2026 National Surf Life Saving Championships

Ohope Beach turned it on for the 2026 National Surf Life Saving Championships! From Thursday 5 March through to Sunday 8 March, a group of Pāpamoa College students represented their Surf Clubs at this prestigious national event.

Standout Performances:

Oliver Pepers

🥇 1st: U17 Men's Iron Man Race
🥉 3rd: U17 Men’s Surf Race
🥉 3rd: U17 Men’s Board Race

Oliver and team:

🥈 2nd: U17 Men's Surf Race
🥈 2nd: U17 Men’s Taplin Relay
🥉 3rd: U17 Men’s Board Race

Oliver is also in the NZ High Performance Training Squad and will be away for a training camp in July.

Travis Carnegie & Team

🥇 1st: U17 Mens Surf Teams Race

Mackenzie Carnegie & Team

🥇 1st: U15 Rescue Tube Team Race
🥈 2nd: U15 Beach Sprint Relay

A massive congratulations to all of our Pāpāmoa College students who stepped up to compete in this event. Every athlete gave it everything.

🇦🇺 Next Stop: Australia!

It doesn’t stop there! We have four students heading across the ditch to compete in the 2026 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships from March 25–29 at North Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast.

Known as "The Aussies," this is a massive annual event where members from Australia’s 314+ Surf Clubs and internationals compete in more than 550 beach and ocean events. It is the largest event of its kind in the world, second only to the likes of the Commonwealth Games in terms of athlete numbers!

We wish the best of luck to:

✨ Caitlyn Strange

✨ Mackenzie Carnegie

✨ Travis Carnegie

✨ Oliver Pepers

We look forward to hearing all about your successes and results!!