[author]Albert Elzinga[/author]
Beach erosion, which this year threatened the stability of Cudgen Headland’s clubhouse, prompted a change of venue for last weekend’s annual Cudgen Classic ‘Ironperson’ event for junior lifesavers.
The event drew hundreds of Australia’s best young ironmen and -women to the troubled sands of Kingscliff.
But the lack of usable beach near the club prompted the event’s water referee to change the competition’s location to a stretch of sand some 2km north of the planned competition arena.
However, the change of location did nothing to dampen the competitive spirit of the junior ‘ironpersons’ who battled it out over a course consisting of a 500-metre swim, an 800-metre board paddle and 500-metre sand run.
Participants also competed in ‘cameron relays’ which saw the various legs divided between four young ironpersons and proved to be real crowd favourites.
Clubs from Port Macquarie to Noosa entered the competition with Cudgen Headland SLSC defending local honours and achieving some remarkable results for a small regional club.
One of the day’s outstanding results came from Kurrawa’s Grant Harris who beat Cudgen’s Luke Chaffer in a close race in the U14 group.
Grant is no stranger to success as this year’s triumph follows a win in last year’s Cudgen Classic U13 event.
Local boy Luke Chaffer did the Cudgen club proud as he improved on last year’s sixth place in the U13 competition with a second placing in this year’s U14 comp.
The Cudgen Classic, held each year on the last Saturday of October, is considered a premier event for junior lifesavers and offers friends, parents and family members a great ‘Kingscliff experience’.
