Surf Life Saving Report

Term 4 Week 1 2022

There was no better way to kick off the new SLS season than with a challenging, fun and incredibly poignant event to recognise the immense contribution that Mr Nigel Scozzi has made to Surf Life Saving over more than three decades. 139 participants gathered at 7am to hear words of welcome from Peter Kinsey, Long Reef SLSC President and Nigel’s wife, Danielle. Conditions were excellent for the 1km course which saw participants paddle south towards Dee Why before heading back north towards Long Reef Headland. The event was rounded off with bacon rolls and a raffle back at LRSLSC and some socialising with old friends and new. An incredible $28,000 was raised which will prove instrumental for Nigel and his family in adapting their home for his return and covering ongoing care costs. A huge thank you to all those that took part and those that assisted in making this such a successful morning.

First Week of the Season

The first week of training in Term 4 was filled with several essential administrative tasks including membership renewal and exam entries for the Bronze Award to be held at Bilgola SLSC in Week 7 from Monday 21^st to Thursday 24^th November for Year 9 and Year 10 students whom have turned 15 years of age before the course. The Year 10 students who already hold their Bronze Award will attend a two-day course at Long Reef SLSC for the First Aid and ART awards during the same week.

Year 7 and 8

The conditions at Long reef during the week were messy with a strong on-shore wind and powerful swell making the surf a mess. By Saturday morning things had cleaned up a lot and it was great to see some of the nippers participate in the Paddle for Scozzi.

The boys finished Saturday morning with a Run/Swim/Run event and a bodysurf in the flags. The following results were recorded this week:

	Beach Flags	Beach Sprint	Wade Relay	Run/Swim/Run
1st	Ben Jones	Harry Murdoch-Tilmouth	H. Murdoch-Tilmouth / Reef Nagle	Charlie Martin
2nd	Hamish Warden	Charlie Martin	Charlie Martin / Don Jackson	Ben Jones
3rd	Charlie Martin	Xavier Adamo	Will Hoy / Hamish Warden	Hamish Warden

Year 9 and 10 Bronze Award Group

This group will train together in Term 4 to prepare them for their Bronze Award course and assessment in Week 7 at Bilgola SLSC. These are students whom will have turned 15 years old by the assessment date of 24^th November.

Weekday training was hampered by a Long Reef Beach closure. However, the group joined with the Year 11s to complete a beach run and swimming activities at Dee Why pool.

On Saturday, the boys warmed up by practicing paddling the large Surf-Rescue boards through challenging shore breaks. Then they went on to carry out conscious board rescues to pick up patients and return safely to shore. This session was led by Ben Neighbour, our qualified trainer and assessor.

Year 10 and 11 Patrol Group

Beach closure in the week led to a session in Dee Why pool. However, far more favourable conditions on Saturday saw the Patrol group get back into their structure, patrolling a busy Long Reef beach for the morning. The boys not on patrol took part in competitive board and swim events to test themselves in fairly challenging surf at times. Next Saturday will be important for this group with their Bronze and ARTC proficiency testing. All boys must ensure they have completed the online proficiency element and submitted their certificate to Mr Werakso well before attending Saturday’s session. Temporary patrols will be replaced by the patrol teams and roster starting in Week 2.

Mr Gareth Jones