Beach

Manly Life Saving Club’s beach sprint team has a tremendous record of sporting achievement, with members winning State and National titles from the earliest days of surf life saving.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have plenty of success in recent years, with every member of the team winning medals at the NSW State and Australian Championships.

The speed, fitness and determination developed in training with the Manly team has seen many go on to succeed in other sports, particularly rugby union and league, where a number of runners have gone on to represent NSW and Australia. The team trains to succeed, and to help every runner become the best competitor they can be. While some talent is needed for running, often the best competitors are those most determined to succeed, and prepared to do the hard work at training.

The main beach event is the beach sprint. This is the equivalent of the track 100 metre sprint, except it is run on the sand. The rules are the same as for track athletics. The other sprint event is the beach relay, which is the same as the track 4 x 100 metre relay. This is raced up and back along the beach sprint track, with baton changes at each end of the track. The third sprint event is the beach flags. This is an elimination event, where competitors must race 20 metres to pick up a flag. There are fewer flags than competitors, so those missing out are eliminated. The last remaining competitor after all the elimination rounds wins the event.

Any Club member is welcome to join the squad. Training level can be varied to suit initial fitness and ability. So not being a fit, fast runner should not stop you having a go. Many members from other competition sections do some sprint work to help their race starts and finishes in other events.

Training is usually two nights per week, and one day on a weekend if there is no surf carnival to compete at. Additional sessions are organised depending on the team’s needs and schedules. Training varies, with sessions on the beach or grass, as required. Most runners also do additional core strength work as well as the main trainings.

For information about training or joining the team, contact Beach Sprint Captain Ben Wotton at the Club on 9977 2742 or by email admin@manlylsc.com