message from the president - sawtell surf life saving...
TRANSCRIPT
Orange Cap
thanks and new
IRB Training
on offer
page 2
Competition
Latest
page 3
Club Clock
page 5
NEW:
Competitor Profile
page 6
Message from the President
s a w t e l l
Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement I received in March for my big Shave. It was great to see so many people supporting me. As the day and time neared I became more nervous and when I started seeing the other women have their heads shaved I frankly was scared. I really like my hair and the decision to shave it off was hard. I can only imagine how people feel when they have no choice - to lose their hair would be so emotionally upsetting. I have raised nearly $3000 and this will assist towards helping find a cure for Leukaemia and also towards helping families who have loved ones diagnosed with a blood cancer have a place to stay while undergoing treatment. I think my two youngest children got the most enjoyment with helping to shave my head from the look of joy on their faces as they helped with the shave. To my friend and hairdresser Kelly Turner; thank you for being involved with the shave.
Congratulations to our competitors who travelled to Umina for State. They have all been training very hard and from all the feedback I
received they did the Club, their families and themselves proud. These talented lifesavers are a credit to themselves and our club.
It is great to see some of our Nipper age managers currently doing their Bronze and all doing really well and enjoying the course. Good luck to the current Bronze group for your assessment. I look forward to seeing you all
ready for patrol next season and hope that we will have some more ‘master’ competitors in the making.
I recently chaired the Nipper AGM and just loved the positive energy from all involved. My thanks to the JASC for their commitment and dedication to nippers this season. The year was a huge success
and I would like to extend my appreciation to everyone involved - working together has helped our club become stronger.
I would like to reiterate Michael Meacham’s message (JASC Report later) on the importance of all children being able to swim as it is so important that children learn to swim. Our
a p r i l 2 0 1 6
anzac day Sawtell RSL has again requested
our support to erect tents for the
Anzac Day Service.
If you can assist please meet at
the Club at 4pm on sunday 24 april.
presentatiOn nigHtThe Club Presentation Evening is
being held at the Sawtell RSL in
the Princess Room on saturday May 7. Tickets MUst be
pre –purchased.
A flyer will shortly be coming
your way.
slsc
Our Club, a place to Belong, Grow and be Safewww.sawtellsurfclub.com.au
c O M M U n i t y p l a n n i n g p r O f i c i e n c y
Club cannot teach nippers to swim. Our aim is to impart Surf skills which the Club aims to develop at nippers. Learning to swim and then undertaking squads will provide the kids with essential life-long skills living as we do near the ocean. There are so many options available if our nippers/kids are competent swimmers. They can have so much fun in the surf and importantly they will come to appreciate the ever-changing nature, force and beauty of the ocean.
It is not long now until the patrol season is over and I look forward to seeing many of you at our Presentation Evening on saturday 7
May. We are back at the RSL club and have invited our under 13’s
and 14’s to join us. This is a great opportunity to thank you all for
the great season and for your valuable time and commitment to our club.
Don’t forget the Patrol Cameron on Anzac Day – a great way to
celebrate to last day of patrol for this season
See you on the beach….
Leanne James
Message from Club CaptainIt’s been a busy time for our Club with the Easter patrol commitments; Water Safety for the BCU Tri, Coffs Ocean Swims and Board Training; and Bronze Training for both Sawtell and The Armidale School. The good news is that we have well and truly met all our commitments. I’m especially grateful to those who continue to turn up to do water safety for the training and major events at the Harbour. These additional commitments rely on willing volunteers and it’s always pleasing to see so many Sawtell members prepared to do their bit. In the case of the BCU Tri and the Coffs Ocean Swims the Club receives a sizeable financial contribution for our help with the quantum of the contribution dependent on the number of members who help. Next year it would be good to see more members participating, especially as it could be a really big year for the Ocean Swims being the 20th anniversary as well as now being on an international ocean swim program. A huge congratulations to Ky Kinsela who is a patrolling member on Patrol 7. Ky came first in both the 600 m and the 2 km Ocean Swims.
Beach conditions were pretty tricky over Easter and we had lots of people at the beach due to the good weather. Our patrols did a great job keeping locals and visitors safe. Over Easter we undertook 8 rescues with one person taken to hospital for a check-up after swallowing a fair bit of water.
There are now only 7 days of patrolling to go before the season ends which means that for all patrols except Patrols 1 & 2 (who have 2 to go) there will only be one more patrol before a well- earned rest from patrol commitments
The quality of our patrol efforts is audited 4 times a season by the Branch Director of Lifesaving. It is very noteworthy that for all 4 patrol audits this season the Club achieved the highest possible score of 300 points out of a possible 300 points. Congratulations to all members for this great result and especially to Neil Robertson’s patrol who scored 2 of these audits.
Please consider participating at the Club end-of-season social event. Details appear later in this Newsletter.
The end of the patrol season marks the start of the IRB Crewperson course which will be followed immediately after by the IRB Driver Course. These are really essential skills for our patrols as we cannot patrol with a fully operational IRB with every patrol
so I would like to encourage all Bronze members to consider doing these courses.The courses have both been simplified for this year so I expect that we should be able to finish both courses a bit quicker than in previous years.
To be eligible to undertake the Crewpersons course you must have a Bronze Medallion and be proficient. To be eligible to do the Drivers course you must be a Crewperson and be at least 17 years old at the date of assessment. Both courses are a lot of fun with the emphasis being on practical skills. The IRB training team is champing at the bit waiting for the course to start!
We are going to start on sunday 24 april at 7:00 am. If you are interested please give me a call.
Steve Rayson
0429 025 845
Competition Captain’s Report
repOrt nsw state cHaMpiOnsHips - UMina For the fourth time in a row the NSW State Championships were held at Umina/Ocean Beach. First events on 27/28 February were the lifesaving championships which involves theory and resuscitation as well as beach and water events. Sawtell was represented by Grace Foster being the first time a Sawtell member has entered this event. To come 7th in the final was a magnificent effort. Well done Grace.
Then the nippers showed their skills. Sawtell had a very small representation…in fact again only one…but a special one: U12 Aidan Blaxland, who had a very impressive and successful Country. Aidan didn’t disappoint with 3 finals in a super competitive field. And he saved the best race for last, managing a Bronze medal in the prestigious Iron race! Well done Aidan and congratulations on a strong season.
The third weekend involved. Sawtell had 7 members competing: Anna Fry, Grace Foster, Sophie McConnachie, Tahlia Kollen and Ky Kinsela as U 17s and Abby McConnachie and Mette Klinkers as U 15s. This small team competed very strongly with many hard races, finals and medals. The team made 18 finals and managed to come in 27th place being the 4th best Country club.in the overall point score with the champion Club being Newport in front of Manly.
In sunny, warm and Jetty-like conditions the outstanding results were: Gold for Ky in U17 swim and Gold for Sophie and Tahlia in U19 Board Rescue. Congratulations with these spectacular results and State titles!
Other points scoring results were 5th for Tahlia and Sophie in U17 Board Rescue, 5th for Tahlia in U17 Iron, 5th for Ky in U17 Iron and 6th for Mette in U15 Board.
Next year the State Titles are moving north to Swansea Belmont so hopefully this will encourage more nipper, open and master competitors to represent our club.
repOrt frOM QUeensland state titles Three Sawtell athletes, Sophie McConnachie, Tahlia Kollen, and Ky Kinsela made the trek to North Burleigh beach for a hit out before competing at the Australian Championships in April.
Ky made the finals of tube, swim, ironman and board. He placed 5th in the tube and swim, and 9th in the ironman. He enjoyed the opportunity to race against top level competition in preparation for Aussies and, although not at full health, can be extremely pleased with his results. Sophie and Tahlia repeated their gold winning form by winning the U19 board rescue. Sophie also competed in the U17 board and made the final. Tahlia showed great form leading into Aussies making all four finals, and placing 6th in board, 4th in iron and 7th in swim.
The hard training continues now in preparation for Aussies.
Gerard Klinkers 0402 557 515
Our Club, a place to Belong, Grow and be Safewww.sawtellsurfclub.com.au
c O M M U n i t y p l a n n i n g p r O f i c i e n c y
JASC Report last patrOl day/fUn dayThe Club will be hosting a social event on the last day of patrols, 25 april, starting at 1pm. Events will include the infamous Patrol Cameron relay, a Dash for Cash and an Obstacle Course amongst others followed by an end of season BBQ.
Could Patrol Captains please start organising your team for the Patrol Cameron. A flyer is being sent out separately. For those not sure this is an annual team relay event based on the SLSC Cameron race and is handicapped.
> The 4 legs of the race are swim, run, board, run.
> Each patrol provides 4 members for the team comprising:
> An SRC member, a bronze member, a masters member (30+) and at least 1 male/female member.
> Handicap times and order of legs will be determined on the day subject to water conditions.
> Patrol teams may ‘borrow’ an SRC member from another patrol subject to approval by the organizer.
Our Club Clock was the centre of much discussion recently as it went from working/not-working/vanishing/, reemerging as both small and pink/returning.
Many thanks to the 9 o’clock swimmers for having this original clock up and running again.
sOMe HistOry A clock was donated by Dr Rainey McDonald back in 1953 for the Club’s first Clubhouse. Alas the weather took its toll on this clock.
When the present day Clubhouse was opened in 1982 an electric impulse clock made by Seiko was donated to the Club by members of the community. Whilst initially it was proposed by the late John Blenkin that Life Members at the time cover its cost, it was necessary to also seek support from members of the Sawtell community to cover the cost.
This clock has been repaired several times and today runs solely on battery.
Mick McGavigan, the driving force behind its repair, has penned his thoughts in an ode appearing in the Members Room.
clUB clOcK
The Club is pleased to advise members that following ongoing consultations by Rob Lyons with the suppliers the Coastalwatch Camera is now operational and is linked directly to Council Lifeguards and Surf Life Saving NSW SurfCom safety centre. The camera was relocated onto the lifeguard tower to give a better view for safety reasons and can be accessed at www.coastalwatch.com/surf-cams-surf-reports/nsw/sawtell or via the quick link available on our website.
This camera provides a great view of Sawtell Beach now and plays an important safety role 7 days a week 365 days a year. However at this time the camera is not high definition yet as Coastal Watch need to determine whether it will be subject to senseless acts of vandalism as has occurred at other locations. For this reason the camera does try to focus more on the surf to the front and north rather than the local surf breaks. Should any member see any attempt to interfere with this camera please report the matter immediately to the police. The camera has previously been used to help police and local lifesavers in the search and locate missing person showing the importance to have it located in the best possible location.
Coastal Watch have thanked the club for their support.
cOastalwatcH caMeraAnother year of Sawtell Nippers passes us by as the cooler months approach and kids move on to Winter sports, etc. Congratulations to award winners at the nippers’ presentation day (a very happy atmosphere) and my/our heartfelt thanks to the various volunteers who made that day a fabulous success. When you’re involved on the Sawtell Junior Activities Sub-Committee, you very quickly become aware of how the whole picture manages to come together because of the myriad of things that get done by the volunteers around you (IRB, water safety, Age Managers/Assistants, Beach Superintendent, BBQ team and so on). Did you know that we have a great Club!?
The last day of the season was also the day of our AGM. Afew new faces and names have joined the team and a couple have unfortunately had to leave the team, but I’ll report on this in the next newsletter. Rest assured, we have a great crew.
The highlight of the season for me, would have to be a scene I recall at Country Carnival, watching a couple of our younger kids crawl out of the water after a challenging bout with Mother Nature’s best. I know the parents love it, but it makes me feel good too, to see young people facing up to a challenge - a personal challenge - and giving their best - win or lose!
But it also gives me a buzz when I see a bunch of kids on the beach, all looking and listening attentively to their Age Manager for instruction. The aim of the Nippers program may be all about surf-safety, but there’s a lot of other good that comes from simply being in a club with a mission. Learning to be a life saver requires the learning of understanding and respect - for water, surf and people.
The Sawtell Nippers committee has much to do for the coming season. Behind the scenes, we’ll be looking at how to improve a
few things - from issues that have arisen in the past season and from our general process-improvement attitude.
And our nippers themselves will be making improvements as well!! Kids - you need to ensure that you practice swimming - laps in the pool - not just fooling around! Your Age Manager is not there to teach you to swim, they are there to help you with surf-skills, which require you to know how to swim already.
So kids, use your negotiation skills to convince mum, dad or grandad, to get you to lessons or training. You are learning to be a life saver and maybe even a top surf competitor. If you’re having trouble, come and see me (I’m learning to swim too!) and we’ll find a way to make it happen.
Till next newsletter, from the committee to the greater Nipper family and the Club, see you at the beach!
Michael Meacham
Secretary, JASC
Message from Chief Training OfficerCongratulations to Sarah Fahey and Tom
Henderson on receiving their Surf Rescue
Certificate and to the following Junior Age
Managers on completing (a while ago now)
their Junior Activities Age Manager Course:
David Blaxland, Julie Dart, Grace Foster, Anna
Fry, Gerard Klinkers, Richard McKeon and
Gavin Winchester. Well done all.
Also congratulations to the U13’s for successfully completing the Resuscitation Award, Basic Emergency Care Award.
Best wishes to the current bronze squad whose final assessment will take place in a couple of weeks.
Andrew Martin
0419 485 401
Our Club, a place to Belong, Grow and be Safewww.sawtellsurfclub.com.au
c O M M U n i t y p l a n n i n g p r O f i c i e n c y
cOntactSawtell Life Saving ClubFourth Ave Sawtell NSW 2452 Ph (02) 6653 2164www.sawtellsurfclub.com.au
cOMMittee & clUB eMails
spOnsOrsThe Club welcomes 2 new sponsors who are only too willing to help out our Club. These two are Split Expresso and Coffs Chair Covers. Check out our Sponsors by accessing the Club webpage www.sawtellsurfclub.com.au and going to the Sponsor link.
Whilst it is preferable for the Club to maintain a single key system it has been necessary to limit access to the Junior’s cage for the following reasons.
> Equipment was going out without permission plus taking boards that they should not be used.
> Boards were being returned damaged without that fact being reported.
> Equipment has gone missing.
> Equipment would rarely be returned to where it belonged.
> Leaving the nippers cage unlocked.
This equipment should be cared for if it is your own and this has not been happening.
The Club for the first time has interviewed some of our competitors this season. First interview was with Ky Kinsela.
naMe Ky Kinsela
age 15
favOUrite events Ironman, Surf Race.
training regiMe changes weekly according to what’s on and how I am feeling.
race prep depends on the events of the day.
great tips yOU’ve picKed Up You will only do well if you don’t take it too seriously and enjoy what you are doing.
gOals in sUrflife saving short & long term To medal at Aussies.
gOals in spOrt short & long term To continue to enjoy surf sports.
wHO MOst inspires yOU? Mum!
Environmental and animal welfare groups.
wHO is yOUr favOUrite atHlete? No single athlete, enjoy watching all athletes
giving of their best.
dO yOU Have any tips fOr yOUnger nipper cOMpetitOrs? You
have to enjoy what you do.
Best resUlts/favOrite MOMent First U17 State Surf Race
2016
Beating Trent Grimsey in
Yamba Ocean Swim 2015
wHere wOUld yOU liKe tO Be in 5 years tiMe I want to be 20 and be
bodysurfing at Pipeline!
any OtHer cOMMents Or MeMOries yOU wOUld liKe tO sHare Look after
the ocean and it will look after you! Enjoy it.
Thanks Ky
UpcOMing datesthese dates will be shown in the club calendar in our webpage. the calendar can be found under the lifesaving link.
april
Tuesday 12Monthly Club Meeting
16/17 Youth Aussies in Sunshine Coast, Qld
20/24 Open Aussies in Sunshine Coast, Qld
Monday 25 Anzac DayLast Day - Patrols
+ Club Fun Day/ BBQ
May
Saturday 7Presentation Night
Tuesday 10Monthly Club Meeting
JUne
Tuesday 14Monthly Club Meeting
Sunday 26 AGM
JUniOr cage access
Many thanks to Barry france from coffs real estate – presenting leanne with a cheque for $300 representing their Locals helping Locals program.
COMPETITORS PROFILE
you will only do well if you
don’t take it too seriously and
enjoy what you are doing.
Ky Kinsela