MORUYA Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) continued its long tradition of surfboat racing with five crews hitting the waves at Mollymook for the first round of the NSW arm of the Australian Surf Rowers League (ASRL) on Saturday.
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For the first time this season Moruya’s boats competed and two new crews, the Pullets and Cockerels, joined the action.
The Pullets, an under 23s women’s crew of 17 year olds, and the Cockerels, an under 19s men’s crew made up of 16 year olds, got a feel for the wet starts and the endurance and power needed in 400-metre races.
Moruya surfboat coach and sweep and Navy ASRL president Bert Hunt said the club had taken a new approach to recruiting this season.
“We’re letting our kids enjoy the sport and taking them along slowly,” Hunt said.
“It’s great to watch them improve.”
The two teenage crews had only been in the edge of the surf at the Moruya river mouth before the weekend and Hunt was rapt in their performance.
“The look on their faces when they do something that comes off well is rewarding,” he said.
“It got rougher as the day went on but they (young crews) handled it exceptionally and I guess they did not know any different.”
Overall Moruya SLSC finished with three boats in the top six of their division.
The Moruya Vikings open women’s crew came sixth, the Moruya Chicks finished fifth behind Broulee in the under 23s women’s race and Moruya nabbed a third in the under 19s men’s competition.
The event was the first selection trial for the NSW team which will contest the Navy ASRL Interstate competition at Shellharbour in February.
The next surfboat competition will be the South Coast Series at Broulee on December 6 and the next ASRL competition is at Elouera on December 21.
