IRONMEN IN BATTLE OF THE GENERATIONS

March 15, 2012: It is set to be a battle of the ages when three generations of ironman stars chase the Queensland title in the Crazy John's Queensland Surf Life Saving Championships at Kurrawa, which start on Friday.

More than 2,000 lifesavers from Port Douglas right through to Rainbow Bay will hit the beach to battle the surf, sand and each other in their quest for state glory, with Masters competition to be held on Friday, March 16, and the Senior  carnival on Saturday and Sunday, March 17-18.

It will also be an important part of competitors' preparations for the Australian championships at the same
venue later this month.

The ironman, always a glamour event of any carnival, is set to be one of the best in years, with virtually
all the country's top competitors entered.

Young rising stars such as Mooloolaba's Ali Day and Alex Tibbits, North Burleigh's Mitch Miller and Northcliffe's Tanyn Lyndon will be chasing their first Queensland championship.

But to take the title they will need to defeat established champions such as Kurrawa's Ky Hurst and Caine Eckstein, Northcliffe's Shannon Eckstein and North Burleigh's Pierce Leonard.

And threatening to overshadow them all will be the comeback of six-time Australian champion Trevor Hendy,
returning to serious surf competition in the colours of Surfers Paradise at the age of 43.

Shannon Eckstein is working towards the defence of his Australian ironman title and says the Crazy John's
Queensland Championships will be an important step towards that goal.

"I didn't race in the Queensland championships last year so I'm looking forward to competing - I'll be doing all the team races as well as the swim, board and ironman," he said.

"I haven't even been to a surf carnival this season so it is a good chance to get back into the carnival atmosphere and work on my form in the short events."

Eckstein finished third in this season's Kellogg's Nutri-Grain ironman series, won by his brother Caine, and took a week off after the final race.

He has spent the past two weeks training hard, polishing the surf skills that have won him all the major ironman titles.

A close friend of Hendy, he is looking forward to seeing the legend of the sport back in action.

"It will be good to have him there and people who have seen him in the surf say he is going well and all his great skills are still there," Eckstein said.

"He is just enjoying seeing his son TJ being a part of surf lifesaving and has enjoyed training with him.

"His comeback has attracted plenty of attention to the championships - it might put him under a bit of pressure to perform well."

The open ironwoman competition should also provide plenty of excitement, with Nutri-Grain series competitors such as Liz Pluimers, Kristyl Smith, Courtney Hancock (all Northcliffe), Rebecca Creedy (Met Caloundra) and Hayley Bateup (Kurrawa) looking to kick-start their short-course season.

Hendy won't be the only surf lifesaving legend on the comeback trail at Kurrawa this weekend. The former king of the beach flags, Simon Harris, will be back on the sand after a season in retirement.

Harris has only recently returned to action for Kurrawa and says he just wants to have some fun this weekend but anyone who has seen the eight-time Queensland champion in action will know his competitive fires burn intensely and he won't want to miss out on the chance of winning another gold medal.

Action in Friday's Masters carnival starts at 7am, and the Senior events start at 7am on Saturday and 7.30am on Sunday.