Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Sideline Sid can't believe that the Western Bay has just woken up to the fact that the horse has bolted, with one of the iconic sporting events held each summer, being whisked away to another venue.

The Northern Regional Surf Lifesaving championships, which have become the Eastern Region Surf Lifesaving championships, was allowed to quietly pull up sticks and move to Whangamata without a whimper of protest.

For nearly 30 years of the Auckland Anniversary long weekend, surf lifeguards from throughout the North Island (and a small contingent from the South Island) would gather on the at Mount Maunganui Main Beach, to test their skills in a variety surf sports events.

This was no small event, but was the second biggest surf carnival in the country after the National championships. Over a thousand competitors, a couple of hundred officials and a myriad of supporters would descend on the Mount for two days of non-stop competition.

The realisation that the event had gone only hit home on the long weekend, with an empty main beach and vacancy signs at the some of the holiday accommodation around the district. Thousands upon thousands of dollars that the surf sport fraternity spent over the three days in town had moved north to Whangamata.

Also missing from the Mount main beach is the highly popular New Zealand Surf League. While the two-day elite surf sport event was canned mainly because of the economic climate – the televised event is another that has seen the local business economy take another financial hit. You can bet you bottom dollar, both iconic events wouldn't have been allowed to leave the likes of Taupo, who go out of their way to grab and hold sporting events in the Great Lake region.

Talking about Taupo - the then Bay of Plenary Surf Lifesaving Association took a surf carnival to the Great Lake about a decade ago. There was a small band of local who provided a water rescue service on the lake, with the surf carnival giving the group some media profile.

There were plenty of surprised looks from passing motorists, who came around a corner of the main highway, to come upon a surf carnival with paddleboards and surf skis in action. It is probably the only surf carnival in the country that has had a temporary halt to move a bunch of swans from the course.

The day was a blast with a number of changes necessitated by the venue. The beach sprints were run on the grass and the fresh water provided a completely different environment for the swimmers.

While I had made a mental note, to give cricket a rest in my column for a couple of weeks, it would be remiss of me not to mention the Bay of Plenty Hawke Cup encounter at the Bay Oval over the weekend.

The Bay went into their Hawke Cup defence against Manawatu, with a so so record of defending the long time NZ Cricket minor association trophy. While they had won the trophy on three occasions, the Bay had defended it just three times.

For the first two days it looked like the Cup would be heading south as Manawatu held the momentum. Going into the last day, the Bay needed an outright win after surrendering first innings points. However, the Bay boys dug deep to roll the visitors reasonably cheaply in their second turn at bat, then chase down 207 at nearly a run a ball.

It was courageous performance from the Bay side, however there will be little time for celebration, as they must defence the prestigious cricket trophy in ten days time.

Seeya at the Game