TAKE two from Far North youngsters, throw them in the raging surf of the Gold Coast and see how they perform against the state’s best junior surf lifesavers.
It appears on the surface a tough task. Their competitors face those conditions on an almost daily basis, worlds apart from the more sedate tropical waters our boys are used to.
But two aspiring Far North lifesavers showed those from down south how it can be done in the Queensland Surf Rescue Championships last weekend.
In the under-14 male Queensland Champion Lifesaver category, Ellis Beach Surf Lifesaving Club member Frazer Eaton won a silver medal while Port Douglas member Nicholas Goodman won a bronze in the same age group.
For Eaton, a year 10 student at St Augustine’s College, the silver medal was a just reward for regular training both in the pool and at the beach.
"I’ve been doing pool training mainly and every Tuesday we're down at the beach," he said. "It was a pretty tough competition for us because we’re not used to the conditions. Rips are really strong down there and waves are like triple the size."
In his category, Eaton finished top in the tube and the sprint while Goodman took out the swim category.
However, it was more than a physical workout for the boys, with a third of the total points awarded given for how they performed in a theory test.
The Port Douglas club finished 14th overall, ahead of Ellis Beach (16th) and Cairns (18th) out of the 23 clubs.
