Entries now open for Coolangatta Gold 2010

Surf Life Saving’s elite will converge on the Gold Coast in November for the Coolangatta Gold 2010. The legendary test of endurance will take place on Sunday, 7 November with hundreds of competitors looking to write a new chapter in Coolangatta Gold history.

In 2010, the 46.65km men’s course and the 30.50km women’s course will start and finish at Kurrawa Beach. Adding to this year’s event will be the inclusion of two new categories - an Under 19 female teams and an Under 19 male/mixed teams category.

Entries are now open, so head to the official Coolangatta Gold Website www.coolangattagold.com.au for further information.

SLSA Administration Conference and Awards of Excellence

Nominations are now open for the SLSA Administration Conference that will take place from 20-22 August at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. This conference will be relevant for any member who holds an administrative role within the Surf Life Saving movement. The Conference aims to provide these people with an opportunity to share their experiences with other administrators from around the country.

Tickets are also on sale to the SLSA Awards of Excellence, which will be held on 21 August, also at the Sydney Convention Centre. These awards recognise the achievements of members and their contribution to the delivery and development of surf lifesaving activities.

For further information, please click here

Notice: Special General Meeting to amend SLSA Constitution

A Special General Meeting of SLSA Ltd is to be held at 9:00am on 23 August, 2010 at:

Surf House, Level 1
1 Notts Avenue
Bondi Beach

The special business to be transacted at this Special General Meeting will be to consider, and if agreeable, approve by special resolution amendments to the SLSA Constitution.

The proposed constitutional amendments have been compiled to accommodate recommendations from the Organisational Effectiveness Review Report. This review was carried out by an external consultant and focused on improvments to SLSA's governance, management, and strategy processes.

For further information, please click here

2010/2011 KNG Ironman Series Trial Dates Announced

The 2010/11 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman Series Trial will be held on 18-19 September at Tugun Beach, Queensland. This event will determine 8 male and 8 female places in the 2010/2011 KNG Series.

Entries for the Trial will be opening in late July, with details of the online entry process to be posted on the SLSA website shortly.

For further information, please click here

Glenelg Beach secures another major Surf Life Saving event

Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach has been named the host venue for Surf Life Saving’s 2011 Australian Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) Championships, which will be held from 29-31 July.

The Australian IRB Championships is one of the major events on Surf Life Saving’s sporting calendar attracting more than 500 of the best surf lifesavers from around the country.

It’s another win for Glenelg who last year were also named as one of the host venues for the World Life Saving Championships that will be held in 2012.

For full story click here

Australian team named ahead of World Title defence in Egypt

Selectors have named the 12 person Australian Lifesaving team that will head to Egypt in October to defend Australia’s number one ranking at the World Life Saving Championships (Rescue 2010).

The Aussies will be led by World Ironman Champion Shannon Eckstein, who will be joined by World Ironwoman Champion Naomi Flood, NSW Ironman Champion Chris Allum and Australian Ironwoman Champion Kristyl Smith.

In the pool it will be the experience of Australian Team veterans Downie Langthorne, Mitch Parkes and current 50m manikin carry world champion Andrew Bowden, combined with rising stars Miranda Bell, Felysia Konakoff and Stephanie Ballantine who are expected to set some great times.

Australian Lifesaving Team for Rescue 2010:
Shannon Eckstein (Qld) – Captain
Chris Allum (NSW)
Stephanie Ballantine (Qld)
Miranda Bell (Qld)
Andrew Bowden (NSW)
Naomi Flood (NSW)
Felysia Konakoff (NSW)
Downie Langthorne (NSW)
Thomas Nolan (WA)
Mitch Parkes (NSW)
Laura Shorter (NSW)
Kristyl Smith (Qld)

For full story click here

Northcliffe takes out 2010 Australian Pool Rescue Championships

Northcliffe Surf Life Saving Club has taken out the 2010 Australian Pool Rescue Championships following an action packed final day of competition at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Outstanding performances from Dev Lahey and Kristyl Smith led the Gold Coast club to the overall title, with Cronulla and Maroochydore rounding out the top three. Lahey and Smith each took home six medals over the two days of competition - but it was Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Elizabeth Pluimers who managed to snatch seven medals over the two days.

Northcliffe’s Shannon Eckstein was full of praise for his teammates and how they performed throughout the championships.

“The whole team really put in this weekend and we’re happy to walk away with the trophy. Dev and Kristyl were fantastic, as were our younger athletes – Lachlan Feather and Jordan Harrison in the under 15’s were particular impressive.”

For full story click here.

Special General Meeting to amend SLSA Constitution

***REVISED DETAIALS as of 8 June 2010: The Special General Meeting of SLSA Ltd originally scheduled to be held on Saturday 19 June, 2010 to consider amendments to the SLSA Constitution, has been deferred to a later date.

The proposed amendments primarily accommodate recommendations from the Organisational Effectiveness Review. This review was carried out by an external consultant and focused on improvements to SLSA’s strategy, governance and management processes.

Some of the key changes proposed are:

• Re-naming of the Council as the SLSA Board
• Current Boards (Lifesaving, Sport, Development) to be renamed to reduce confusion
• Allowing the Board to appoint up to an extra 2 Independent Directors
• Addressing gender balance issues

There are no proposed amendments which cause any additional obligations on Clubs as Members of SLSA.

Clubs and other SLSA Ltd "members" will be advised of the new date, time and place for the SLSA Ltd Special General Meeting in due course, along with a link to the proposed amended constitution.

For further information, please contact info@slsa.asn.au

Surf Patrol – back on the small screen

Series four of Surf Patrol final episode will go to air on the Seven Network Wednesday 8 June at 8.00pm.

Hosted by Channel 7 personality and former surf lifesaver Tom Williams, Surf Patrol is an observational documentary series that takes viewers to the frontline of the daring and dangerous work carried out by Australia’s volunteer lifesavers.

Every weekend our volunteer surf lifesavers keep watch over our beaches and come face to face with potentially life threatening situations.

Surf Life Saving Australia’s President Ron Rankin said, “As well as highlighting the great work of surf lifesavers to the public, Surf Patrol is also an important training tool for our members.”

“We should all ask ourselves after each episode –‘what would I do in the same situation?”

Surf Life Saving relies on our volunteers but keeping them equipped and trained costs millions of dollars Australia wide. Help keep this Aussie icon afloat by donating today.

Missed an episode? Catch up on all the Surf Patrol action at Yahoo7

Westpac boost Surf Life Saving funding to protect Australian lives

In the wake of six drowning deaths at beaches this month, Westpac has today pledged an increase of almost $2million per year to Surf Life Saving to help extend its presence in high risk areas around Australia.

Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and the Australian Water Safety Council has set a drowning reduction target of 50 per cent with the aim to have fewer than 45 drownings by 2011, and less than 26 by the year 2020. This is feared almost unattainable as they contend with a growing coastal population and the increase in people visiting unpatrolled beaches. Over the past nine months 52 people have drowned along the Australian coast.

There are less than 4 per cent of beaches around Australia patrolled by surf lifesavers or lifeguards and SLSA is seeking to expand its aerial surveillance, on water patrols and through the use of increased communications and technology to cover more of the coast.

The increased funding will target regional Victoria, Southern NSW, Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the Northern Territory with the extension of helicopter patrols and the launching of new rescue water craft services.

Initially the funding will be providing helicopter services on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the launch of an offshore rescue boat in Darwin. Other major expansion initiatives in Victoria and NSW will be announced in coming weeks.

For more information click here

SLSA Payment Gateway - New features!

For the last 18 months, SLSA affiliated clubs and organisations have been able to sign up to our very own payment gateway (http://pay.slsa.com.au). This facility, which is free to set-up and has incredibly low transaction charges, enables organisations that have registered to accept credit card payments online from the public and/or members.

The gateway has recently been completely overhauled and now gives registered organisations even more control over the system. Each organisation can upload its own custom pricelist and in addition to this has access to end-of-day reconciliation files. The entire gateway has also been given a brand new interface and now works seamlessly with our self-service member portal - Lifesaving Online (www.lifesavingonline.com.au).

If you'd like to register your club or organisation, fill in forms 075 and 079 in Admin & Resources > SLSA Forms > Information Technology.

To find out more about Information Technology in Surf Life Saving, browse to the Information Technology area of this website.

The Surf Life Saving Online Shop is open for business

We are happy to announce the launch of our new online store. Click here to explore!

What’s in stock: The store stocks most of the essentials needed by clubs – from manuals, uniforms, patrol caps & rescue tubes to caps and brim hats for sun safety.

Improvement over time: As well as being a one-stop-shop one of our key aims is to reduce the cost of gear to clubs where possible. Compare the prices of patrol caps, rescue tubes, and rashies for example to see that this has already started. Over time we aim to expand this range greatly to include first aid and resuscitation gear to radios, rashies, merchandise and more.

Club Accounts: Verified accounts have been set up for every club and the login and password details emailed to the “official” email address as held on the ‘SurfGuard’ database. If you haven’t received your club’s details please contact your club administrator, or email onlineshop@slsa.asn.au. For safety reasons much of the gear (such as uniforms) can only be bought by verified club account holders.

Feedback: All suggestions are welcome for ways in which the store may be improved, for eg. gear that may be needed but currently not available. We look forward to hearing from you.

33rd Edition - Public Safety and Aquatic Rescue Training Manual

formerly known as Bronze Medallion training manual
This manual is available for sale now. The online purchase of manuals please visit Surf Life Saving’s new Online Shop by clicking here.

Click here for more information about the manual.

For your club Training Officer workshop a PowerPoint presentation is available to assist you in understanding the changes in the manual.