Sports - Board & Ski
The board and surf ski events are two ‘craft’ surf lifesaving events. These involve paddling a fibreglass board or ski from the beach, through the break and around a defined course and back to shore to cross the finish line. Up to sixteen competitors or teams compete in a single heat, with several heats, semi-finals and finals conducted during a carnival.
There are many variations of board and ski events, including male or female, mixed, single or double and a multitude of relays, outlined below. You must be 16 years of age or older to compete in ski events but you can be any age to compete in board events.
Board Race
This is an individual event where competitors paddle a board around a course approximately 250m. Divisions include Men and Women in Open, U19, U17, U15 and Masters categories.
Board Relay
This is a team event of three paddlers each completing the board course of approximately 250m. Each team member in the first and second legs of the relay tags the next person in their team when returning to the beach. The third team member crosses the finish line. Divisions include Men and Women in Open, U19, U17, U15 and Masters categories.
Board Rescue
Each team has two members – one swimmer and one board paddler. The swimmer or ‘patient’ swims to a buoy where they raise their hand to signal to their board paddler team mate to rescue them. When the board paddler reaches their swimmer the swimmer climbs onto the board and both competitors paddle the board back to the beach. Divisions include Men and Women in Open, U19, U17, U15 and Masters categories.
Ski Race
Individual competitors paddle a ski around a course of at least 300m from knee-deep water. Double ski competitors paddle approximately 50m further. Divisions for the single and double ski include Mens and Womens in Open, U19, U17 and Masters. The double ski is also conducted as a mixed men and women event in the Open division.
Ski Relay
A team of three paddlers complete the ski course of at least 300m each. The first and second paddlers tag the next person in their team on return to the beach with the third person crossing the finish line. Divisions for the ski relay include Open, U19 and Masters. There is no double ski relay.