OB Thunder is Coast champion

The Ocean Beach under-19 Boat crew, OB Thunder, cemented its position as the best Central Coast under-19 boat crew after winning the Central Coast Branch Championship recently.

Thunder took out an impressive first place in difficult conditions at Shelley Beach.

The crew, consisting of John Young (sweep), Dean Simonson (bowman), Chris Young (second bow), Blake Cansdale (second stroke) and Jimmy Manning (stroke), were not finished with their win in the under-19 race.

They then lined up in the open division against five of the coast's best crews.

The boys who used this row as a training exercise powered through and finished with the silver medal.

If not for a patch of dead water near the finish line, the boys could have walked away with the gold and the double.

The crew who rowed together and were semi finalists at the Australian Championships last season have had an impressive season so far.

In the recent Peters Boat Series, they finished second but out of the Central Coast clubs they were number one.

Now with the win at the branch championships under their belt, the boys are now looking forward to the State and Australian Championships.

The price of winning a branch title did come at a loss however for another sporting code.

Chris Young last week had been told that he had made the squad for the Central Coast Rips SG Ball side.

However his inclusion was on the proviso that he didn't row as the two would clash.

Chris, although loving his football, made the choice to row.

This decision proved to be a winning one.

Jimmy Manning, also a member of OB Thunder, had also been trying out with the Rip squads.

The branch championships held at Shelley Beach over the weekend produced some excellent results for the Ocean Beach Boat crews.

The clubs under-19 boat crews showed their domination by placing first and second.

The first place for OB Thunder was a well-deserved win for the crew who has been performing well all season.

The second crew, swept by Mark Van Aalderen, has gone through a few changes over the season and proved its worth on the day by rowing into second position.

In the Masters section, contested last weekend with the open competition, the clubs 120+ years' crew also picked up a silver medal.

Both under-19 crews teamed up on the beach and took away silver and bronze in the Under-19 beach relay.

The club's other beach medal came in the Women's Open Beach Flags where the current Australian Masters champion in the age division of 30-34, Kylie Stewart, took the silver medal.

The club's March Past team was out defending its title from last year.

Unfortunately the side couldn't retain the title but did march away with the bronze medal.

Katie Dixon and Mark Davis teamed up in the First Aid competition and took away a bronze medal.

Robyn Carr, February 18