Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) is back at the top of the country surf sports podium after winning the 2026 NSW Country Championships last month, and ending a three-year run of victories for Warilla Barrack Point.
As dominant as it was impressive, Cudgen topped the overall point score and had a commanding gap of nearly 300 points back to Warilla in second place, while Port Macquarie SLSC beat out Yamba SLSC for the final podium place.
Broulee Surfers SLSC finished in fifth place – a tremendous effort from one of the clubs that travelled the longest distance to compete.
‘Nice to get this one back, we were pretty keen to get it this year,’ Cudgen Headland SLSC president, Adam Mills said.
‘Our seniors were winning everything, it was really satisfying as a club to come here and take it home again.’
Byron Bay SLSC finished the championships in seventh place while Lennox Head Alstonville SLSC was 11th. All up 33 clubs competed in the event.
Highlights
Particular highlights for the far north coast clubs included: Cudgen Headland’s Scarlett George and Oliver Sharpe taking out first place in the Open Female and Male Iron, and a gold for Izzy Arghyros in the U17 Female Ski, Six-Person Open Mixed Taplin Relay.
Gold medals were won for Byron Bay by Jack Keough and Elijah Round in the U13-14 Male Board Rescue, Joshua Yates, Freya Knight, George Taylor, and Roland Cohen in the U13 Mixed Beach Relay, and Rafael Yopp in the U8 Male Flags.
Yamba won gold medals thanks to Fraser Robinson, Anderson McLennan, Lindsay McLennan, and Adele Douglas in the 140-199 Mixed Beach Relay, Ella Horton in the U14 Female Board Race and Cody Kratzmann in the U11 Male Iron.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
