CHAMPS: Noosa Heads' reserve women's crew. Contributed
Noosa Heads crews in form ahead of Aussie championships
by Steele Taylor
2nd Mar 2019 5:30 AM
SURF BOATS: Noosa Heads boat captain Anthony Fox expects a selection of their crews to be pushing for victory at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast next month.
The club's boat ranks have ballooned from six to 11 teams this season, when they've made an impact at major meetings. One of their outfits, the Chums, won the reserve women's division at the Australian Surf Rowers League Open at Cronulla last month.
"They got first out of 40 of the best crews in Australia," Fox said.
"They're a good strong crew, who switched from still water to surf at the start of last season and they're continuing to grow and hopefully they'll be an open women's crew next season."
The Chums, consisting of Rachel Reiser, Erin Smith, Phoebe Childs, Sophie Gruhl and swept by Dave Tomba, essentially led from start to finish in the final at the ASRL Open.
But Fox believes they should be in even better shape for the national championships.
"We expect the Chums to do very well and to keep improving on their performance from the ASRL."
And he expects the Scrub Turkeys and Spangled Drongos to be in contention for national titles, in the under-19 female division.
All of Noosa Heads' crews are expected to compete in round three of the BP Wessel Classic at Mudjimba on Saturday.
"It's going to be messing ... I think it will be pretty spectacular," Fox said.
"They're saying 2-3m peaks and if that's the case there will be plenty of boating action.
"You'll see the best crews in Queensland running around as a warm-up to the state championships. These carnivals are good stepping stones, to see how they're travelling."
Fox said Noosa Heads had experienced a growth in the ranks of their surf boats crews on the back of their success last season, along with a strong focus on promotion.
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