State Championships
During the year Surf Life Saving Queensland conducts seven (7) state championship events which will be the culmination of the specific discipline involved. The State Titles that SLSQ conduct are as follows:
- Queensland Senior/Masters Championships
- Queensland Youth Championships
- Queensland Surf Rescue Championships
- Queensland Endurance Championships
- Queensland Board Riding Championships
- Queensland Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) Championships
- Queensland Pool Rescue Championships
All events are administered by SLSQ via the carnival manager program – SEMS, with carnival information including entry bulletins, timetables etc. all sent to clubs with due notice of event timings and entry details. All of state titles give our members the opportunity to showcase their talent against members from across the state as well as preparing our members for the respective Australian Titles, with the exception of the Endurance and Juniors whereby these championships are the pinnacle for our members.
Queensland State Championships
The State Championships are an open event to all members from across Queensland and both Interstate and international competitors who hold the appropriate qualification for their age group. Members are eligible to compete once they have turned 13 and gained their Surf Rescue Certificate to compete in Under 15 events and once turning 15 and gaining their Bronze Medallion they are eligible to compete in the applicable age group that they are eligible for (determined by their age as at 30 September each year). Masters competition starts for members aged 30 and over right through to 70+ age categories. Members must also abide by any proficiency and patrol requirement placed on them by the Surf Life Saving Queensland. The competition is run over 3 days and is generally held 2-3 weeks prior to the Australian Championships covering all facets of competition with events including swim, board, ski, iron person, surf boats, beach events, R & R and march past in both an individual capacity as well as team events.
Surf Life Saving Queensland works closely with local government and councils in relation to securing funding to assist with the running of the event and as such will generally be held in South East Queensland. Clubs will be given an opportunity to tender for the workforce rights at the Senior Championships as there are limited venues that this event can be held at.
Queensland Youth Championships
The Youth Championships is a closed event whereby all competitors must be a member of a Queensland club. For all Under 11 events and all other team events competitors must qualify via their respective branch championships. The Youth Championships are for members aged between 11-14 years of age and cover all competition fields including swim, board, iron, beach events, R & R and march past in both individual and team events. The Championships is held over 3 days culminating in the finals for all events. The Youth Championships will be held in either February or March depending on the location and the timing of both the Queensland Championships and the Australian Championships.
Every two years SLSQ will send out an expression of interest to clubs who are wishing to host the Youth Championships with the event conducted on a rotational basis between Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Surf Rescue Championships
The Surf Rescue Championships encompasses a number of events generally referred to as lifesaving events and held over a weekend competitors have to qualify for the State via their respective Branch Championships and from the State to the Aussies. The events conducted include:
- Champion Lifesaver – U15/U17/U19/Open/Masters (2 age Categories)
- Patrol Competition – U15/U17/Open
- First Aid Competition – U15/U17/U19/Open
Champion Lifesaver & Patrol Competition involved both physical components and theory components, so testing the core skills of our lifesavers in swim, board, tube, sprint and resuscitation with marks/points allocated by judges in relation to judging criteria. The theory component tests the knowledge of our lifesavers to ensure what they put into practice is correct.
First aid competition is conducted in two person teams, where by the members will be given a real life scenario, with actors and make up and they will be required to treat the “patients” as they would in a real life case. The whole time the members are being judged as well as having a time limit placed on the scenario.
Queensland Endurance Championships
The Endurance Championships is the culmination of the off season for competitors as over winter most will be training over long distance to build up a good fitness base for the forthcoming season and shorter sprint carnivals. The State Endurance Championships encompasses U11 through to master’s competitors covering swim, board, ski and beach runs over longer distances that what the competitors will compete over the rest of the season. The Endurance Championships is rotated to different locations so allowing clubs the opportunity of hosting a State event while only needing to supply a small workforce. The State Endurance is generally held before the Coolangatta Gold so giving athletes a chance to race over longer distances in preparation for the gruelling Coolangatta Gold.
Queensland State Board Riding Championships
The Board Riding Championships is an opportunity for our members who are skilled at stand up surf competition to showcase their wares and complements the other more traditional stream of competition on offer. The board riding competition is conducted over a weekend allowing members from U11 through to masters to compete on short board. Long board competition is offered to Opens and Masters. The board riding has over the last few years seen more and more members from within surf lifesaving getting involved in this form of competition. These championships are generally held between January and April each year and move between the Gold and Sunshine Coast ensuring that the locations it is set down at is going to provide good conditions for fair competition.
Queensland Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) Championships
The IRB Championships is the culmination of the Queensland IRB season with SLSQ conducting 4 rounds of an “Ocean Roar” series for all clubs within Queensland. The IRB competition is conducted over the winter months as it gives members who are actively involved in water safety at carnivals the opportunity to showcase their skills, as well as giving all members the opportunity to hone their skills to ensure that when they go on patrol the bathing public have the most capable members keeping an eye on them. The State IRB championships is an event that will travel around the state depending on the location of the Australian IRB titles as SLSQ is very mindful of the costs associated with competing in these events. The IRB series is open for members aged 15 years and up with a master’s category incorporated into the events there are however strict qualification criteria for members before they can compete in these events.
Queensland Pool Rescue Championships
The Pool Rescue Championships was introduced at a National level to improve the chances of the Australian Lifesaving team and Clubs at World Titles, where half of the points on offer come from the pool. The introduction of pool competition also gave those members of our association who may not have experience or confidence in the surf an opportunity to show their skills. The benefit for all members across the state is that the pool competition delivers a level playing field in that the events are conducted in a controlled environment and all competitors have equal opportunity to train for these events without concern on what the conditions might be on the day. This competition is once again held over the winter months allowing members an opportunity to participate in these events without interfering with their normal summer competition.
For further information on Surf Sport events please contact the SLSQ Surf Sports team.
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