Our senior club Presentation Night was held on Saturday 5 June, after being postponed from May due to COVID. It was certianly a WILD night with everyone embrasing the Jungle/Safari theme and led by our tour guide Nicole Cooney, Director of Lifesaving Services.

Noah Teitler and Andrew Newrick were certainly the big winners of the night, and well deserved recognition of their dedictaion and service to the club

Congraulations to all our winners!

Keep reading to see our winners by section, and if you weren't able to join us on the night be sure to stop by the office and see Michelle for your prize. The Club office is open Tuesday and Friday from 9am - 4pm.

Check out all the pictures on our Facebook page!

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Lifeaving patrol awards
It was a big season for lifesaving with a number of rescues, first aids and preventative actions. It was certainly an indication of the increased visitation we expereinced this season.

Great job by our Top 10 patrolling members for the season, who pulled some big hours - many who have plenty of additional un-recorded hours as well.

Make sure you come to the club office and pick up your prize if you didnt get it on the night!

 Lifesaving eductaion awards
Our eductaion team had a massive season this year training over 130 new lifesavers while rolling out the new SRC and Bronze medallion courses. They put in a lot of hours making sure we have some of the best lifesavers in the country! A massive thank you to all of our trainers and assessors.

Congtratulations to all of our new lifesavers, and to all of those who up-skilled and trained in new awards! Be sure to come by the club office and pick up your certificates and medallions.

Competition awards
Our competitors were happy to be back on the sand and in the ocean after their season was cancelled last year. This season also saw our Youth Competitor go to Aussies with great success.

Congratulations to all our medallist and a big thank you to all our coaches and officials.

Major Awards
​Kicking off the Major awards for the night was Competition. While everyone puts in a big effort here are some competitors and coaches who excelled this season.

​It's great to see a few of our Youth competitors win awards, with Lucas, Evan and Lillie all taking away awards in their discplines. We'll certianly keep an eye on them as future State and Australian Champions. Dave walks away with Ski Competitor of the Year and Jennie and Max joint winners as Masters Competitors of the Year. We see Andy take the top prize, and his first award of the night, as Coach of the Year!

Next up we have our Major lifesaving awards - and some well deserving award winners.

Noah walks away with his first award of the night with Junior Lifesaver of the Year, following on from his recent Sydney Branch awards for Junior Lifesaver of the Year and U15s Lifesaver of the Year. Here Andy picks up another 2 awards for Senior Lifesaver of the Year and PC of the Year!  Rene take the IRB Person of the Year, with his dedictaion to lifesaving IRB services.

We also recognise our dedicated trainers. ​Codie who in her first season as a trainer became qualified as both an SRC and ARTC trainer and helped with the Bronze squad takes away Rookie Trainer of the Year. Nicole, who took on the role of CTO for most of the season on top of her DOL responcibilities, guiding both new and experienced trainers through the launch of the new SRC and BM course, takes away the Trainer of the Year award. 

And finally onto the Major Club Awards, which are our Club’s highest awards, and are given to those who have contributed overall to the Club.

Noah backs up his previous awards with a well deserverd Most Outstanding Cadet of the Year, I am sure we will see much more of Noah in the years to come. Isabella takes out Most Outstanding Junior of the Year with her services to lifesaving patrol as well as training. Most Outstanding Senior of the Year goes to Darren who was highly involved in nippers operations and water safety, as well in the lifesaving space mentoring new PCs. Our Associates of the Year are our dedictaed caretakers, Barry and Leslie, who over the COVID shutdown worked hard around the clubhouse in assisting with upgrades. The final, and biggest club honour, Clubman of the Year was awarded to Maria - who played a big role in the competition section as well as the lifesaving section looking after our Youth and creating many social outlets for them.

Great effort all, and once again congratulations!

Finally we can do it without our sponsors and supporters!

​POSTPONED: Presentation Night.
New date June 5. Same time, same place.

In light of the recently introduced Covid restrictions the Board of Management has decided to postpone this Saturday's Presentation Event.

We've not taken the decision lightly but believe it is in the best interests of providing a full, safe and enjoyable night for all of our wonderful lifesavers and competitors.

We have set a new date for Saturday 5 June, same time and place. Any tickets already purchased will carry over. Anyone who can no longer attend please let us know. And for those who had not got a ticket or can now make the new date, be sure to buy your ticket!

​We apologise for this decision and any inconvenience to you.

Sunday 25 April our valuable lifesavers will complete their last patrol for season 20-21 and the red and yellow clothing will be packed away to end out a very successful season for the club. 

The difficulties  and changes endured of COVID has not once altered  the enthusiasm and commitment of our volunteers and to each and everyone of you we say thank you for a job well done. Our community has been kept safe while enjoying our beautiful beach and surrounding areas.
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Our Lifesaving Services committee are to be commended for the season and due recognition of our lifesavers will be applauded at the upcoming Presentation on Saturday May 8.

Community is important to us at South Maroubra SLSC, and as a volunteer organisation we rely on community, sponsors and grants to purchase and look after our Lifesaving equipment. Like the donation recent made by Healthfix Health Club in North Sydney.
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A recent surplus of high-quality rubber gym flooring at Healthfix when setting up their new Health Club, turned into a donation to our IRB section in order to protect our boats and motors as their being serviced. 

If you’re looking for some great health professionals we can’t recommend Health Fix enough! Be sure to check out their website for all their services healthfix.com.au

If you're interested in support us please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Bronze Medallion/SRC/ARTC
You should have by now received an email enrolling you in the online portion of the Bronze Medallion or SRC Skills Maintenance (Proficiency). This season in order to simplify Skills Maintenance in light of COVID 19, and limit the amount of time we need to spend at the club updating your skills, SLSA has created the online modules.

In order to complete the online portion you need log in to your online Members Area account at https://members.sls.com.au/. If you do not have an online account click the link in the yellow box on the members area page, and create an account following the instructions provided. The email sent to you by SLSA will have link to the online Skills Maintenance module. If you have any issues with accessing the modules please contact us on the email at the end of this article.

NOTE: Completion of the online module is MANDATORY in order to be proficient for the new season.

The practical parts of Skills Maintenance (r-s-r and rescues) will  be conducted on patrol this season. A trainer/endorsed delegate will attend one of your first patrols for the season to complete the practical components of the Bronze Medallion, SRC and ARTC awards (for the relevant awards you have).

For non-patrolling Members (Water Safety and Long services competitors)
We have booked in 2 dates for members who are on the water safety patrol, or those who are long service and compete but do not patrol.

Saturday 24 October
ARTC
9am - meet in Heritage room
Bronze Medallion/SRC
10am - meet grass area beach side of the club

Saturday 19 December
ARTC
8am - meet in Heritage room
Bronze Medallion/SRC
9am - meet grass area beach side of the club

NOTE: In order to ensure we can adhere to social distancing with the swims and rescues we will be taking groups to the beach in 15min intervals in groups of 10. 

IRB Drivers and Crew
IRB Drivers have been contacted by the IRB Coordinator for those sessons. IRBC will also be signed off based on patrol proficiency.

If you’re having any issues with the members area or completing your skills maintenance online module please get in touch with us at [email protected] and we'll be able to assist.

The 2020/21 Season  kicked off on Saturday 26 September and all teams are ready to go. Our gear passed gear inspection, and we’ve had all our pre-season meeting with great attendance.

Here is this season’s Lifesaving Committee:

Director of Lifesaving Services – Nicole Cooney
Assistant Director of Lifesaving Services – Ben Keenan-Smith
Education Coordinator – Michael Fernandez
Lifesaving Registrar – Codie Wem
IRB Coordinator Lifesaving – Laurie Golsby
Gear Steward – Ken Hudson (assisted by Scott Hobday)
U18s Coordinator – Maria Garay
Patrol Captains
 
The patrol teams and roster had been sent out to all members. You can also view the roster online.

There’s a bit to consider this season in light of COVID, and all Patrol Captains have been take through the extra precautions and change for the season. All members are able to access useful COVID documents on the SLSNSW Website.

Some key documents to check out are:
Lifesaving Information pack
COVID treatment guidelines
DRSABCD COVID Protocols
SLS Matrix for all activities
 
Skills Maintenance also needs to be done for the new season. This is where we make sure all your lifesaving skills are current. There are some changes this season with a great deal of the information covered online. If you haven’t already be sure to access the course online through eLearning in the Members Area. The practical sides of the Bronze, SRC, ARTC and Spinal will be covered on patrol. We will also run 2 sessions for non-patrolling members, see the website for more information on the dates.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the beach soon! And if you haven’t renewed your membership yet be sure to do that ASAP. You can do in quickly and simple online in the Members Area.

Patrol Subs
If you’re looking for a sub this season the best place to try, besides your friends, is the South Maroubra Subs Facebook Group. You are required to get a sub when you can not make patrol, and you need to ensure the person who subs for you meets the same award requirements for the patrol. Once you’ve agreed on a sub be sure to make it official through your Members Area account

IRB Drivers WhatsApp group
We have created a WhatsApp group for all IRB Drivers to facilitate information and subs. If you’re a driver you should have been added by now, but if we’ve missed you off get in touch with us at [email protected]

Upcoming courses
With the season up and running it’s also time to kick off some new courses. Our Bronze Medallion and Surf Rescue Certificate Information Evening will be held on Tuesday October 6 at 6.30pm at the club. If you know anyone who is interested in becoming a lifesaver get them to come along, or email [email protected]

Also upcoming will be come other courses including an Advanced First Aid course, and Advanced Resuscitation course. Keep an eye out for those dates.

24 March 2020

Dear Members and Friends,

As you are aware operations and activities at your club South Maroubra have had to be reduced in
accordance with health and government increasing restrictions. Actions taken by the club to date have been formally published and distributed to all members via Surfguard emails, Facebook posts and stored on our website in the form of a SITUATION REPORT.

We have done this to ensure every one of our members from youngest to mature are kept aware of how the
club is responding to this developing Covid-19 crisis and status of the club.

Essentially, effective immediately all club storerooms, showers, gymnasium, socials, training, functions
have ceased with Surf Patrols restricted last weekend to surveillance after the beach was closed by Council.
This developing situation we as a club and society are confronting, is new to us, there is no blueprint or
manual in which we are operating, rather implementing all 3 levels of government decisions and doing what
we believe is right for the safety and security of our members and club.

On the evening, a further development occurred after a video conference where all Sydney Branch Club
Presidents decided unanimously to cease ALL beach based surf patrols effectively meaning for us the
2019/20 patrol season has prematurely ceased. We made this decision based on member safety, restriction of beach attendee numbers and the likelihood the next phase of restrictions will soon be implemented.

The next paragraph is a message from Nicole Cooney, our Director of Lifesaving Services:
“I would like to send my thanks to all patrolling members, patrol captains, trainers and section leaders who
have been supportive throughout the season. I thank you for all your hard work and commitment in ensuring
Maroubra Beach is a safe place to visit. While this is not the way we expected the season to end the key is
we are all safe and healthy. I look forward to seeing you all back in the new season in the red and yellow,
and I’m sure when we can socialise again the bar will be open for some celebratory drinks.”

Continuing on and with Nippers having finalised their season, all competition cancelled or postponed, social
events suspended and now surf patrols ending, I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single
person who has made this year such a memorable one. So much achieved so many happy nipper faces
each week, great people on patrol and regrettably a large SRC and Bronze training group that could not
complete their final 2 weeks of the course when going so well. To all those trainees we hope you stay
committed to complete the courses as soon as we are back on deck as you are our priority.

To the various leadership groups and, patrol members, its likely we will not be able to formally acknowledge
your efforts this season but rest assured when we are able too, we’ll put on one hell of a celebration when
kissing goodbye to the coronavirus.

Thank you to our loyal sponsors this year, we were in the final phase of organising sponsor events like we
were our Gold Members night. We will definitely finalise many of these things early next season as Nippers
will with their various age group and competition awards.

For your information our Caretakers Barry and Leslie will remain on site looking after the security of the club,
our Club Office will remain operational for as long as possible although likely access into the club will not be
possible so any enquiry for now can be made via email or phone with details previously published and on
SITREPs sent recently.

The Club Office bearers will still be working hard through this crisis, probably remotely, so we welcome any
enquiries via our office email address, plus we will be ramping up our Facebook Posts so be sure to join in
the conversation with a trip down memory lane ensuring we provide some entertainment, club history and
connectivity to each one of you.

Finally, I would ask all members to look out for your neighbours particularly the vulnerable who are not so
fortunate, lets try and lend a hand where we can and grow as a better and more giving society.

Be positive, stay fit and well, recognise how good we really do have it here in the lucky country and we’ll see
you as soon as we possibly can.

If any further developments occur, be sure we will advise you.

​Kind regards,
Paul ‘Stretch’ Fownes
Club Chairman/President

SLSS Circular
SLSNSW Media Release