Series Royalty Crowned At King Of The Bays

The winners of the 2015-16 NZ Ocean Swim Series have been crowned today at the series finale, the King of The Bays swim held on Auckland’s North Shore.
 
Despite a gloomy forecast, near perfect weather conditions set the stage for Kane Radford and Charlotte Webby to take home their respective titles in the series decider this morning.
 
Radford had a decisive win with a time of 0:29:24. Webby had Olympic qualifier Emma Robinson hot on her heels for most of the swim, but crossed the line first with a time of 0:31:02. 
 
New Zealand Ocean Swim Series, Event Organiser, Scott Rice, says; “Congratulations to Kane and Charlotte on their well-deserved wins.”
 
“What a fantastic finish to the season with over 1550 swimmers turning out for the 13th King of the Bays event at Takapuna Beach!”
 

Charlotte Webby, 2015/2016 NZ Ocean Swim Series winner crossing the finish line. Photo courtesy of Purple Sherbet PR

Recreational swimmers of all ages and abilities found themselves today rubbing shoulders with the likes of Former Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist and three time Olympian Dean Kent as well as 2008 70.3 World Champion, Terenzo Bozzone. 

Shortland Street fans were also thrilled to see Pua Magasiva (Vinnie), Jarod Rawiri (Mo Hannah) and Matt Chamberlain (Murray Cooper) take the plunge.
 
Rice founded the popular series over a decade ago when he fired the starting gun on the first King of the Bays event in 2004.
 
This season saw the addition of a seventh event to the series calendar, the Rotorua Legend of the Lake and the return of the series to Corsair Bay in the newly named Christchurch Crown after a post earthquake stint in Akaroa.
 
Other distances at the King of the Bays included; the 300m ‘Tag Team Relay’ and ‘Give it A Go’, 1000m ‘Step it Up’, and for youngsters (under 13 years of age) the 200m ‘OceanKids’ event.
 

Kane Radford and Charlotte Webby post swim. Photo courtesy of Purple Sherbet PR

Today also marked the announcement of the final six members to join this season’s Jetstar Super Swim Squad. The squad is made up of the talented youngsters (aged 7-13 yrs) who win their age group in the OceanKids 200m events throughout the season. This involves attendance at an end of season training camp in Auckland with top name elite swimmers and coaches. Airfares and accommodation will be provided by Jetstar for children and a caregiver.
 
New Jetstar Super Swim Squad members include Danielle Asiata (Howick, Auckland), Koen Dettling (Grey Lynn, Auckland), Kasha Stokes (Papamoa, Tauranga), James Donovan (Puhoi, Rodney District, Auckland), Aimee Oswald (Milford, Auckland), and Harrison Collins (Woburn, Lower Hutt).
 
The charity partner for the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series is Surf Life Saving New Zealand.
 
For more information on this popular series, please visit www.oceanswim.co.nz