The official Surf Life Saving season wrapped up on Anzac Day weekend with the traditional SLSA lowering of our flags across NSW.
The Club held its presentation night and dinner on May4th 2023 with most club members and the families there to celebrate the achievements of the season across all age groups. President Kim Willett led the event as MC with major awards presented by invited guests : Fiona Phillips Member for Gilmore, Gareth Ward Member for Kiama, Matthew Norris Ward 1 Councillor for Mayor of Shoalhaven, major sponsors Heads Bowlo (David Watson)and Heads Hotel Fishing Club (Greg Gay) and Club Life Members. Awards went to Senior Clubman Mark , Junior Cadet Clubman Lily, Senior Allrounder Clyde , Junior Cadet Allrounder Keonie . These merit awards with nominations made by members are set against club criteria with final selection decision by the Club Board. Other patrol related awards were awarded to Training Officer Phil, Senior Patrol Person Karl, Junior Cadet Patrol Person Leo and Patrol of Year Patrol 4 :Mark, Tash, Toby and Keonie . These are presented for total hours committed to patrol service and consistently high standards across all aspects of patrol and club activity. The standards were very close this season with all teams averaging high patrol hours with many members doing excess of standard rostered hours to ensure the beach remains open for all patrol sessions.
It’s particularly rewarding to see so many members receiving and/ working towards nationally accredited SLSA Awards : Bronze Silver and Gold SLSA Medallion Courses, IRB Craft Crew or Driver Award; Advanced Resuscitation and First Aid Techniques Management Certs
Dave Schofield was presented with the National Service Medal by Fiona and Gareth, for his dedication to services to Surf Life Saving over close to 40 seasons at Shoalhaven Heads (and several other clubs )
Junior awards were presented to club junior nippers for their tenacity and resilience in learning new skills and for attendance across the summer -it has been amazing to see their growth in confidence especially as most were new to the club over the past 2 seasons Certificates of appreciation were given to parents, cadets and patrolling members who assist with running club junior activities and senior support roles across the season
While we are off season members are committing their time as volunteers to the review and maintenance of equipment and planning for service delivery in preparation for season 2024/25