North Burleigh SLSC, Australian IRB Champions for 2013

Surf Life Saving Australia, July 22, 2013: Queensland has done it again at Mindil beach in Darwin with North Burleigh SLSC being crowned as the Australian IRB Champion for 2013.

After today’s finals, North Burleigh SLSC finished with the highest pointscore on a total of 37 points in front of South Maroubra SLSC on 24 points in second place and Kurrawa SLSC in third on 23 points.

This is the 11th time that North Burleigh SLSC has been the National Champions. The Club also took the title in 1994 (equal first with Nobbys SLSC), 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011.

“Today we saw fantastic racing - a great way to finish such a successful week,” said Rick Wright, Director of Sport at Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA).

“North Burleigh demonstrated their stand out technique and skill in the IRBs today which gave them an edge, finishing with a 13 point lead.

“But it was brilliant and close racing from all clubs in the finals and I offer all teams my congratulations,” he said.

Earlier in the week, in Thursday’s Interstate competition, QLD was the Championship winner with an overall pointscore of 59 in front of New South Wales in second on 49 points and Victoria who came in a close third on 47 points.

Running from Thursday July 18 – Sunday July 21, the Australian IRB Championship event has attracted more than 500 participants with over 70 competitive teams from 29 Surf Life Saving clubs.

And, for the first time in Australian IRB history, Balinese SLSC Balawista Badung competed in the event but unfortunately the team was knocked out in Friday’s Heats.

The 2013 Australian IRB Championships is the first national Surf Life Saving event to be hosted by Surf Life Saving Northern Territory (SLSNT).

“SLSNT have put on remarkable event,” said a spokesperson from SLSA.

There’s a great buzz on and off the beach. Darwin has been a fantastic venue for the event,” she continued.

The annual event has also had a positive impact on the local economy.

“The fact that so many people have been involved in the Championships has given a great boost to local businesses,” said SLSNT CEO Tony Snelling.

For images from today, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/surflifesaving/sets/72157634731124672/

If you haven’t already, you may want to check out the news from the event here - http://sls.com.au/irbchamps/news

Event image gallery, click here - http://sls.com.au/irbchamps/images

For today’s finals results, click here.

For the overall pointscore, click here.

And there’s loads of stuff on our
· Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/lifesaving,
· YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/slsaofficial

Issued on behalf of Surf Life Saving Australia...

Ian Hanson

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