HIGHLY CHARGED WIN FOR WILLIAMSTOWN AT THE 2010 AUSTRALIAN IRB CHAMPIONSHIPS

April 18: Queensland and New South Wales' stranglehold on IRB racing has come to holt after the impressive performances from Victoria's Williamstown surf club saw them crowned 2010 Australian IRB Champions.

Heading into today's finals there was certainly a buzz on the beach that this could be the year Williamstown tops the medal tally. Not only did they win, but they managed to pick up five of the nine gold medals on offer as well as take a silver and bronze.

Williamstown captain Scott Ivey, said he and his team came over to Tassie to do one thing - and that was take home the trophy.

"This year we had more depth in our team, largely because we have more kids keen to get involved and be a part of it," he said.

"There is just a fantastic feeling in the club - I came here for one reason and that was to take that trophy.

"This is a great win for Victoria as well. We did really well in the Interstate Championships and this is just great for our sport.

"The competition here was red hot this weekend. It's the tightest I've ever seen it - one mistake and it was all over," said Ivey.

Williamstown finished the day on 52 points ahead of multiple Australian IRB Champions North Burleigh (39) and 2009 champions Kurrawa (24).

Surf Life Saving Australia's Director of Surf Sports, Dave Thompson said competition today was some of the closest seen in recent years.

"The flat conditions made for an exciting day of racing with some really close finishes and some big upsets," he said.

"It was great to see more than 500 competitors take part in the 2010 Australian IRB Championships this weekend at Penguin and was pleasing to have the warm conditions on offer.

"Today's racing really showcased the best of the best and demonstrated the high level of skills of our surf lifesavers.

The 2011 Australian IRB Championships will be held in Glenelg, South Australia with the date to be announced in the coming months.

Results

Overall Pointscore:
Williamstown 52 points
North Burleigh 39
Kurrawa 24
Anglesea 14
Kiama Downs 13
Bribie Island 12

Male
Mass Rescue: Kiama Downs (K Whitaker, N Foster, T Sutton, T Kirkby) North Burleigh 1 (A Kelckhoven, D Bailey, J Watson, T Davis) North Burleigh 2 (K Marshall, S Bailey, S Hargrave, S Reid)

Surf Rescue: Williamstown (J Wyatt, J Tinham, M Geary) Port Noarlunga (D Lowrey, J Rose, S Sanders) Anglesea (J Farrington, M Day, R Wilcox)

Teams Rescue: North Burleigh (A Kelckhoven, D Bailey, K Marshall, S Hargrave, S Reid, T Davis) Caves Beach (B Hawkins, B Player, D Bowmaker, M Van Huisstede, N McCabe, S Bryant) Kiama Downs (K Whitaker, N Foster, S Guy, S Strong, T Sutton, T Kirkby)

Tube Rescue: Williamstown (J Wyatt, K Treloar, R Treloar) Thirroul (A Turner, J Saddi, S Luck) Anglesea (F Arajuo, J Farrington, R Nolan)

Female:
Mass Rescue: Williamstown 2 (B Camov, C Douglas, L King, M Geary) Bribie Island 1 (A Wells, M Macarthur, X Mastrogiannis, Y Mastrogiannis) Williamstown 1 (A Esdale, B Deany, D Geekie, V Lewanski)

Surf Rescue: North Burleigh (E Menhinnitt, J Watson, K Czerny) Williamstown (B Camov, L King, M Geary) Kurrawa (P Masuino, S Draper, S Hesse)

Teams Rescue: Williamstown (A Esdale, B Camov, D Geekie, L King, M Geary, V Lewanski) Bribie Island (A Mastrogiannis, A Wells, J Way, M Macarthur, S McCann, X Mastrogiannis) North Burleigh (A Baker, E Menhinnitt, J Watson, K Czerny, S Hallett, S Bailey)

Tube Rescue: Anglesea (J Cullity, K Yap, R Plant) Kurrawa (K Rogers, P Masuino, S Hesse) North Burleigh (E Menhinnitt, J Watson, K Czerny)

Open IRB Relay: Williamstown, Thirroul, Kurrawa