I am waiting in my car for the rest of my team to arrive to training and I 'm scrolling through my phone 's camera roll. I come across a photo of my dad 's surfboat team all standing proudly, first place, on the podium. The 2017 Surf lifesaving nationals is such a vivid memory for me and I remember this weekend well…
An abrupt piercing stream of light breaks on my face. Baffled by its brightness I grunt and moan for it to stop. It is my dad. He is up bright and early, except, it is not bright. The moon is still gleaming in the sky outside. It 's the day of the final races and the pressure has undoubtedly hit everyone in the team. We all begin to get ready for the momentous day.. dad crams the car with towels and helmets for the girls, Grace frantically wraps her brace around her constantly fractured finger, Alex scrambles from room to room trying to get herself together, Dayna
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The gun breaks the silence in the air and the race is underway. Other competitors spread along the beach cheering their clubs on. Adrenaline charges from my head to my toes. I begin to pace back and forth. I can feel my heart in my throat as I wait for them to turn back to shore. The race was tight. Six teams all turning around the buoy at once. It was all or nothing. I can here the sweeps yelling at their crews. I pick up a fearful, "Come on girls, keep it going", from my dad as they start to fall off the back of a wave. I can only imagine how unpromising this could be. Just for a second I thought it was over, there 's no stopping these girls though. The bow reaches over the tip of the wave as they manage to pull themselves back onto it. All teams row into shore along the one wave, a perfect storm commencing. Dayna jumps out from the back of the boat and within split seconds all six crews sprint for the finish. I can 't watch. "And the Muriwai Munchkins take it out, here are your 2017 short course champions!" I feel a sense of gratification from the team. They did it.