1400 Surf Lifeguards battle for top club honours

After 166,000 hours of beach patrols and 1349 rescues so far this summer - 1400 Surf Lifeguards will gather in Gisborne this week to compete in the NZCT Surf Life Saving Championship.

The four day event will commence on Thursday and comprise of more than 100 disciplines across a diverse range of age groups to determine the top Surf Life Saving Club in the country. 42 clubs will battle it out for top club honours with competitors ranging in age from 14 to 75-years-old.

“Our membership is diverse in that we have several generations of members – from our junior surf programmes which start from 7-years-old, through to our senior members who are still active in patrols and sport events, upwards of 70-years-old in our masters events” said Surf Life Saving CEO Geoff Barry.

“We’re experiencing a very healthy growth in membership numbers and that’s reflected in events such as the Surf Life Saving Championships which is up 10 per cent on last year, and the largest number of participants in decades,” he said.

The range of disciplines at these events has been developed to enhance lifeguard skills - the end result is skilled and fit lifeguards that help make our beaches a safer place. Just last week 12-year-old Cameron Turchie, Sadwyn Brophy (13) and Temuera Forbes (14) rescued a five-year-old boy caught in a rip at Mt Maunganui while they were competing in the NZ Under 14 Ocean Athletes competition. The boys are too young to become qualified lifeguards but the life-saving skills acquired from this programme allowed one more life to be saved on our beaches.

“It’s been a busy summer for Surf Lifeguards with the drowning toll for 2008/2009 already sitting at 39. We need the public to take some responsibility for their own safety too – check out weather conditions, wear lifejackets when fishing off rocks and swimming between the flags is a good start. We can’t emphasize that enough.” said Barry.

The NZCT New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships will be held at Midway Beach, Gisborne from Thursday 12th March – Sunday 15th March 2009