For Trainers, Assessors and Facilitators, it’s about getting the right people on the beach. Plain and simple. These roles are critical to the development, progression and, ultimately, achievement of our goals as members of Surf Life Saving.
As we edge closer to our NSW Awards of Excellence ceremony – a night to celebrate the incredible people in our organisation and the impact they have on their clubs, its members and their local communities – we are shining a light on some of the inspirational people who are being recognised for their contribution to the community through Surf Life Saving.
The Education category includes Trainer of the Year, Assessor of the Year, Facilitator of the Year, and Community Education Program of the Year.
Awarded to the best club or Branch-initiated program focussed on keeping our communities safe, Community Education Program of the Year in 2024 highlights spectacular programs from the Far North Coast to the Illawarra.
Coalcliff SLSC is the only club amongst the nominees capable of becoming a dual winner; its Surf Life Saving Dreams Take Flight program having trained students and teachers from multicultural backgrounds in South West Sydney to achieve their SRC, Radio Operators Certificate, and First Aid Certificate.
At the northern end of the NSW coastline, Byron Bay SLSC and its Cape Byron Steiner School SRCprogram encouraged youth from the local community to engage with the surf club by providing an SRC course to students, with the end goal of increased youth member figures.
Both the Hunter and Central Coast, though, have been the most successful branches historically in the category, which may bode well for Nobbys SLSC’s Little Rippaz Program or Ocean Beach SLSC’s What’s SUP Day, which was held in conjunction with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT to give blind people a pathway to surf safety.
The first of our TAF categories on the night will be the Trainer of the Year, putting the spotlight on those who made significant strides or contributions to their club or branch this season in that space.
Since 1998 there has only been three clubs to have had more than one Trainer of the Year winner – Redhead SLSC, Coogee SLSC, and Taree-Old Bar SLSC – and that will remain the case until at least 2025 with all finalists representing clubs that would be winners for the first time.
Historically, Sydney Northern Beaches has been the most prolific Branch with six previous winners, however Illawarra, Hunter and Sydney Branch are not too far behind. The nominees from those Branches this year are Sophie Tyner (Manly LSC), Adam Turner (Austinmer SLSC), Eric Gatehouse (Birubi Point SLSC), and a man with one of the best names in the business, Remi Defina-Sperando (South Maroubra SLSC).
For the Assessors, Sydney Northern Beaches has been very strong over time once again, with eight Assessor of the Year winners dating back to the late 90s.
South Curl Curl SLSC could become the branch’s second two-time winner, with Scott Stein looking to follow in the footsteps of Mike Le Geyt in 2019. Maroubra SLSC is in the same boat – Frederic Testard a chance to join the club’s president, Phillip Carter on the historical winners list.
Regionally, Nathan De Rooy (Cape Hawke SLSC) could become the Lower North Coast’s third ever winner in the category and the first since 2012, Michael Pontefract of Evans Head Casino SLSC could pick up his second NSW AOE win after taking out the Patrol Captain of the Year in 2022, and Wayne Cavanagh from Shellharbour SLSC could be the South Coast’s first ever state Assessor of the Year.
Facilitators, too, have a deep history of great volunteer lifesavers who have previously been named Facilitator of the Year, with seven potential new winners and one looking to repeat the feat for a third time among the finalists.
Kim Rayner from Tacking Point SLSC could become the first three-time winner, having previously been the 2013 winner with Port Macquarie SLSC and then the 2022 winner with her current club, the neighbour to the south.
She currently shares in a tie for the most previous Assessor of the Year titles with Debbie Booth from Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest SLSC.
All other nominees will be first time winners both personally and for their club, however a win for either Stuart Barnett from Dixon Park SLSC or Marissa Saunders from Bondi SBLSC would help Hunter or Sydney Branch, respectively, to become the outright leading branch in the category.
2024 FINALISTS
Trainer of the Year
Kieran Lynch, Yamba SLSC
Garry Howe, Urunga SLSC
Alex Fisher, Tacking Point SLSC
Peter McErlain, Black Head SLSC
Eric Gatehouse, Birubi Point SLSC
Richard Grimmond, Ocean Beach SLSC
Sophie Tyner, Manly LSC
Remi Defina-Sperando, South Maroubra SLSC
Adam Turner, Austinmer SLSC
Antonio Rojas, Warilla Barrack Point SLSC
Jason Domeny, Broulee Surfers SLSC
Assessor of the Year
Michael Pontefract, Evans Head-Casino SLSC
Nathan de Rooy, Cape Hawke SLSC
Stephen Fogwill, Birubi Point SLSC
Paul Dowdell, Shelly Beach SLSC
Scott Stein, South Curl Curl SLSC
Frederic Testard, Maroubra SLSC
Wayne Cavanagh, Shellharbour SLSC
Facilitator of the Year
David Field, Cudgen Headland SLSC
Kim Rayner, Tacking Point SLSC
Stuart Barnett, Dixon Park SLSC
Jason Smith, Ocean Beach SLSC
Caroline Hjorth, Mona Vale SLSC
Marissa Saunders, Bondi SBLSC
Phillip Geary, Woonona SLSC
Adrian Walsh, Warilla Barrack Point SLSC
Community Education Program of the Year
Cape Byron Steiner SRC, Byron Bay SLSC
Little Rippaz Program, Nobbys SLSC
NSW/ACT Guide Dogs Whats SUP Day, Ocean Beach SLSC
Fit to Learn with Police Youth Command, Newport SLSC
Beach Safety Awareness Program, South Maroubra SLSC
Surf Lifesaving Dreams Take Flight, Coalcliff SLSC
Wednesday 21 August 2024