Summerstrand’s Gous family simply loves the annual DHL Lifesaving South Africa National Club Championships in Gqeberha because with it come a winning feeling and plenty of visits to the podium.
It has become standard practice for Fanta Gous to be ever-present in most events in the male masters aged 45-50 years and for wife Tracy to be powerful and victorious in the female age group 40-45.
Now it is the turn of the Gous nippers, Sienna and Morgan, to shine, and in spectacular weather they did just this on the final day of the Nippers Surf Competition at Kings Beach on Wednesday.
Sienna, in the U12s, won three gold medals and took silver after an intense rivalry with Plett’s Hannah de Necker, who was also a multiple-gold winner.
What sets De Necker apart from most is that she proved as effective in the beach sprints and flags as she did in the surf, with the two disciplines demanding very different areas of strength.
Not to be outdone by Sienna, it was Morgan in the U11s, who also won three gold medals, with both Gouses taking gold in the body board and the surf swim in their respective age groups.
In 2021, Summerstrand’s nippers cleaned up in the surf and pool competition and their points tally proved the most influential in the club’s overall victory when the points of the nippers, juniors and seniors from the surf and pool were combined.
Summerstrand, in the 2022 nationals, again started well and got stronger throughout the three-day surf competition.
The Western Cape’s Clifton and Fish Hoek also provided regular athletes to the podium and going into the final afternoon on Wednesday, Summerstrand held a narrow advantage over Clifton when all the points from U9 to U14 were combined.
The iron race is considered the most demanding in lifesaving and there is a certain prestige attached to the iron winners, with two of the U13 and U14 male and female winners from the Eastern Cape.
Plett’s Liam Stephenson beat Fish Hoek’s Samuel Mocke, son of iconic lifesavers Dawid and Nikki, in the final of the U13 Iron and Summerstrand’s Lisa de Villiers won the female U13 title.
In the U14s, it was the Western Cape who triumphed through Llandudno’s Ryley Smith and Clifton’s Rebecca Fury.
Gold medal winners among the nippers included Clifton U14s Sebastian Cudmore and Rebecca Fury, Clifton’s Scarlett van der Merwe, Strand’s JP van der Walt, Durban Surf’s Kyan White and Strandfontein’s Eve Abrahams.
Lisa de Villers (Summerstrand) was a multiple winner in the U13s, as were Plett’s Lima Stephenson, Summerstand’s Daniel Pappas and Clifton’s Sophia Pooley.
Clifton’s Josh Huntingford, Seagulls’ Kealah Plaatjies, Durban Surf’s Ethan Allen and Joshua Chown of Fish Hoek also won gold.
In the U12s, there were gold medals for Kyto Tuohy (Clifton), Zahra Mohamad (Fish Hoek), Jarryd Cole (Llandudno) and Hannah de Necker (Plett) and several for Sienna Gous (Summerstrand).
Bjorn Maree of hosts Kings Beach won gold in the U11s, and there were also golds in the U11s for Sabrina Krige (Milnerton), Eden Whitaker (Kings Beach), Michael Kemp (Strand) and several for Summerstrand’s Morgan Gous.
Kings Beach’s Shah Eli Kannemeyer took gold in the U10s, as did Fish Hoek’s Olivia Latimer.
Marine’s Eddie Harker also won gold in the U10s, along with Bianca Salmon of Umhlanga and Sophia da Costa of Marine.
East London’s Callum Rohtbart and Summerstrand's Aran Garrett won gold in the U10s and Kings Beach’s Daniel Verdon claimed a first place in U9s, as did Clifton’s Gia Heldsinger, Llandudno’s Emma Cullis and Clifton’s Ahadi Magotsi.
In the seniors pool event at Newton Park, there were new SA records for Harties’ Christian van Eerden and Boksburg’s Aiden Bornman.
• The nippers will relocate to Newton Park for the rest of the week for the pool championships and the juniors and seniors will take to Kings Beach for the surf championships. — Lifesaving SA
Plenty of success for Summerstrand’s Gous family
Image: Anthony Grote/Lifesaving SA
Summerstrand’s Gous family simply loves the annual DHL Lifesaving South Africa National Club Championships in Gqeberha because with it come a winning feeling and plenty of visits to the podium.
It has become standard practice for Fanta Gous to be ever-present in most events in the male masters aged 45-50 years and for wife Tracy to be powerful and victorious in the female age group 40-45.
Now it is the turn of the Gous nippers, Sienna and Morgan, to shine, and in spectacular weather they did just this on the final day of the Nippers Surf Competition at Kings Beach on Wednesday.
Sienna, in the U12s, won three gold medals and took silver after an intense rivalry with Plett’s Hannah de Necker, who was also a multiple-gold winner.
What sets De Necker apart from most is that she proved as effective in the beach sprints and flags as she did in the surf, with the two disciplines demanding very different areas of strength.
Not to be outdone by Sienna, it was Morgan in the U11s, who also won three gold medals, with both Gouses taking gold in the body board and the surf swim in their respective age groups.
In 2021, Summerstrand’s nippers cleaned up in the surf and pool competition and their points tally proved the most influential in the club’s overall victory when the points of the nippers, juniors and seniors from the surf and pool were combined.
Summerstrand, in the 2022 nationals, again started well and got stronger throughout the three-day surf competition.
The Western Cape’s Clifton and Fish Hoek also provided regular athletes to the podium and going into the final afternoon on Wednesday, Summerstrand held a narrow advantage over Clifton when all the points from U9 to U14 were combined.
The iron race is considered the most demanding in lifesaving and there is a certain prestige attached to the iron winners, with two of the U13 and U14 male and female winners from the Eastern Cape.
Plett’s Liam Stephenson beat Fish Hoek’s Samuel Mocke, son of iconic lifesavers Dawid and Nikki, in the final of the U13 Iron and Summerstrand’s Lisa de Villiers won the female U13 title.
In the U14s, it was the Western Cape who triumphed through Llandudno’s Ryley Smith and Clifton’s Rebecca Fury.
Gold medal winners among the nippers included Clifton U14s Sebastian Cudmore and Rebecca Fury, Clifton’s Scarlett van der Merwe, Strand’s JP van der Walt, Durban Surf’s Kyan White and Strandfontein’s Eve Abrahams.
Lisa de Villers (Summerstrand) was a multiple winner in the U13s, as were Plett’s Lima Stephenson, Summerstand’s Daniel Pappas and Clifton’s Sophia Pooley.
Clifton’s Josh Huntingford, Seagulls’ Kealah Plaatjies, Durban Surf’s Ethan Allen and Joshua Chown of Fish Hoek also won gold.
In the U12s, there were gold medals for Kyto Tuohy (Clifton), Zahra Mohamad (Fish Hoek), Jarryd Cole (Llandudno) and Hannah de Necker (Plett) and several for Sienna Gous (Summerstrand).
Bjorn Maree of hosts Kings Beach won gold in the U11s, and there were also golds in the U11s for Sabrina Krige (Milnerton), Eden Whitaker (Kings Beach), Michael Kemp (Strand) and several for Summerstrand’s Morgan Gous.
Kings Beach’s Shah Eli Kannemeyer took gold in the U10s, as did Fish Hoek’s Olivia Latimer.
Marine’s Eddie Harker also won gold in the U10s, along with Bianca Salmon of Umhlanga and Sophia da Costa of Marine.
East London’s Callum Rohtbart and Summerstrand's Aran Garrett won gold in the U10s and Kings Beach’s Daniel Verdon claimed a first place in U9s, as did Clifton’s Gia Heldsinger, Llandudno’s Emma Cullis and Clifton’s Ahadi Magotsi.
In the seniors pool event at Newton Park, there were new SA records for Harties’ Christian van Eerden and Boksburg’s Aiden Bornman.
• The nippers will relocate to Newton Park for the rest of the week for the pool championships and the juniors and seniors will take to Kings Beach for the surf championships. — Lifesaving SA
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