Scottburgh lifesavers shine at SA champs
The club secured seventh place overall against 22 clubs.
Scottburgh Surf Lifesaving Club excelled at the 2026 DHL Lifesaving South Africa Championships held at Kings Beach in Gqeberha recently.
The club secured seventh place overall against 22 clubs, Olivia Cox and Cruz Roberts won national titles, and a number of others bagged medals.
They were led by this season’s captains Cruz Rivetti (seniors and juniors) and Olivia Cox (nippers).
In the juniors, Scottburgh was represented by Holleigh van Achterbergh, Bella Edwards, Sam Diamond, Cruz Rivetti, Reece Ruiter, Bastiaan Prinsloo and Noah Harding.
Olivia delivered a dominant performance in the U13 girls, claiming gold in the ironwoman, surf-swim, board, and run-swim-run, along with bronze in flags and sprints.
In the U12s, Cruz Roberts earned silver medals in surf-swim, run-swim-run and sprints, plus bronze in flags, board and bodyboard.
Olivia and Cruz were subsequently named as SA Nipper Surf Competitors of the Series in their divisions.
Blake Killoran secured silver in the long-run, board and bodyboard, finishing third overall in his age U13 age group.
In another highlight, nipper rookie Joshua Zietsman surprised seasoned competitors by sprinting to gold in the U13 division.
Tatum Cox secured bronze in the U10 girls bodyboard event.
Reece Ruiter dashed to a bronze medal in beach sprints.
Team efforts were equally impressive with Chayt Daniels, Cruz Roberts and Blake Killoran combining to claim silver in the U12 boys board relay.
The masters division also saw inspiring participation, led by Bruce Roberts, who at 79 years of age, was the oldest competitor at the championships.
Other masters representing the club included club chairman Gordon Gardner, nipper coaches Gavin Roberts, Shane Grant and Kirsten Cox, as well as club member Nico Smit.
Special recognition was also given to swim coach Owen Kuyper and the dedicated coaching team for their consistent efforts in developing athletes beyond regular Sunday training sessions.
Sponsors and the local community were thanked for enabling the team’s participation and success.
The club raised over R100 000 this season with parents contributing more than R45 000 through Sunday bacon and egg roll sales, and more than R30 000 generated through a community-supported auction evening.
