Former Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman Champion Ali Day (Surfers Paradise) and Naomi Scott (Manly) headline the qualifiers for the 2020/21 Series following two days of racing at Kingscliff in northern NSW.
Day, the 2018/19 Nutri-Grain IronSeries champion, who missed last season due to injury, finished the weekend as the number one qualifier winning five of six races races and finishing second in his final race of the event.
“It feels so good, it almost makes you a bit emotional to be honest,” Day said on qualifying for the 2020/21 series.
“There were moments in the last 18-months when I didn’t think I’d get back to where I once was.
“I guess that’s why I put so much pressure on myself this weekend and I was almost a bit scared to tell you the truth to see how I would go.”
Manly’s Naomi Scott was the most consistent female competitor on the final day of the trial finishing first, second and third across the three races and was also emotional about her return to the Series.
“I am just so excited, it means so much to me,” said Scott who had to withdraw from the Series after Round two last year with glandular fever.
“I was definitely a bit nervous going into it, I didn’t know if what I had done was enough, but I’m so excited with how it went and it felt really good racing.
“We got to see two sides of Kingscliff yesterday and today, today it was super windy and yesterday that low tide hit the legs hard, so in the meantime, I’m going to be doing some running training over the next three weeks just to get those legs nice and fit for the low tide.”
Redhead’s Daniel Collins who took out the 2019 Qualification event, returns to the Nutri-Grain IronMan Series for another season and was hot on Ali Day’s heels throughout the day, with two seconds and a third.
Cooper Williams (Alexandra Headland) also returns to the series from 2019, while Hayden White (Currumbin) makes a return to the series having last made the series in 2017/18.
Newport Young Gun Zach Morris had a taste of the Nutri-Grain IronMan series in 2019/20 as a pathway athlete but has earned his spot in the series proper for 2020/21.
Joe Collins (Northcliffe) and Finn Askew (Surfers Paradise) will both make their debut in this year’s Nutri-Grain series in 2020/21.
Newport’s Emily Doyle will make her debut in the Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series while clubmate Maddison Spencer will make her first return to the series since 2016/17.
Alexandra Headlands’ Tayla Halliday and Emma Woods will make their debut in the 2020/21 series after standout performances all weekend, while Wanda’s Carla Papac will also make her debut.
Northcliffe’s Hannah Sculley and Olivia Corrin will return to the series for 2020/21 having competed in 2019/20.
Close to a 100 athletes battled it out across six races over the two-days with the top eight finishers across males and females, earning a place in the prestigious Series beginning on December 19 back at Kingscliff, NSW.
The athletes competed across three races and formats – short and sharp (8-10 mins), longer traditional format (12-14min) and an M Shape (20-25min) with a progressive point score to determine the overall results and qualifiers.
The Top 8 Athletes who have qualified for the Series are as follows:
Male qualifiers:
| Name | Last name | Club | Point score |
| Alastair | Day | Surfers Paradise | 4 |
| Daniel | Collins | Redhead | 7 |
| Zach | Morris | Newport | 10 |
| Cooper | Williams | Alexandra Headland | 15 |
| Ky | Kinsela | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 20 |
| Hayden | White | Currumbin | 22 |
| Joe | Collins | Northcliffe | 24 |
| Finn | Askew | Surfers Paradise | 26 |
Female qualifiers:
| Name | Last name | Club | Point score |
| Naomi | Scott | Manly | 6 |
| Tayla | Halliday | Alexandra Headland | 10 |
| Emily | Doyle | Newport | 10 |
| Carla | Papac | Wanda | 15 |
| Hannah | Sculley | Northcliffe | 18 |
| Madison | Spencer | Newport | 23 |
| Emma | Woods | Alexandra Headland | 23 |
| Olivia | Corrin | Northcliffe | 24 |
This takes the tally of athletes to 18, with the final two positions in the Series to be filled by Wild Cards, which will be announced on Thursday, December 3.
Click here for the 18 athletes that have qualified.
The dates and locations for the 2020/21 Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series are as follows:
- Qualification Round – 28-29 November 2020 – Kingscliff, NSW
- Round 1-2 – Nutri-Grain Series – 19-20 December 2020 – Kingscliff, NSW
- Round 3-4 – Nutri-Grain Series – 16-17 January 2021 – North Cronulla, NSW
- Round 5-6 (FINAL) – Nutri-Grain Series – 13-14 February 2021 – Kurrawa, QLD
All rounds of the 2020/21 Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series will be broadcast LIVE on Channel 9 from 12pm-2pm (AEDT).
There is a total of $200,000 on offer for athletes, with both men and women offered an equal $100,000 prize money across the 2020/21 Nutri-Grain Series.
In conjunction with the Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series, Surf Life Saving Australia will also run the inaugural Nutri-Grain Next-Gen Series for males and females aged U17 and U19 as a curtain raiser event. To register for this event, please click here.
For further information on the Nutri-Grain Iron Series, please visit www.ironseries.com.au