NORTH Haven Boardriders Club held its first contest day of the year on Sunday February 28. It was a fantastic turn out with a bunch of new competitors, both young and old signing up. There were some teething problems with the increase in numbers but these can be ironed out with patience and cooperation between members and can only make the club stronger. The club was able to create a new category and now offers events for cadets, junior girls and micro grommet girls which is great to see. The numbers in micro grommets swelled significantly and three heats were required to be run to accommodate the numbers. A big thank you to Toby Barnes and Mick Young for judging! It is a sign of good things to come as the young ones showed lots of enthusiasm and potential in the surf. It is great to see the involvement of the parents of the new generation as well. A day at the beach for Boardriders really is an awesome way to spend a Sunday with your friends and family. It was slightly overcast on the day and the swell was two to three feet and was very contestable throughout the day. The opens started off with some great heats with Belly, Youngy, Chad Collier and others showing their years of surfing experience. Once again Bernie Latimore was dominant in the Malibu division, showcasing his skills on the ‘plank’. It was great to see Darren Gill, a new face in the mal division showing a competitive side that he never thought he had. Dean Rogerson, halfback for the mighty Eagles showed his talent in opens, surfing against Toby Barnes, Daz Boland and Shaun Cummings. Well done to newcomer Brad Forrest taking out second place in the opens. A bit more fun has been injected into the competition, with the introduction of the Hawaiian shirt division – the louder the better! We welcome back Sandy Feet’s sponsorship this year and Brad won their prize for short board and Darren Gill for long board. Many thanks. For those interested, the next Boardriders meeting will be held on Thursday March 25th at North Haven Bowling Club at 6.30pm. The next competition day will be Sunday 28 March.