By Ron Lane
The winter months for our local volunteer surf clubs Sunshine Beach and Noosa Heads have been successful and busy. For Sunshine Beach the winter months were indeed good news. At the 2019 Sunshine Coast Surf Life Saving Awards of Excellence Dinner, Sunshine Beach President Craig Law, was named Volunteer of the Year and also recipient of the very prestigious Clive Hammond Silver Medal.
Another top award for Sunshine came when out-going JAC President Shaun Lees received the Andy Frizzell Award for his dedication and work with the nipper program. For Laws his work in all aspects of surf lifesaving has been outstanding, not only as president but also in various capacities of surf competition at both branch and state level.
For Lees his work with the nippers is of the utmost importance as it is seen as a vital factor in the future development of tomorrow’s lifesavers and lifeguards. The number of lifeguards, who have come from the nipper programs of our clubs, is a great indication of the importance and success of this organisation.
On the busy side of things it is good news for that important body of Sunshine people, the Supporters. The rebuilding of their Sunshine Beach surf club is definitely on target for an end of year finish. With upstairs walls under construction work on the roof section can’t be too far away. We wish them fair weather and good luck.
On the training level, dates for proficiency have been set and training courses for bronze and IRB teams are now being prepared.
Over the hill at Noosa, IRB, bronze courses and boat training for all crews is well under way. The month of September will once again see the very successful first aid teams reform and commence training. Under the supervision of Hall of Fame Coach, Lenore Grice and assistant Charlotte Webber, last years teams achieved the best first aid results in the clubs history.
In 1949-50 season, Noosa moved into the world of surf boat competition; and this has now become something of a tradition. To uphold this the Noosa boat section recently sent a team of 18 rowers and support personnel, (equipped with 3 surf boats and an IRB support vessel ) off on a road trip to Yeppoon in Central Queensland for a pre-season training camp. The program consisted of 8 hours of rowing over 3 days: on the teams arrival they were joined by crews from Yeppoon and Maroochydore.
The first rowing sessions for all crews started on the Friday morning with an 18km row to North Keppel Island. This was followed on Saturday with a 30 minute row to Considine Bay where they spent the morning on sweep/rower development, followed by a couple of hours in the afternoon of short course racing. The pre-season camp was finished with a 2 hour slog back to the mainland in tough conditions.
The season ahead is looking good with a possible 12 crews (men and women) on the water, backed up by a great support group of parents and workers. We wish them well.
