A Weekend Of Excellence In Lifesaving Sport At The Aon New Zealand Pool Rescue Championships

After three exciting days of competition from 2628 September 2025, the Aon New Zealand Pool Rescue Championships wrapped up at the Sir Owen G. Glenn National Aquatic Centre in Auckland with athletes from all over New Zealand delivering outstanding performances. The event showcased not just speed, but skill, teamwork and commitment across all age groups.

The weekend included 561 competitors of whom 52.5% were female, and they came from 33 New Zealand clubs. In addition to local athletes two Australian clubs, one NSW state team, and one Australian national lifesaving team all competed. They were supported by 40 incredible volunteers who helped to deliver an incredible event; giving a combined 1200 volunteer hours over three days.

Highlights from the weekend included an incredible five new world records – one youth (under- 19), two masters, and two open – plus a whopping 34 new national records.

Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club came out on top with 414 points and took home the Paul Kent Memorial Trophy. Their coach Tom Lowe says; “I’m incredibly proud of the group at Mairangi Bay, their drive to improve is reflected in their personal bests, new national records, plus a 4x50m Mixed Lifesaver world record. Thank you to all the volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly to make this happen - pool rescue in New Zealand is thriving.”

Surf Life Saving Campaign Manager Steve Kent says that the weekend's Super lifesaver races showed how the standards of our national championships are being raised; “Normally we get maybe one or two people competing at the world-class level - but for us to now have eight girls and eight boys all doing world-class times that's a great thing for the sport in New Zealand. And we’re hoping this is a good sign for us as we head to the European tour in November then the world championships in 2026.”

The Black Fins team for this November’s European tour was named at the end of the weekend’s medal ceremony, and includes: Rae Kwan, Zoe Crawford, Fergus Eadie, Sam Brown and Louis Clark from Mairangi Bay; Madison Kidd from Whangamatā, Pippa Nicol from Mount Maunganui, Isaac Gear from Piha, and Jasper Cornish from Red Beach.

Madison Kidd, who was selected for the European team, celebrated her world record-breaking race on Sunday, saying; “I’m absolutely stoked with the world record in the 100m Tow. It’s something I knew I could do for a while, I just needed to put it all together - to be able to break it with my Whangamatā cap on is pretty special. Pool Rescue is looking extremely exciting for New Zealand - I think it’s something we should all be proud about!”

Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s GM Sport Zac Franich, said; “This weekend has shown the very best of our sport. From masters to seniors to junior athletes – we’ve had three days of fun, excitement, and world-class racing. The support from our lifesaving community and from Aon, our partner in delivering this event, has been fantastic. Congratulations to everyone involved.”

Aon New Zealand CEO Melissa Cantell said; “It was fantastic to support the event and see talented athletes from across the motu compete. Our communities are in good hands, as these lifeguards are fit and ready to patrol our beaches over the summer.”

© Scoop Media