THE Gerringong NAPS have finished off their successful season in a strong way, claiming third at the recent Australian Surf Life Saving Championships.
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Having already achieved third at the Australian Surf Rowers League Championships in March, Richard Payne and his crew are stoked with their 2015 campaign.
Payne credits his team’s commitment over the past few years, saying it brought their success this year.
“Not too much, in terms of preparation, is different to previous events to be honest,” Payne said.
“We probably had a greater focus on erg times over the past two years, which has paid dividends.
“Mal (the sweep) mixes things up a bit each year depending on what we need to focus on or what's working.
“We did do a lot more short powerful stuff after State this year which seemed to work.
"We have all been doing this long enough to know what works, we make any required changes around that."
The team is made up of Payne, 35, Will Payne, 33, Mitchell Payne, 29, Michael Quinn, 33, and sweep Mal Dunwoodie.
Payne admits the carnival held at Tugan was one of the biggest they have attended, with more than 7000 competitors in attendance.
“It was a massive carnival all up, with us having 11 rows all up,” he said.
“At Aussies, it is so hard to make the final because so much can go wrong throughout the carnival.
“We started rowing on the Thursday in a round robin format split across two areas.
“We had a really hard area with a lot of the top crews.
"However we started the carnival really well, winning two races and getting second in the other two.
“That left us on top of our area after day one and seeded highly for round five.
“Most of the 70 odd crews were cut at that stage.
“We rowed another four elimination rows on the Saturday and this was our toughest day I reckon.
“The surf picked up and was real messy and unpredictable leaving a number of good crews found out.
“We drew alley one in our first two rows and only just scraped through both.
“I reckon our round six row was our best ever as we got hit on the way out and then had no help on the way out but found a way to get through.
“It was a massive row and set us up with a lot of confidence for the rest of the weekend.
“We won our final two rows that day in wild surf, to take us through to finals day on Sunday.
“On the Sunday, we rowed two semis and the final.
“We stepped up again on the Sunday winning one row and second in the other before the final.
“We had a lot of belief heading into the final.”
Four days of competing culminated in the final, which Payne said his team had a plan for.
“Given the conditions, we knew we needed a good start in the final, which we got,” he said.
“We rowed really well the whole way out to the cans in sloppy conditions and turned equal first with Mona Vale.
“The way home was a drag race with us, Mona and Currumbin equal the whole way.
“There were a lot of runners the whole way home and Mona picked up a decent one that didn't break for us.
“Our team and Currumbin caught the same wave home and they got given second and we got the third.
“It was a bloody good race, I thought we would win in the way home, as we were out and the boat felt great.
“We obviously were aiming for the gold but winning the bronze was beyond our wildest dreams.
“It was good to see Mona win, as we've had an unreal rivalry over the past six years with those blokes and they're good mates.
Despite most team members having a long history in the sport, Payne believes this is their greatest achievement.
“Without a doubt this is the highest achievement for our team, as it doesn't get much better than this,” he said.
“Mal has been in surf life saving for 50 years and this is his first medal.
“He's been one of the best sweeps getting around in that period, so that shows you how hard it is to medal.
“To win a medal with a bloke that has given so much to us as a crew and the club, made it even more special.
“As a crew, to be together so long and to have achieved so much before getting an Aussie medal it's indescribable.
“We wanted this more than anything, so to achieve it is beyond our wildest dreams.
“We have been at the pointy end of the competition and an Aussies final is the only one we hadn't made but it's so hard to do.
“We could have been out three times during the carnival, we just kept finding something special and refusing to die.
“Seeing the joy that the win brought our families and those up there supporting us was the biggest thing.
“To have your kids sprinting down the beach after winning a medal and seeing the look of excitement on their face is indescribable.
“They all give up a lot to allow us to train daily and head around the countryside but they get as much out of it as we do.
“It also brings us a lot of pride to be representing a club we all love.
“To achieve the club's first medal is something we will hold dearly for the rest of our lives.
“It was an amazing experience.
“We'll now rest for a couple of months and have another crack next year.”