By RON LANE
IF THERE is any surf lifesaving club in Australia that is in danger of running out of Champagne, it would have to be Sunshine Beach. On Saturday night at the Queensland Surf Life Saving Awards of Excellence Black Tie Dinner, held in Brisbane, Warrick Redwood received the major award when he was named Queensland’s Volunteer of the Year.
This award covers all aspects of club work, and as such is a true indication that the recipient is in every sense of the word a full-on dedicated clubman; add to this also his work as member of the after-hours Operations Support Group.
This is just the start, for as the winner of this award, his name will now go to Life Saving Australia in Sydney where he will contest the National Australian Volunteer of the Year. We wish him well.
However, this was not the only award for Sunshine. Later in the evening, Warrick’s wife, Johanna, was named as the Queensland Rookie Coach of the Year. This is said by many officials to be the first time that a husband and wife have taken out two major awards at state level.
“For me it has been very humbling-but also very rewarding. Coaching is all about kids; and the support from the parents has been outstanding,” Johanna said.
Regarding his award Warrick said, “I was not expecting it. However, when you get recognition for doing something you enjoy, that makes it all the better.”
Add to the list of achievers for Sunshine, club captain Scott Summers. Despite not winning the gold medal in the Club Captain category, Scott came home with silver; after only five years in the movement, this is an outstanding achievement and says a lot for his capabilities as a leader. This follows on to his award as the Branch Captain of the year.
Club president Craig Law summed it up well when he said, “These awards have really capped off an outstanding year for us and I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all winners. Also thanks to all who have supported us throughout the year.”
For Noosa it was also a successful evening, for they were named as the recipient of the very coveted Tess Crammond Medal for Life Saving Excellence: Outstanding Resuscitation and Rescue.
This was in recognition of the work done by a team of eight members on Noosa’s Main Beach. At 6am Thursday 23 April, a man was found, on the water’s edge unconscious with no sign of life. After an incredible 40 minutes of resuscitation and defib work by the lifesavers and paramedics he was transported to Nambour Hospital where he made a full recovery. This is what lifesaving is all about; teamwork, resuscitation and a cool head.
This week is definitely a big one for lifesaving on the Sunshine Coast. Starting at 8am this morning 3 September on Maroochydore Beach, the starters’ gun will herald the start of the International Surf Rescue Challenge; a 3 Surf Test Series that will be contested by teams of lifesavers representing Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA. All four countries will have teams competing in the open events with Australia and the New Zealand fielding teams in the Youth Categories.
We are proud to say that the Noosa Club will have two members competing. Jordan Mercer will compete for Australian in the open section and a new member Grace Kaihau, because of her parentage, will be representing New Zealand in the youth. Good luck to both.
Friday will be a lay day with competition recommencing at 8am Saturday and going through until 2pm. Sunday will be the same time slot and at the completion of the series, a medal ceremony and reception will be conducted at the Maroochydore Surf Club starting at 6.30pm.
Once again Queensland Surf Life Saving has become a great promotional vehicle for our Sunshine Coast.
