Ironman (surf lifesaving)

After the creation of the Surf Lifesaving movement in 1907,[1] members needed a way to stay fit and hone their skills in between patrols. Thus, in 1915, the first NSW Titles were held. These early titles held traditional events such as the boat race, march past, R&R and surf races. On a 1964 Australian tour of California, the competitors came across an event known as the 'Taplin', which involved a swim, ski, board legs, with running transitions. This became the ironman race. In 1966, it was first held at the Australian Championships at Coolangatta beach, and was won by Hayden Kenny.[2]

Perhaps the most famous ironman was Grant Kenny, who in 1980 at the age of 16 made the event famous by winning the Australian Junior and Australian Open Ironman championships within the space of half an hour. Grant became a national hero, appearing on cereal boxes and television advertisements, and was seen as the pinnacle of Aussie sportsmen. The short Ironman event became famous and the centre of attention at all surf carnivals.[3]

In the early 1980s a movie was made called The Coolangatta Gold, about an ironman event that required competitors to complete a 42 kilometres (26 mi) course along Queensland's Gold Coast. A circuit was then developed that mixed 10-minute Ironman races with the 'Coolangatta Gold', and a range of other professional Ironman events around Australia.[4]

In 1989 an elite group of Ironmen took the sport one step further and created an ironman event for TV. The event was named the Uncle Toby's Super Series and was initially very successful, but after 10 years of big television ratings, the retirement of a few of the sports biggest start lead to a decline in its popularity in the late 1990s. This led to the end of the Uncle Toby's Super Series in the 2000/2001 season. An attempt to revive the series was made in 2011 with the introduction of Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman Series[5] which was also televised on Network Ten however by 2011 the Australian sporting television landscape had changed, meaning live, free to air sport didn't command the same viewing numbers as the 1990s and therefore didn't support as high a level of commercial support and funding. Whilst those that watched the revived series found it highly entertaining, attracting the required large numbers proved to be an uphill battle.

In 2013, the Kellogg's Ironman series switched to the larger viewing base of Channel 9 and Wide World of Sports. They also reverted to 5 pre-recorded rounds followed by a live final. This was deemed to be a successful transition and at least temporarily breathed life back into the Australian Profession Ironman circuit. It may be a while before the return to the "household name" days of Grant Kenny, Trevor Hendy, Guy Leech and Darren Mercer but has given a new platform to young Ironman stars, Shannon and Caine Eckstein, Ky Hurst, Matt Poole, Tannin Lyndon, Ali Day and Kendrick Louis.

The typical Ironman race consists of a water leg of either swim, ski or board, that lasts about 3–4 minutes, with a course going out through the break, around a set of turning buoys, and back in. It then has a run of about 150m, around two flags on the beach, before the next water leg in a similar fashion to the first. This continues for the third water leg, before a final run to the finish line. The order for each water leg is determined at the start of every carnival by random draw. The distances for each leg vary upon conditions, however they are around 800m for the ski leg, 600m for the board, 400m for the swim and 150m for each run leg.[6]

While ironman races are held at every surf carnival, there are some major events that attract prize money, sponsorship and television coverage.

• History of Surf Lifesaving from SLSA website
• International Life Saving Federation website
• The History Of Surf Ironman on Youtube