Rescue 2010 - Day 4 Results and Pointscore

A series of inspired performances from the Australian team has seen them take out the overall pointscore at Rescue 2010 in Egypt over the weekend. The Aussies dominated the ocean and beach events over the weekend with Kristyl Smith and Shannon Eckstein picking up five gold medals each.

After the final day of competition, Australia finished on 800 points, edging out trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by just 24 points.

Australian Results - Day 4
Men’s Events
Surf Race – 1st Shannon Eckstein, 5th Chris Allum
Flags – 6th Thomas Nolan
Sprint – 2nd Thomas Nolan
Board – 3rd Chris Allum, 4th Shannon Eckstein
Oceanman – 1st Shannon Eckstein, 6th Chris Allum
Board Rescue – 1st Chris Allum/Shannon Eckstein
Oceanman Relay – 2nd Australia (Thomas Nolan/Chris Allum/Shannon Eckstein/Downie Langthorne)

Women’s Events
Surf Race – 2nd Kristyl Smith, 5th Miranda Bell
Flags – 4th Laura Shorter
Sprint – 2nd Laura Shorter
Board – 1st Kristyl Smith, 3rd Naomi Flood
Oceanwoman – 1st Kristyl Smith, 2nd Naomi Flood
Beach Relay – 1st Australia (Kristyl Smith/Laura Shorter/Stephanie Ballantine/Naomi Flood)
Board Rescue – 2nd Naomi Flood/Kristyl Smith
Oceanwoman Relay – 1st Australia (Kristyl Smith/Naomi Flood/Miranda Bell/Laura Shorter)

Top 10 Overall Point Score - After Day 4
1. Australia 800
2. NZ 776
3. Germany 534
4. Italy 516
5. South Africa 482
6. France 468
7. Netherlands 311
8. Japan 298
9. Spain 293
10. USA 245

For all the Australian results from Rescue 2010 click here.

Ocean Thunder Surf Boat Series 2010-2011

Organisers of the Ocean Thunder Surf Boat Series today confirmed that the Series will not be held during the 2010-2011 season, due to limited entries received from clubs.

The organisers have confirmed they are committed to reinstating the Series as a permanent fixture of the surf sports calendar and as such are in talks with the sanctioning body, Surf Life Saving Australia about viable ways to bring the Series back in the 2011-2012 season.

An announcement is due to be made later this year as to plans for the Series moving forward.

Options that have already been discussed include the Series kick starting at SLSA’s Coolangatta Gold event on the Gold Coast. This option is certainly being considered again for 2011. Surf Life Saving is eager to work closely with Ocean Thunder Surf Boat series organisers to bring the Series back next summer.

Clubs wishing to find out further details should stay tuned to the Ocean Thunder Surf Boat Series www.oceanthunder.com.au or email event organiser Gary Watts on zacca@oceanthunder.com.au.

Coastal Safety Report prompts new campaign for international tourists and migrants

World Champion Surfer and Surf Life Saving Ambassador Stephanie Gilmore, Surf Life Saving Australia’s (SLSA) Chief Executive Officer Brett Williamson OAM and 2010 DHL Surf Life Saving Lifeguard of the Year Lleam Rees came together today at Sydney International Airport to announce the results of the 2010 National Coastal Safety Report (NCSR) and to launch the international visitors and migrant campaign.

The NCSR revealed a total of 82 coastal drowning deaths in Australia for the 2009-2010 year. Of particular concern was the growing drowning rate of international tourists and migrants who represent one third of the total coastal drowning deaths. For more information, please click here.

Download a copy of the 2010 National Coastal Safety Report here

Poole cruises to victory in KNG Trial final

Mooloolaba's Matt Poole led home Wes Berg in the men's final of Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series Trial at Tugun Beach on the Gold Coast, while the Northcliffe pair of Harriet Brown and Bonnie Hancock crossed the line together in an exhilarating women's final.

The top 8 finishers in the men's race and top 10 in the women's all qualified through to the 2010/11 KNG Series, which will kick-off at Currumbin Beach on November 21. Among the qualifiers were a number of KNG debutants including Alex Tibbits, Mitchell Miller and Josh Minogue in the men's and Brown, Miranda Davies and Northcliffe prodigy, Jordan Mercer in the women's.

For a full list of qualifiers, please click here

Inaugural SLS Administration Conference proves highly successful

Surf Life Saving administrators from throughout Australia came together at the 2010 National Administration Conference to hear from industry experts and keynote speakers, including comedian and author Ahn Do.

The conference, held from 20-22 August at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, was a resounding success and provided club administrators with the opportunity to network and collaborate their ideas and thoughts on surf club management.

To find out more about the conference, and how you can win a signed copy of Ahn's best-selling new book 'The Happiest Refugee', please click here.

Surf Life Saving’s best honoured at 2010 Awards of Excellence

More than 250 guests were on hand to honour Surf Life Saving’s best and bravest at the 2010 SLSA Awards of Excellence, held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday night.

Surf lifesavers and dignitaries from around the nation gathered to see David McLean from Marcoola Surf Life Saving Club in Queensland take out the prestigious DHL Surf Lifesaver of the Year award.

Other notable award winners on the night were Anglesea Surf Life Saving Club from Victoria who won the DHL Club of the Year award, and Lleam Rees from the Sunshine Coast who was awarded the DHL Lifeguard of the Year award.

For a full list of award winners, please click here

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.

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

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.