# Iron Series

The Iron Series (known as the Shaw and Partners Iron Series under naming rights) is a professional iron man and iron women racing series operated by Surf Life Saving Australia. It is best known for its time as the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman Series; the cereal company sponsored the event for almost 40 years.
The series has over the years taken place over various locations, including: Smiths Beach in the Margaret River region of South West Western Australia; Newcastle Beach in Newcastle, New South Wales; North Cronulla Beach in Cronulla, New South Wales; Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland; and Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Queensland.

## History

Professional ironman racing was born out of the movie The Coolangatta Gold which featured multiple Australian Ironman champion Grant Kenny and was won by Guy Leech. With significant media attention beginning to grow, Surf Life Saving Australia established the ‘Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Grand Prix’ in 1986. The aim of the series was to generate a high public profile and showcase for the sport, the athletes and the surf life saving movement.

## Formats

The Iron Series is contested over a various race formats which help to create an even playing field for the competitors.

### Loop Format

Description: A continuous race over a conventional Ironman course, swim, board, ski and run. Each 'Loop' consists of one lap of each discipline. A race may consist of three Loops for men and two loops for women, depending on conditions and the course. The order of the disciplines in the race will vary depending on the event.

### M-Shape

Description: A continuous race over a modified course, where the competitors round 3 markers, two beyond the swell, and one on the beach. A race may consist of three loops for men and two for women, depending on conditions and the course.

### Triple Sprint Pursuit

Description: Two conventional Ironman races with the combined points totals to determine handicap starting positions in a third race. The result of the third race determines the round placings. Introduced in Round 1 of the 2015/16 series at Coolum Beach.

### Endurosurf

Endurosurf is a 40-minute Iron race over an M-Shaped or traditional course. Each of the disciplines of swim, board, ski will be completed two or three times, with competitors taking on the surf break again and again.

### Super Sprint

The Super Sprint involves three separate, 10-minute races with 5-minutes rest between each race. Equal points are allocated for races 1 and 2 with double points being awarded for the final race.

### The Specialist

The Specialist is four separate races, one for each discipline of swim, board, ski and run. There will be a 5-minute countdown between each race. At the conclusion of the four separate races, the final race will be conducted with a staggered start commencing from the finish arch. The athlete ranked 1st after the four Specialist races will start on ‘GO,’ with the remaining athletes then starting 2-seconds apart in sequential order in accordance to their ranking.

### Eliminator

The Eliminator event, also known as the "Survival" event, involves three separate, 10-12 minute long Iron races where the last five to six finishers of each race are eliminated, leaving six to eight competitors to start the final race.

### WaveCross

WaveCross is a 12-minute traditional iron-man race is held. The fastest 16 competitors qualify for the quarter-final stage.
The quarter-finals feature four groups of four competitors each, the discipline order is swim-board-ski, and the top two from each group qualify for the semi-finals.
The semi-finals feature two groups of four competitors each, the discipline order is board-ski-swim, and the top two from each group qualify for the final.
The final features four competitors, and the discipline order is ski-swim-board.
The format is based on the traditional course however single buoys may be utilised.
In the event that the WaveCross format cannot be run due to weather or surf conditions, SLSA will advise of an alternative format.

## Points

Since the 2011/12 series, the following points awarded for each competitor per round were as follows:
| | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2017 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 to 2021/22 |
| 1st | 20 | | 20 | 20 | 23 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 20 |
| 2nd | 17 | | 17 | 17 | 20 | 98 | 88 | 88 | 19 |
| 3rd | 15 | | 15 | 15 | 18 | 96 | 78 | 78 | 18 |
| 4th | 13 | | 13 | 13 | 16 | 94 | 70 | 70 | 17 |
| 5th | 12 | | 12 | 12 | 15 | 92 | 64 | 64 | 16 |
| 6th | 11 | | 11 | 11 | 14 | 90 | 60 | 60 | 15 |
| 7th | 10 | | 10 | 10 | 13 | 88 | 57 | 57 | 14 |
| 8th | 9 | | 9 | 9 | 12 | 86 | 55 | 55 | 13 |
| 9th | 8 | | 8 | 8 | 11 | 84 | 54 | 53 | 12 |
| 10th | 7 | | 7 | 7 | 10 | 82 | 53 | 51 | 11 |
| 11th | 6 | | 6 | 6 | 9 | 81 | 52 | 49 | 10 |
| 12th | 5 | | 5 | 5 | 8 | 80 | 51 | 47 | 9 |
| 13th | 4 | | 4 | 4 | 7 | 79 | 50 | 45 | 8 |
| 14th | 3 | | 3 | 3 | 6 | 78 | 49 | 43 | 7 |
| 15th | 2 | | 2 | 2 | 5 | 77 | 48 | 41 | 6 |
| 16th | 1 | | 1 | - | 4 | 76 | 47 | 39 | 5 |
| 17th | - | | - | - | 3 | 75 | 46 | 37 | 4 |
| 18th | - | - | - | - | 2 | 74 | 45 | 35 | 3 |
| 19th | - | - | - | - | - | 73 | 44 | 33 | 2 |
| 20th | - | - | - | - | - | 72 | 43 | 31 | 1 |

## Women's series results (top five)

| Season | Competitors | Winner | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 1990/91 | | Samantha O’Brien | | | | |
| 1991/92 | | Karla Gilbert | | | | |
| 1992/93 | | | | | | |
| 1993/94 | | | | | | |
| 1994/95 | | | | | | |
| 1995/96 | | | | | | |
| 1996/97 | | Stacey Gartrell | | | | |
| 1997/98 | Nil | Not Conducted | | | | |
| 1998/99 | | Denby Stokes | | | | |
| 1999/00 | | Denby Stokes/Kristy Munroe | | | | |
| 2000/01 | | Karla Gilbert | | | | |
| 2001/02 | | Karla Gilbert | | | | |
| 2002/03 | | Karla Gilbert | Penny Turner | Kristyl Smith | | |
| 2003/04 | | Kristy Cameron | Kristyl Smith | Hayley Bateup | Naomi Flood | Lee Vrolyks |
| 2004/05 | | Kristy Cameron | Kristyl Smith | Chelsea Mackenzie | | |
| 2005/06 | | Kristy Cameron | Kristy Munroe | Emma Wynne | | |
| 2006/07 | | Kristy Harris (née Cameron) | Liz Pluimers | Kristyl Smith | Alicia Marriott | Allira Richardson |
| 2007/08 | | Liz Pluimers | | | | |
| 2008/09 | | Naomi Flood | Kristyl Smith | Liz Pluimers | Courtney Hancock | |
| 2009/10 | 23 | Alicia Marriott | Liz Pluimers | Naomi Flood | Kristyl Smith, Hayley Bateup (tied) | |
| 2010/11 | 21 | Courtney Hancock | Liz Pluimers | Alicia Marriot | Kristyl Smith | Gemma Newbiggin |
| 2011/12 | 21 | Liz Pluimers | Kristyl Smith | Courtney Hancock | Jordan Mercer | Brodie Moir |
| 2012/13 | 17 | Courtney Hancock | Naomi Flood | Brodie Moir | Jordan Mercer | Rebecca Creedy |
| 2013/14 | 16 | Courtney Hancock | Liz Pluimers | Kristyl Smith | Maddy Dunn | Rebecca Creedy |
| 2014/15 | 15 | Liz Pluimers | Rebecca Creedy | Harriett Brown | Courtney Hancock | Jordan Mercer |
| 2015/16 | 18 | Jordan Mercer | Kirsty Higgison | Brodie Moir | Georgia Miller | Maddy Dunn |
| 2017 | 20 | Harriet Brown | Courtney Hancock | Karlee Nurthen | Maddy Dunn | Georgia Miller |
| 2017/18 | 20 | Brielle Cooper | Harriet Brown | Georgia Miller | Lana Rogers | Courtney Hancock |
| 2018/19 | 20 | Georgia Miller | Maddy Dunn | Lana Rogers | Kirsty Higgison | Brielle Cooper |
| 2019/20 | 20 | Lana Rogers | Georgia Miller | Lizzie Welborn | Harriet Brown | Danielle McKenzie |
| 2020/21 | 20 | Lana Rogers | Georgia Miller | Lizzie Welborn | Danielle McKenzie | Tiarnee Massie |
| 2021/22 | 21 | Harriet Brown | Danielle McKenzie | Courtney Hancock | Hannah Sculley | Aly Bull |
| 2022/23 | 22 | Georgia Miller | Lizzie Welborn | Danielle McKenzie | Lucy Derbyshire | Tiarnee Massie |
| 2023/24 | 28 | Lana Rogers | Georgia Miller | Olivia Corrin | Electra Outram | Tiarnee Massie |
| 2024/25 | 28 | Lucy Derbyshire | Tiarnee Massie | Lizzie Welborn | Georgia Fitzsimmons | Electra Outram |
In the 2010/11 series, Pluimers won four of the five rounds, but her 17th-place finish in the fourth round meant she finished second in the series, six points behind series winner Courtney Hancock.

## Men's series results (top five)

| Season | Competitors | Winner | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 1986/87 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1987/88 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1988/89 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1989/90 | | Trevor Hendy | | | | |
| 1990/91 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1991/92 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1992/93 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1993/94 | | Darren Mercer | | | | |
| 1994/95 | | Dean Mercer | | | | |
| 1995/96 | | Dean Mercer | | | | |
| 1996/97 | | Dean Mercer | | | | |
| 1997/98 | Nil | Not conducted | | | | |
| 1998/99 | | Dean Mercer | | | | |
| 1999/00 | | Zane Holmes | | | | |
| 2000/01 | | Zane Holmes | | | | |
| 2001/02 | | Ky Hurst | | | | |
| 2002/03 | | Shannon Eckstein | Dean Mercer | Steve Meredith | | |
| 2003/04 | | Zane Holmes | | | | |
| 2004/05 | | Zane Holmes | | Shannon Eckstein | | |
| 2005/06 | | Shannon Eckstein | Pierce Leonard | Zane Holmes | | |
| 2006/07 | | Shannon Eckstein | Zane Holmes | Wes Berg | Dean Mercer | Nathan Smith |
| 2007/08 | | Zane Holmes | Shannon Eckstein | | Pierce Leonard | |
| 2008/09 | | Shannon Eckstein | Zane Holmes | Matt Poole | Pierce Leonard | |
| 2009/10 | 25 | Shannon Eckstein | Hugh Dougherty | Ky Hurst | Rhys Drury | Corey Jones |
| 2010/11 | 21 | Shannon Eckstein | Matt Poole | Zane Holmes | Caine Eckstein | Hugh Dougherty, Wes Berg (tied) |
| 2011/12 | 21 | Caine Eckstein | Alastair (Ali) Day | Shannon Eckstein | Ky Hurst | Zane Holmes |
| 2012/13 | 17 | Shannon Eckstein | Kendrick Louis | Alastair (Ali) Day | Matt Poole | Ky Hurst |
| 2013/14 | 16 | Shannon Eckstein | Ky Hurst | Kendrick Louis | Matt Poole | Caine Eckstein |
| 2014/15 | 15 | Alastair (Ali) Day | Shannon Eckstein | Matt Poole | Ky Hurst | Kendrick Louis |
| 2015/16 | 18 | Shannon Eckstein | Alastair (Ali) Day | Matt Bevilacqua | Matt Poole | Luke Cuff |
| 2017 | 20 | Matt Poole | Shannon Eckstein | Kendrick Louis | Alastair (Ali) Day | Luke Cuff |
| 2017/18 | 20 | Matt Bevilacqua | Alastair (Ali) Day | James Lacy | Max Brooks | Shannon Eckstein |
| 2018/19 | 20 | Alastair (Ali) Day | Kendrick Louis | Matt Poole | Ben Carberry | Cory Taylor |
| 2019/20 | 20 | Kendrick Louis | Matt Bevilacqua | Matt Poole | Tanyn Lyndon | TJ Hendy |
| 2020/21 | 20 | Alastair (Ali) Day | Jy Timperley | Joe Collins | Matt Bevilacqua | Cory Taylor |
| 2021/22 | 21 | Alastair (Ali) Day | Matt Bevilacqua | Jy Timperley | Dan Collins | Kendrick Louis |
| 2022/23 | 21 | Matt Bevilacqua | Ben Carberry | Joe Collins | Cory Taylor | Finn Askew |
| 2023/24 | 20 | Alastair (Ali) Day | Joe Collins | Matt Bevilacqua | Zach Morris | Finn Askew |
| 2024/25 | 28 | Conner Maggs | Joel Piper | Zach Morris | Matt Bevilacqua | Finn Askew |