With eight qualification places on the line for the 2020/21 Kellogg Nutri-Grain IronMan and Ironwoman Series, close to a hundred Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series hopefuls descended on Kingscliff beach in northern NSW on Saturday.
Athlete’s battled it out across three races and formats – short and sharp (8-10 mins), longer tradition format (12-14min) and an M Shape (20-25min), with four heats for the men and three for the women.
A progressive point score was held across the heats with the top 20 males and females with the lowest point score, across their three races, securing a spot in the finals on Sunday.
Back from injury, 2018/19 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman Series Champion Ali Day proved he hasn’t lost his touch, winning all three of his three races, topping the point score heading into Sunday.
Newport young gun Zach Morris qualified second with Redhead’s Dan Collins third.
In the women’s event, Maroochydore’s Tiarnee Massie was the best and most consistent with two wins and a second place with Emily Doyle (Newport) and Taylah Halliday (Alexandra Headland) rounding out the top three.
Surf Life Saving Australia National Sport Manager Wayne Druery said that the first day of racing in 10 months was fantastic and had taken a lot of work to get to this stage.
“Everyone associated with Surf Sports has had a long off-season due to COVID-19 so it was great to be back on the beach racing and the quality was fantastic,” said Druery.
“We have all gone through a hell of a lot to get here and I couldn’t be happier with today’s event and racing and tomorrow will no doubt be even better.”
The top 20 males and 20 females who have progressed to the Sunday finals will compete across the same three formats as Saturday, with a new progressive point score being kept across the three rounds.
Finals will kick off from 9:00 AM (AEDT) on Sunday morning with a separate progressive point score being kept. The final top eight males and eight females with the lowest point score will secure a coveted spot in the 2020/21 Nutri-Grain Iron Series.
Stay tuned to all the action and updates from Sunday’s final on the live blog.
For a full list of athletes who have passed to the Sunday finals please see below.
Top 20 Males:
| Name | Last name | Club | Pointscore |
| Alastair | Day | Surfers Paradise | 3 |
| Zach | Morris | Newport | 5 |
| Daniel | Collins | Redhead | 8 |
| Joe | Collins | Northcliffe | 9 |
| Cooper | Williams | Alexandra Headland | 9 |
| Ky | Kinsela | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 10 |
| Hayden | White | Currumbin | 10 |
| Corey | Fletcher | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 11 |
| Isaac | Smith | Newport | 11 |
| Finn | Askew | Surfers Paradise | 12 |
| Isak | Costello | Redhead | 12 |
| Joseph | McMenamin | Northcliffe | 12 |
| Simon | Murfet | Mermaid Beach | 12 |
| Hayden | Cotter | Maroochydore | 13 |
| Nathan | Jay | Wanda | 13 |
| Jarryd | McDonnell | Surfers Paradise | 13 |
| Nathan | Gray | Surfers Paradise | 14 |
| Wesley | Gould | Kurrawa | 16 |
| Auden | Parish | Northcliffe | 17 |
| Noah | Steiner | Wanda | 17 |
Top 20 Females:
| Name | Last name | Club | Pointscore |
| Tiarnee | Massie | Maroochydore | 4 |
| Emily | Doyle | Newport | 5 |
| Tayla | Halliday | Alexandra Headland | 6 |
| Jayde | Hardstaff | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 6 |
| Naomi | Scott | Manly | 9 |
| Madison | Spencer | Newport | 10 |
| Lily | O’Sullivan | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 11 |
| Emma | Woods | Alexandra Headland | 11 |
| Hannah | Sculley | Northcliffe | 12 |
| Olivia | Corrin | Northcliffe | 13 |
| Electra | Outram | Noosa Heads | 13 |
| Ela | Heiniger | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 14 |
| Carla | Papac | Wanda | 15 |
| Taylar | Puskaric | Wanda | 16 |
| Greta | Petersen | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 17 |
| Charlotte | Cross | Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park | 18 |
| Lucy | Derbyshire | Northcliffe | 18 |
| Jade | Slee | Mermaid Beach | 18 |
| Lily | Finati | North Bondi | 20 |
| Ella | Brown | Maroochydore | 21 |