After a hot and fast weekend of racing at Tugun on the Gold Coast, the full fields have been confirmed for the inaugural Shaw and Partners Iron Series.
Over summer, the Shaw and Partners Iron Series will be raced across three weekends and three beaches, with the opening round set to be raced at Wanda (NSW) on 17-18 December 2024.
15 men and 15 women booked their tickets for the 2024/25 Shaw and Partners Iron Series, joining the 12 men and 12 women who pre-qualified based on results from last season, as well as the Next Gen winners (one male and one female), expanding the field to 56 starters, creating greater opportunities for younger athletes to qualify and have the opportunity to compete on the national stage.
Among the qualifiers from today’s trial was Northcliffe young gun Ryley Harland, who earned his position on the start line after making his professional series debut in the 2023/24 summer.
“It feels so good – to be in the Series again is pretty amazing,” Harland said.
“I learnt so much last year, that Series was the most fun I’ve had racing. I just want to keep having fun with all the racing that I’m doing,” he said.
Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park duo Will Savage and Sean Rielly secured their Series berths.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen today, so to get through is epic,” Savage said.
“Last night I really focused on recovery, fuel and having an ice bath. And now we can have a bit of a celebration tonight, before we get back into training, and get ready for the triple iron at Wanda,” Reilly said.
Surfers Paradise teammates TJ Hendy and Max Beattie re-qualified for the 2024/25 Shaw and Partners Iron Series, both having been part of the professional series for a number of years.
Siblings Mitchell Stitt (Surfers Paradise) and Dominique Stitt (Mooloolaba) were also among today’s qualifiers, while Currumbin’s Callum Brennan will make his Series debut.
Having made the move south to Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park in the off season, Carla Papac was the first female to earn her place in the 2024/25 Shaw and Partners Iron Series from today’s trial.
“It feels so good – it’s been a little while…I had last year out of it and the year before I was but I didn’t have the results that I wanted,” Papac said.
“This is just a box to tick, and the goal has been to be in the Series but to hopefully podium or re-qualify for next year through my results.
“I’ve changed a lot of my training from long and aerobic, to short and sharp. But it’s paid off, I felt so much faster and sharper today, and felt like I recovered really well. That’s all thanks to Kingy (coach Michael King),” she said.
Sydneysider Piper Harrison will race in the Shaw and Partners Iron Series again, after making her debut last summer.
“It’s such a relief – I feel like this weekend is so stressful because you just want to be in that Series so badly, especially with the change in format and Shaw and Partners taking it on this year…I know it’s going to be an amazing Series.
“Being in the Series is such a massive learning curve, and I definitely learnt so much and grew so much as an athlete and a person being in the Series last year. Coming into this year it gives me a bit more confidence knowing that I can race at that level,” she said.
2024 Shaw and Partners Coolangatta Gold champion Jemma Smith finished in the top 15 to book her spot, while Newport clubmates Olivia Clues and Pipi Te Pania will make their professional series debut.
2024/25 SHAW AND PARTNERS IRON SERIES FIELDS
IRONMEN
- Ali Day (Surfers Paradise)
- Joe Collins (Northcliffe)
- Matt Bevilacqua (Northcliffe)
- Zach Morris (Northcliffe)
- Finn Askew (Surfers Paradise)
- Corey Fletcher (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Ky Kinsela (Tugun)
- Kendrick Louis (Manly)
- Jackson Borg (Newport)
- Cory Taylor (Northcliffe)
- Ben Carberry (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Dan Collins (Redhead)
- Ethan Callaghan (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Conner Maggs (Newport)
- Ryley Harland (Northcliffe)
- Will Savage (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Sean Rielly (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Mitchell Stitt (Surfers Paradise)
- Max Beattie (Surfers Paradise)
- TJ Hendy (Surfers Paradise)
- Kye Taylor (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Callum Brennan (Currumbin)
- Auden Parish (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Cooper Williams (Alexandra Headland)
- Henry Simpson (Alexandra Headland)
- Joel Piper (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Texas Dixon (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Brayden Casamento (Alexandra Headland)
IRONWOMEN
- Lana Rogers (Northcliffe)
- Georgia Fitzsimmons (Northcliffe)
- Olivia Corrin (Northcliffe)
- Electra Outram (Sunshine Beach)
- Tiarnee Massie (Maroochydore)
- Lizzie Welborn (Newport)
- Emily Doyle (Northcliffe)
- Naomi Scott (Northcliffe)
- Jasmine Rayward (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Emma Woods (Alexandra Headland)
- Brielle Cooper (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Lucy Derbyshire (Surfers Paradise)
- Kalani Ives (Mermaid Beach)
- Carla Papac (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Piper Harrison (Newport)
- Hannah Sculley (Northcliffe)
- Grace Harris (Alexandra Headland)
- Dominique Stitt (Mooloolaba)
- Lily O’Sullivan (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Analise Kibble (Newport)
- Claudia Kelly (Northcliffe)
- Jemma Smith (Newport)
- Bella Williams (Northcliffe)
- Charlotte Cross (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park)
- Olivia Clues (Newport)
- Lily Finati (Northcliffe)
- Pipi Te Pania (Newport)
- Mia Cook (Alexandra Headland)
2024/25 Shaw and Partners Iron Series
Round 1 – Dec 14-15, 2024 – Wanda, NSW
Round 2 – Jan 11-12, 2025 – Newcastle, NSW
Round 3 – Feb 1, 2025 – North Burleigh, QLD
Round 4 – Feb 2, 2025 – North Burleigh, QLD
All results from this weekend’s Shaw and Partners Iron Series Trial, presented by Race One Surf Craft can be found on Liveheats.
Watch all the action from today on our YouTube channel here.