Sensational conditions greeted competitors from all the Northern clubs for the prestigious North Queensland Branch Championships held over the weekend at Etty Bay.

Competition began on Friday afternoon at Innisfail pool where the Pool Rescue component was held, followed by two days of competition on the beach and in the surf for junior age groups through to masters.

• North Queensland Branch Champion Club: Cairns (2098 points)
• Second: Ellis Beach
• Third: Port Douglas

Port Douglas retained third place overall in the junior division for competitors from U8 to U14 and was second overall in the Masters category.

Pool rescue competition

Port entered three contenders: under 15s Finn Devine-Cameron and Eliza Markham, and U14 nipper Harry Goodman.

The competition tested pool rescue skills including manikin tows and an aquatic obstacle course. Both Devine-Cameron and Markham were second in their age group while Goodman won the Under 14 male division.

Under 8

With points for the first six places and medals up for grabs, the hot sand underfoot did not deter U8 nipper Daisy Colbridge who finished with two silver medals, a bronze and fourth in the deep wade race. Taylor West was fifth in the sprint, Jasper Maunder was fifth in the flags,  Sam Hackett was sixth in the deep wade and Georgie Rockley was sixth in the sprint.  Together the U8 team finished fourth in both the beach and wade relays.

Jonte Revell's tenacious efforts were rewarded with one gold medal, a silver and a bronze medal. Revell also earned points finishing fourth in the surf and board races. Jesse Smith also excelled on his board earning a silver medal and fifth place in the sprint. Corey Bickford was sixth in both beach events and Hunta Langley was fourth in the sprint and sixth in the board race and in flags. Phoebe Brown and Poppy Maunder teamed with Bickford to finish sixth in the board relay.

Under 10

Under 10 nipper Sophie Knight continued her fine form collecting a silver and a bronze medal as well as fifth in the board race. Kade Bickford also secured a silver and a bronze in beach events and sixth in the board race. Oliver Lukin won silver in the board race but just missed out on further medals finishing in fourth position in the shallow wade, the sprint and flags events. Murray Colebridge was sixth in the shallow wade and sprint while Harper Woods was sixth in the surf race. Zane Innes-Collins joined Lukin, Knight and Woods to collect silver medals in the wade and beach relays.

Under 11

Under 11s Darci Maunder, Tilly Lalor, Ethan Pedamay and Kai Smith put in an awesome effort as they finished fourth in the beach relay and sixth in cameron relay. Pedamay was the outstanding performer on the day earning a gold medal in the flags, bronze in the board race and fourth in the sprint. maunder was sixth in the board race while Smith finished sixth in flags.

Under 12

In the Under 12 division, Port's Derek Sorensen continued his sensational run claiming three gold medals a silver and fourth in the sprint. Jai Hackett proved he is still king of the beach with a win in the sprint and second in flags while Ryan Stanaway earned another beach medal, a bronze in the sprint.

Stanaway was fifth in the surf race, ironperson and flags and sixth in the board race. Hackett was fourth in the board race and sixth in the surf race and ironperson events. Together the U12 boys took out gold in the beach relay and bronze in the board relay.

Under 13

In the Under 13s division, Mia Devine-Cameron rose to the challenge blitzing her previous efforts earning gold in the sprint two bronze medals, fourth in the ironperson and fifth in the surf race. Mitchell Knight took home solver in the swim and fourth in the ironperson. Kalani Revell also earned a silver medal in flags and bronze in the sprint while Finn Stanaway won silver in his sprint event.

Josh Lukin was fourth in flags andsixth in the board race while Che Innes-Collins was fifth on his board and sixth in the ironperson. Knight and Lukin earned themselves another silver in the board rescue and Moses Hannett-Wade teamed up with Devine-Cameron and Stanaway to finish sixth in the board relay.

Under 14

Port's sole Under 14 representative, Harry Goodman, secured two gold and a silver medal, fourth in the ironperson and fifth in flags to finish U14 male runner up in the championships.

Under 15

In Port's under 15 team Finn Devine-Cameron won three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze to assure him North Queensland Branch U15 male age champion for 2013. Similarly, Eliza Markham won an equally impressive three gold medals a silver and two bronze to claim the Under 15 female age champion title.

Simon Kramer fared well finishing in bronze position in the board race as well as fifth in the flags and sixth in the tube race, ironperson and sprint events. Sabrina Uhlmann was fifth in her individual events, the surf race, board race and ironperson while Hamish Farrow swam alongside Devine-Cameron, Markham and Kramer to finish second in the surf team event.

Lynn Butterss, Ed Lukin, Rachel Goodman and Nikki Innes made up the numbers in the senior arena. Butterss was fourth in the swim and fifth in the ironperson while Lukin was third in the swim and fifth in the tube race. Innes finished third in the board race and Goodman claimed fifth position in the swim.

Masters

Port Douglas masters continued to impress, with all competitors earning points in each of their individual events. Nikki Innes earned two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze claiming runner up position.

Similarly, Kelly McNamara claimed two gold medal places, a silver and fourth while Lynn Butterss earned a silver, two bronzes and two fourth places. Grant Knight finished joint age champion in his age group while it wasn't quite enough for John Goodman who won his ironperson and board events to secure the same accolade in his division.

Brian Markham was second in the board race and ironperson, while Ed Lukin was second in the surf race and sixth in the board race. Steve Pollard, recovering from a calf injury secured two bronze medal places in craft events and fifth in the tube race. Pollard, Markham, Goodman, Knight and Lukin teamed up with Col Cameron to claim sixth place in the six man taplin, a multidisciplinary event involving two swim legs, two board legs and two ski legs.

While the North Australian Titles which is held in Mackay at the end of October still beckons our keenest competitors, for most members the North Queensland Branch Championships represented the end of the season.

To celebrate an exceptional year, the club will host a family fun day and presentation day next Sunday 20th October from 9am at the club.

There will be games and a free sausage sizzle before presentations. It will also provide an opportunity to acknowledge the young competitors who were selected to represent the North Queensland region at the State Championships in 2014, Harry Goodman, Mitchell Knight, Mia Devine-Cameron and Derek Sorensen. Che Innes-Collins was named reserve.