Four years complete, with the fifth nearly upon us. Of those four years of Interclub competition on the North Coast, each has been gripping and full of twists & turns until the very end. This is testament to how the clubs of the region have embraced the competition – Maybe none more so than that off our reigning Champions, the Byron Breakers.
The club was in its infancy during ICL01, and President Deb Fuller saw the Interclub as a way of galvanising her athletes around a common goal. It provided a focus for training and an identity. The club came ever so close in ICL01, cracked the code for ICL02, came ever so close again in ICL03 before once again claiming the crown in ICL04.
Seven events will determine who the Premier club on the North Coast will be for ICL05.
Kicking off on November 20th at the Kingscliff Triathlon with both the Sprint and Olympic providing Performance Points before round 2 at the iconic Yamba Triathlon on December 4th. The Post-Christmas break sees all clubs descend upon Trial Bay on February 12th with the Tweed Enduro just a week later with Performance Points up for grabs in both the Enduro and Sprint distances.
Round 5 is back to Kingscliff with the Sprint and Olympic distances offering Performance Points before heading to the Byron Triathlon for the penultimate round and finally, the last round at the Club Championships in Forster where the all-important double points will be up for grabs.
It will be another fascinating edition and although Byron will start as favourites, it will be a close-ran affair that’s more than likely, decided on the final day in Forster.
ICL03 Champions, the Clarence Valley Stingrays will be in the mix as will a resurgent Coffs Harbour Rockets, who are still chasing their second title after securing the honours for ICL01. The Hat Head Hammerheads will be sniffing around the top of the ladder once again and will be hoping to turn yet another podium finish, into a North Coast League title. The Grafton Bull Sharks who debuted during ICL04 will kick on and be competitive, and with another years’ experience – ICL06 next year could be a different story. The Ballina Seahorses and Tweed Valley Volcanoes will also have moments of success throughout the season, as they have in each of the previous ICL North Coast editions – whether they can find some consistency remains to be seen.
