By Ron Lane
Once again we have experienced a weekend of safe surfing on our three beaches Peregian Sunshine and Noosa. Speaking for Sunshine club captain James Ross said, “Our patrols reported a very good weekend. On Sunday they estimated the beach crowd to be one of our biggest crowds ever. We put this down to the fact that the dirty water conditions at Noosa have caused this big influx; lucky for us our water conditions have been beautiful and clear.Noosas bad luck has been our good luck. We hope it clears for them soon.”
Despite the sea conditions Noosa still reported big crowds and safe bathing with no reported incidents. Noosa West Beach has again experienced bigger crowds and despite being an unpatrolled beach with a constant sand bank and a rip at the Western end, no problems arose. However we do repeat that this is an unpatrolled beach and you bath at your own risk.
Happy to relate that by midday Monday the conditions at Noosas Main Beach were much improved.
The championship season for our Sunshine Coast and other Branch surf clubs is once again getting under way. On the weekend Mooloolaba played host to the Sunshine Coast Patrol Competition, First Aid and Champion Lifesaver Events. Happy to relate both local clubs Noosa and Sunshine were represented and the results were very pleasing.
For Sunshine the results for these unheralded blue ribbon events were as followers. In the u/14 Champion Lifesaver Female, Kate Scordalides won the gold with Freya Wilson silver and Lily Gooderham bronze; Female u/15 Amelia Ross won gold and Jade Hooper silver. In the 30+ Male categories, Simon Thompson won gold and in the 40+ Female Allison Johnstone won gold. In the major team event Patrol Competition u/15 category Sunshine won the silver.
By winning silver in this event Sunshine has maintained its reputation for its high standard, as down through the years they have continually finished in the top three. This is of course due to the ongoing performance of coaches Jo and Warick Redwood.
Over the hill at Noosa their teams were also amongst the medals. In the Champion Lifesaver u/17 both Lara Porter Female and Joe Goulding Male won the bronze and in the u/14 Billy Goulding took silver and u/15 Kai Thompson gold; and in the Patrol Competition u/17 Noosa take the gold and u/15 the bronze.
Their First Aid Team, once again under Hall of Fame Coach Lenore Grice, was also amongst the medals. Contesting both the open and u/17s, the team of Lara Porter and Lilly Tindal won the bronze and the silver and the team of Ben Grandison and Maggie Glassock, also contesting the Open won silver. They then doubled up to won their second silver in the u/19.The u/15 division saw Tilly Giblett and Billy Goulding win gold. Great effort from coaches Charlotte Webber and Lenore Grice.
Despite these three events, Champion Lifesaver, Patrol Competition and First Aid, being what lifesaving is all about, they unfortunately receive very little publicity. Down through the years the number of coaches, club officials and indeed judging panelist (from both State and National level) who have complained is staggering-but still nothing is done to rectify this injustice.
