Club savours historic medal win

Broome Heat Surf Boat Crew was narrowly defeated by North Cottesloe in a “milestone” final at the 2016 Surf life Saving WA Senior State Championships last month.

Rowers Rebecca Famlonga, Carrie Selten, Katie Andrew, Jo Fox and coach/sweep Peter Selten made a stunning comeback in the women’s reserve grade surf boat final, racing from fourth to second, to claim a silver medal at Scarborough beach on March 19.

Broome Surf Life Saving Club boat captain Peter Selten said the win was well deserved after the team came second in their first heat and second in the semifinal against 15 other teams on a steep beach with 2ft swell.

“It was a bit of a milestone for the club because it was the first ever medal at this State title in the 25-year history of the club,” he said.

“We had a good crew who rowed extremely well — we have great athletes that are dedicated to their sport.

“We were the only senior country competitors to medal.

“The rest were all metropolitan teams across about 180 divisions, like ironman, swims and beach events.”

The boat crew will now take a break for a few months before the Broome season to regroup and acquire new rowers or crews.