Sideline Sid - Sports blogger Sideline Sid is a local sport fanatic. Not only is he a classic rugby bloke but he has views, opinions and knowledge on all sports played in the Bay of Plenty.

While we take the brilliant summer of the Western Bay of Plenty for granted – last weekend showed us how 'Huey” can play havoc with the sporting (and outdoor) plans of the region.
Two of the big Western Bay sporting events on the weekend took place, albeit in conditions that saw spectators huddled under cover all day.

While the NRC (Northern Regional Carnival) Surf lifesaving was called off three hours short on Sunday, the Mount (Rugby) Sevens continued on schedule with the final finishing just after 7pm.
That both events carried on in the abysmal conditions of the day was testament to the durability of the participants and more importantly the officials who endured being wet throughout the competition so as the events could be completed.
At Blake Park the Mount Sevens attracted 32 teams with a good number from throughout the North Island. The final stanza was fought out between Auckland 'glamour” club Ponsonby and hosts Mount Maunganui.
While the Mount had annexed the championship title in 1997, and were beaten semi-finalists last year – the Auckland side were in uncharted territory of never having emerged victorious at the tournament.
The Western Bay was well represented in the last four, with Mount Maunganui and Rangataua in contention. Ponsonby had a real tussle with Rangataua before winning 14-5, with Mount Maunganui breezing past Auckland representatives College Rifles 21 zip.
At the break in the championship decider, the Mount was right in the fight trailing 14-5. However, in the second spell they simply ran out of petrol to let Ponsonby run in four further tries and claim the silverware 38-5.
A new order took place at the main beach at the Mount when Papamoa won the NRC top club title for the first time, from near neighbours Mount Maunganui. While there was an element of surprise in the Papamoa victory, the annexing of the champion club crown was twenty years in the making.
Two decades ago Papamoa were part of Omanu Papamoa with just a rescue outpost at Papamoa. However, a few wise men (and women) got together and charted a future for the club that can to fruition on the weekend.
While competition success was always part of the master plan, it was well down the list of objectives in the early days.
The first objective was to have effective patrolling of the Papamoa Beach by a well-trained squad of committed volunteer lifeguards. Regular weekend patrolling is the price that surf sport athletes must pay to take part in their chosen sport.
Part two of the Papamoa master plan was to grow the base of members with a comprehensive nippers (junior surf) programme. Some of the highest nipper registration numbers in the country, coupled with huge success in recent years in the New Zealand Ocean Athletes (junior surf) competition, at Mount Maunganui tell the tale of the success of part two of the master plan.
The final link in the Papamoa Strategic plan was the employment of a club coach several years ago. Whilst the club has rocketed up the competition rankings in recent years, the icing on the cake for Papamoa was to finish top of the table at the 2010 NRC event.

Seeya at the Game.