IF there was a queen of beach flags, it has to be Mollymook's Melissa Cracroft-Wilson (nee Howard).
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Eight Australian open beach flags titles, seven over those in a row.
She dominated the beach for more than a decade and was known at the Aussies for her looks of determination and her epic victory smiles.
Hailing from the New South Wales South Coast, she won three national titles representing Mollymook before moving to Queensland where she set up camp with Kurrawa and went on to win an impressive seven more titles.
Beach flags at the Aussies are almost like tennis at Wimbledon.
The crowds flock, they go silent for that moment the athletes settle themselves, then with a burst of a whistle athletes are off, crowds go wild and sand flies everywhere while fans ask... "who got it?"
For Howard, there was no better cauldron than the amphitheatre at Scarborough Beach where she claimed three of her Aussies crowns.
"Competing in Scarborough was phenomenal - no other beach or arena has ever been like that," Cracroft-Wilson said.
Read more: Melissa caps off big year
"There was nothing else like that amphitheatre.
"It was surreal to have everyone looking down on you, you were the centre of everything"
"Everyone's focus would be on that beach flags event, all competitors would stop.
"It was a great feeling to have everyone there to watch you, and for me to have all my Kurrawa team mates from beach, to boats was an amazing experience," she said.
Like many competitors, Cracroft-Wilson came through the nipper ranks and was destined to be a beach flags star.
"For me I'd done flags my whole life, since I was two," she said.
"So I knew I always had the flag side covered... but the move up to Kurrawa proved I needed to work on my sprinting.
"My coach Ryan Hoffman provided that for me and gave me the opportunity to qualify for the Australian team as many times as I did, so I'll always be grateful for him.
"I'd always had a great rivalry with Cara (Langendem), we'd had interstates just a couple of days before Aussies 2009 and she had just beaten me then, which she hadn't been able to do for a while.
"So I just headed into Aussies that year with an open mind and gave it everything I've got, and luckily for me I came out on top.
"But my biggest rival, and the person I probably enjoyed competing against the most was Chanelle Morrison (nee Hickman).
"We tussled a lot, we were club mates but also country rivals, and it was great competing against her at World Champs as she competed for New Zealand."
Melissa later married fellow beach flags sensation, Paul Cracoft-Wilson, with both surely housing a trophy room that rivals the Darryl Kerrigan.
There hasn't been anyone who has come close to Melissa's record, so for now and for undoubtedly many years to come, she'll remain the Aussies queen of beach flags.
This story first appeared on SLSA.
