By RON LANE
TO WIN medals at the state and national titles is every club’s ambition. However, the most vital statistic is the club’s stats that are published in their annual reports, for it is these figures that give a club its true assessment of the overall conduct as lifesavers in the performance of their duties.
In the Annual Report of the Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club, it states that for the season 2013/14 the club performed 27 rescues and major incidents; these were supported by 2577 preventative actions. For a club to patrol a beach such as Sunshine that is an open beach with a high danger factor, these are indeed good figures. With an estimated visitation of 49,475, the performance of the preventative actions is indeed a key factor. The Preventative Action is that which the patrol performs when they observe swimmers moving into a danger area or situation. It also tells us that the patrols are fully alert and doing their job. It is always better to prevent a rescue situation from occurring than having to perform one.
Club captain Scott Summers acknowledged the work of his patrols when he said, “Season 2013/14 has been and gone with our target of zero preventable deaths on our beach ensured. This can be directly attributed to the countless hours of work done both on and off our beaches to maintain our patrol agreement.”
Further to this, club president Craig Law said, “My thanks to all our patrol captains and active members for patrolling our beaches and maintaining vigilance to ensure zero drownings between the flags.”
Regarding the club’s future, things are looking good.
“You only have to look at our patrol ranks to see the amount of active members who are involved with our nippers. Over 85 per cent are involved in some way or another,” Law said.
He also took the opportunity to acknowledge the support of the Noosa Council, Sunshine Beach Business Community, Sponsors and the various support groups.
There were many awards for the season. Prominent among these were Lifesaver of the Year, Bill Twigger, Clubman of the Year, Steve Johnstone, Supporter of the Year, Pauline Gleeson and Most Improved Lifesaver, Ned Liesch. Perhaps the major award for the Sunshine club was being named as the Clubs Queensland, Small Club of the Year for 2013/14 at a black tie dinner held in Brisbane. These awards are in acknowledgement of the business side of club life in our state, and are held in very high regard. For the season ahead, Craig Law president and Scott Summers club captain have both been returned to office.
Stability is of course the major factor in any success story involving clubs. When you look through the report, it is of interest to note the names of those, who through the years have made outstanding contributions through their hard work and above all their loyalty. Too many to name, but they are the backbone of their club, and their contribution to the community should be noted.
Peregian Beach has also completed its annual report. Peregian which is the smallest of our three local clubs is also responsible for patrolling an open beach similar to Sunshine. For them visitations totalled 28,572, preventative actions were 1446 and four rescues. Once again the preventative actions indicate the patrols are very active thus keeping actual rescue work to a minimum. As this is a lonely, long stretch of beach, their work is to be congratulated. The forthcoming season will see the Noosa club continue to help the senior club with patrol obligations. Brett Leckie president and Gina Foster secretary have been returned to office.
