Victory on Victorian shores

CALIFORNIAN and Victorian Wieland Shield teams contested the 50th Wieland Shield last week in a three-round competition.

The Wieland Shield is a biennial competition between the Californian and Victorian lifeguards, with every second competition held in the United States.

This year the three rounds were held across Ocean Grove beach on the Wednesday, Torquay surf beach on the Friday and Lorne on Saturday.

Victorian team coach Sonia Kinsey said the Wieland Shield was a great opportunity to introduce some of the younger members of the team to mix in with the older members of the Victorian team.

“The Californians brought over excellent swimmers, so we’ve had to be mindful to get early points on the board,” Sonia said.

Although the rivalry between the teams is strong, off the beach the lifeguards have been getting to know each other well.

“It’s been great to see the interaction between the two teams; we’ve even had some of them staying at our house,” Sonia said.

“Overall, the week has been great, many kids across the Bellarine and Surf Coast have had opportunities to meet and learn from the Californians, even some of my own younger athletes at Ocean Grove.”

Wednesday afternoon saw unfavourable surf conditions at Ocean Grove, with strong wind and currents affecting competitors.

The first round had many close calls at the finish line, with the Victorian team placing two points ahead of the Californians.

Friday saw extremely wet conditions for competitors, with little to no surf at Torquay. Again the Victorian team was victorious, placing four points ahead of the Californians.

The final round of the Wieland Shield brought high-stakes, with little margin for error on either team.

Victoria increased their position against California, ensuring the shield was kept by the Victorians again.

California ended their campaign on 65 points, against Victoria’s 71.

The next competition will be held in California in 2020.