taught to do. It helps make things easier

for the next day, especially as The Aussies can be a very stressful week.

What do you enjoy about being an Athlete Ambassador?

I think it is a fantastic opportunity for me to be involved with the kids. It’s

also great to reminisce from when I was their age. It’s a super fun event and

I’m proud to be a part of it.

What does The Aussies mean to you?

I love The Aussies because it’s just a great family-based event, and when I

say family I mean more than just Mum and Dad. I mean how your whole club

becomes your extended family. I will never forget competing with my younger

sister, Bonnie, especially when we won the open board relay together.

COURTNEY HANCOCKIRONWOMAN, AMBASSADOR AND COOL ANGATTA GOLD WINNER

IAN HANSON

AFTER a lifetime of competition that netted

him a total of 16 Aussies gold medals, North

Cronulla’s SLSA Hall of Famer Steve Warren is

now a proud grandfather.

When he returned to the Masters

competition yesterday after a five-year lay off,

granddaughters, four-year-old twins Andie

and Montana and 15 month old Lila were front

and centre cheering him on.

“The kids have never seen me race before

so it was nice to put the cap on again and have

a paddle,” said Warren, regarded as one of

Australia’s greatest ever board paddlers.

“I’m coaching the kids down at North

Cronulla and we decided to come up and have

a float in the board events and have a bit of fun

with old mates Stu Cameron and Ian Wallace.”

Warren pulled out all stops to take a

closely fought win in the 60 years board race

over Tasmanian legend Don Marsh (Carlton

Park) and Rod Taylor (Mooloolaba).

He later combined with Cameron to

take the bronze in the board rescue won by

Maroochydore pair Geoff Dews and Ross Fisher.

MORGANA JONES

AFTER years spent coaching and driving

around the under-18 High Performance

competitors from Mindil and Darwin SLSC’s,

Wayne McMahon decided it was time to give

it a go himself.

“I have been taking the young guys to

competition for ages and decided I wanted to

compete at Aussies too,” Wayne said.

To get here, it’s been quite a trek. Three

days in fact. Plenty of time for Wayne to think

about his Aussies debut.

“It was great out there, I don’t mind being at

the back of field, I enjoyed the race,” he said.

He’ll be back in action today in the 45-49

Double Ski race with Anthony Snelling.

“We are the only two guys from Darwin who

wanted to come down here, so we thought we

would make a team and give it a go.”

As a coach he is excited to see the young

competitors from Northern Territory compete

in the under-17 and 18 Ironman races.

“They have been training with Noosa

for the past few months to improve and get

better competition, so I hope they will be

future Ironmen and women. Darwin doesn’t

get many.”

DESERT TREK TO THE GOLD COAST

ABOVE : After coaching for years Wayne McMahon has been itching to compete himself.

LEFT : Board legend Steve Warren with his three granddaugh-ters.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD


1962 was the first time ever that The Aussies went to compete in the antarctic cold waters of Tasmania. That year the carnival was spilt between Carlton-Hobart and West Beach Burnie. It must have been a shock for the guys from NT.

DID YOUKNOW

JACQUELINE GREEN

HE was out of breath and crouched

on the finish line but Ken Cook is

adamant age hasn’t wearied him in

the slightest.

“I train every day and I love what

I do,” Ken said, just two months out

from his 76th birthday.

The Woolgoola SLSC member has

been a Surf Lifesaver for around 60

years and has been a regular at The

Aussies along the way.

Yesterday he once again won gold

in the swim from the over 70’s.

“That race was tough, having to

swim all the way in from the buoys”,

he said.

He beat home Robert Watkins

from Cottesloe SLSC and Bill Phillips

from Whale Beach.

JACQUELINE GREEN

FOR someone who “hadn’t touched a

board until the age of 52”, Philomena

Pettit has certainly made her mark on

The Aussies.

She is a long way from home this

week but the trip from Coogee SLSC

has been worth it for the modest

mother of two, winning the 55-59

Female board race.

“Finally, with hard work at training

and patience, I am seeing the results

and this win marks the trifecta for

me,” she said.

It was pretty convincing too,

powering home to win by half a

beach ahead of Noosa Heads rival

Georgiana Lynch.

“I just got the lucky wave,” she said.

“I feel so fortunate to be a

part of such a lovely community,

surrounded by the awesome athletes

here at The Aussies.”

SOMETIMES winning isn’t everything. Just

ask 76-year-old George Fowler, the oldest

competitor in the Beach Sprints at The

Aussies 2015.

In front of a vocal cheer squad of two, his

daughter and granddaughter, the Bonnie Hills

SLSC veteran lined up in the field of eight for

the 70 years and over dash down the straight.

Just being on the start line was a triumph

in itself. Finishing fifth was a bonus.

“The legs are a bit rusty, but nothings

stopping me getting to the line,” George said.

Sometimes though, you’ve got to watch

out for those young blokes. John McNamee

from Clovelly SLSC won it ahead of Glen

Wilson from Mooloolaba. Two years ago, John

was in the 65-69 years age bracket.

“Of course the winner was younger than

me,” Glen joked.

“Once you get over 70, every year on

makes a difference,” George lamented. “But

it’s all a bit of fun with the old blokes.”

HATS off to Dwayne Thuys who has paid his

own tribute to the 100 year anniversary of the

first Aussies.

The 51 year old was wearing his original

Surfers Paradise SLSC cap on the

beach yesterday.

That cap is 35 years old. Old enough to

compete in the Masters itself!

JACQUELINE GREEN

THE streak continues for Newport SLSC’s

Ted Smithies. He’s made it 14 from 14 in the

beach sprint. Yes, you read that right. In his

past 14 visits to The Aussies, Ted has won the

sprint - every single year.

It was put on hold temporarily last year

when he didn’t attend The Aussies in Perth,

but he was back to his dominant best in the

60-64 category yesterday.

He paid tribute to his coach Martin Lynch,

who just so happened to be in the same race!

“The sand is very soft, but I managed to

get a good lead and I couldn’t run this fast

without him,” says Ted.

It’s an incredible effort considering he

initially took up beach sprinting after being

asked to run in a ‘parent race’.

TED TOO MUCH TO BEAR

LEFT : Ted Smithies makes it 14 from 14 beating his coach Martin Lynch to the finish line.

ABOVE : 76 year old George Fowler running in the beach sprints.

IF THE CAP FITS

KEN COOKS HIS COMPETITORS

PETTIT A GIANT OF THE SURF

I train every day and I love what I do.Ken Cook

The sand is very soft, but I managed to get a good lead and I couldn’t run this fast without him.Ted Smithies

FOWLER NO SHRINKING VIOLET

APRIL CLARKE


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Great to see brother Kurt in cracking

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#AUSSIES100 PICS OF THE DAY

ON BEACH PRODUCTION TEAM: Paul Cochrane, Elyce Behrsin, April Clarke, Morgana Jones, Jacqueline Green (SLSA Media Team); Tom Parsons (SLSA Design); Ian Hanson; Harvie Allison, Kate Czerny, Shanta Allison (Harvpix.com).


aussies2015 on beach newspaper issue2

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