The Bondi Surfer No. 103
26 March 2020
Intro & WelcomeI would like to thank everyone for your patience and support over the past month and a half since we first discussed the COVID-19 virus. It is clear that the problem is still escalating faster than people can mentally process, however we have now got logical and enforced steps in place that have assisted other countries and I am sure we will start to 'flatten the curve'.
As we have now ceased patrols and shut the Club we will fall back from daily updates to weekly updates unless any items come though that urgently impact the health and safety of our members.
Well done to our Patrol teams who have completed a tough season. You are a credit to the Club. A season of fires, floods and a pandemic didn't stop us being able to say "no lives lost" for our patrol area of the beach. It is tragic that we cannot say that for the entire beach.
Well done to our Education teams who have delivered a massive year of awards despite having to close training off early for member safety.
I also wish to recognise our great competition teams - this year 110 nippers, 40 open, 64 masters trained hard to wear the Blue and White at Branch only to be cheated of a chance twice by Huey. The teams performed amazingly at State, only to then have Aussies cancelled. Thank you to our coach, Robert Chapman, Junior coach Laura Thurtell and all the captains, trainers and coaches who made such an effort this season.
I need some people for projects if you're bored at home. This can count as Duke of Edinburgh service if you need some hours. I would also like to have some people support the health, logistic support and welfare missions we may need to undertake to support our members and community in the months ahead.
If you have accommodation, jobs or funds to support our members who will be doing it tough, please reach out to me. Ex-President and Life Member Scott Laney has agreed to lead a committee to support our members in need and we will provide more information on that over time. In the meantime, if you'd like to visit Bondi right now but are in can't get out, just click on this link. Stay well, exercise, eat well, reach out to friends, and these days will pass. After we have fast accurate widespread testing, effective treatments and then vaccines we will be back on the beach, ready to ensure no lives
lost.
Thanks,
Brent Jackson
President
Key Dates- Presentation Night and Annual Ball - 27 June
- Annual General Meeting - 19 July
Find more information on the Club Facebook page.
Images of James courtesy of Tim Read.
Our March Clubbie of the Month is James Allison. One of our early morning swimmers, James has also been quietly carrying out a very important job for the club, hosting in his warehouse 34 pallets of our supplies for the bushfires. He'd turned up in the Main Hall, ready to get his hands dirty on one of those mad mornings in early January and was set to the task of wiping down, sorting and packing hundreds of pairs of new shoes donated by Max from Max's Shoes. When we realised just how much we would have to put into storage, James offered us his warehouse. He also introduced us to the owner of the kayak that we auctioned that raised $5,500 for bushfire relief. James can often be seen limbering up in the hall early in the morning,
and we thank him for helping the Club deliver on its promises to the South Coast. James is always ready with a smile and friendly greeting.
"Whole Club" PhotoOn the morning of Sunday 1 March, we rallied hundreds of members at the front of the Club for a Whole Club". These only happen every five years so, while it's impossible to organise every one in our community on the same day, it was great to have so many join us. Thanks to Tim Read and Geoff Sumner for getting the shot. We'll send a printable or orderable one out soon.
Local ConnectionsYou can visit the Bondi Beach virtually by watching the YouTube stream - the link is in Brent's intro and you can keep connected with other Clubbies via Whatsapp. The Club has set up a What's Group chat - an open invitation to anyone who would like to joing a general group chat - SLSA code of conduct applies. You can be part of it by clicking this link to join. Your local
IGA has a email and collect service for the "elderly". If you email in your list they will pick it and get it ready. You will need ID to pick it up. Email Paul Keaney for more information or with your list. Field to Fork butchers are doing contactless deliveries. They can get everything to you same day if you order before 10am. The service is $10 if your order is under $100, free for over $100. Email them on wholesalebondi@fieldtofork.net.au or phone in your order on 9310 1888. Member SupportWe have a number of trained people you can reach out to for support during this challenging time. Please have a chat with one of our team. - Marty Nezval 0425 227 795
- Jill Berry 0406 664 956
- Pep Font 0432 043 331
- Bruce Innes 0412 419 152
- Mason Kemeny 0432 605 448
- Stephen Norton 0457 512 876
- Kim Samuel 0410 435 756
- Marissa Saunders 0423 295 882
- Max Gonzalez 0406 680 570
- Brett Pattison 0419 662 948
- Narelle Moore 0418 603 323
This year - on 20 July 2020 - we mark the 40th anniversary of women in lifesaving so on International Women's Day (8 March) we gave a shout out to our first "Ladies Bronze Squad" at Bondi - Sue McGilvary, Sue Murray, Julie Blacker and Terri Corbett. It would be great to get in touch with one or all of them so if you know where they are now, or have any clues, please drop us a line. Another project that we could use some help with - going through the archived annual reports in the Office to see what we can find about these women and their time at the Club. At Bondi this season, more than 40% of active lifesavers , half the Board are female and Jeppesen Patrol has all-female leadership and IRB teams
(PCs Feliciity MacArthur and Belinda Hartman, VC and IRBC Sarah Forde and IRBD Alex Ayscough) . We are getting there.
North and SouthAt the end of February, the final loads of supplies collected during the height of the bushfire emergency and warehoused around Sydney were delivered to the south and north coast. One last truck headed to Batemans Bay to cover supply shortages in surrounding bushfire-affected communities. Phil Nee also headed to communities in the north of the State that have been affected not only by the bushfire but subsequent flooding with a load of urgently needed baby supplies. These communities are all incredibly grateful for the supplies they've received from Bondi. There's still more to be done and we will continue
to partner with Surf Clubs along the coast to support the recovery.
Ormsby's VIP Escape from the City By Emma Mulquiney Just an hour’s drive south of Bondi, is Garie beach in the Royal National Park. On Saturday 29 February, Ormsby Patrol (and friends) headed to Garie for a guest patrol. Garie Surf Lifesaving Club has a low number of volunteers, so surf clubs across Sydney sign up to assist them each season. It's a win-win! The weekend's fun started early thanks to the comedy duo that is Denise and Will who posted videos of their fun-filled trip to the supermarket on the Whatsapp group
while most of us were still stuck at work. We joined them on Friday evening for dinner and a night staying in the Surf Club hall. There are limited accommodation options in the national park (unless you have a tent or an historic shack), so staying at the Club right on the beach is a VIP experience not to be missed! Highlights of our trip included: - Stunning sunrise on Saturday morning with yoga session, run, swim, surf or walk
- Surf was pumping, swell was big and wind offshore until early afternoon on the Saturday. This made for some "interesting" IRB launches - lucky JP had six IRB crew to
call on!
- Amazing meals together thanks to Will and Denise who organised the food for us all
- Getting to know other surf club members better and making new friends
- Not much phone reception makes it feel like an extra relaxing time away
- Thankfully there were not too many people swimming as the rips were running strong. The only real incident was a member of the public who sprained his ankle. He was very appreciative of the treatment he received from our lifesavers.
Totally recommend patrolling at Garie. It’s a great escape from the city and there were plenty of chances to
enjoy the beach and surroundings. There are also some great hikes and rock pools to explore in the area.
A Warm - Sometimes Wet - WelcomeYouth Members of the Club headed to the Royal National Park to patrol two weeks' later, on Saturday 14 March. The weather was pretty wet but the welcome from the Garie clubbies was equally warm. Another team from Bondi headed down to patrol on Saturday 21 March - making it four destinations patrols at Garie this season. Thanks to everyone who's pitched in, especially rallying IRB drivers and crew who are already in demand, so we can do our bit to help Garie. As always, they were grateful for the help they received
patrolling their beach.
Restrictions may be in place for now but they won't be forever and we have two more local businesses that have come on board with Member Benefits. When they're back to normal trading, they'll be offering the following discounts to Club members: Good OneLooking for a friendly cafe close to the beach? Try Good one, who will provide a 10% discount to Club members from Monday to Friday. Good One think the Club do a great job on the beach and want to support and recognise our team, try them out! Hotel RavesisHotel Ravesis is pleased to offer all Bondi SBLSC members $5 schooners and $6 wines (from our Bottlshop Bar next to reception) any day until 10pm. Just show your Club membership medallion to access the deal. They can be supported in the meantime, while they're still trading with delivery and takeaway. - Good One - will still do take away and drive-by delivery - 10% off for members
- Ravesis - very
well priced bottle shop takeaway open 10am to midnight Monday to Saturday and 10am to 11pm on Saturdays. A delivery service is on its way - watch this space.
For great Clubbie discounts, look out for the Bondi sticker at friendly local businesses!
Director of Lifesaving Damon Somerfield with his golden girl and his State gold medal as the sun sets (early) on Bondi for another lifesaving season.
As of this week Surf Lifesaving Sydney clubs are no longer required to patrol, due to beach closures and the COVID-19 pandemic with the season closing early. This season we grew our patrols from 12 to 14, we gained 23 new IRB crew, 112 cadets patrolled, 360 active members patrolled, 572 proficient members did patrol hours, and over 14,500 patrol hrs were clocked up. Between us all, we add all that up and we get the most important number … 0 - “No Lives Lost”. All this while supporting our community in the bushfire crisis, dealing with a Clubhouse flood, the developing global pandemic, and finally managing the closure of our operations and the world's busiest beach
early while the sun shines and the water is warm. The Bondi SBLSC board and myself as Director of Lifesaving are incredibly proud of you all. Our rapid response emergency call out team of 33 highly skilled lifesavers remains in place to protect life along our coast. As we move forward, take one day at a time, remember your skills, experience and training as community leaders. We stand together and your Club is behind every one of you every day we move forward. I have told many of you this season how we volunteer - your priority is your family and friends, then your jobs and whatever is left you put into our Club and Surf Lifesaving. So stay safe, stay strong, stay fit, healthy and stay connected with each other all the way through this. We
know that after there are tests, vaccines, and treatment paths, this crisis will pass, the beaches will reopen, and we will protect the beaches again. If you or anyone you know in the club needs our support please contact us. New Lifesaving PositionsAs part of our growth as a club and as a lifesaving function, we have created a new role for a Lifesaving Operations Manager. We are pleased announce Simon Smith will be taking this role. He will join Michael Hallam, as the Captain of Lifesaving, to manage the patrol operations and support for patrols. Both Mike and Simon will be tasked with different areas to support patrols, which we will communicate during the off-season to our patrols. Simon's email is lifesavingops@bondisurfclub.com Due to this this move, we will be looking to recruit a new First Aid Officer. As many of you who have either been in or supported the First Aid role know, this person needs to be strong on stock control, aware of key first aid supply needs and be a current, active First Aid qualified member. If you would like
to apply, please contact Simon. I would encourage patrols to develop online/virtual patrol platforms to get together and encourage your teams to stay connected, in the absence of the beach and our beloved Club. This is an important time to re-connect as much as we can. Our next event on the agenda will be our club presentations and awards on 27 June when we will celebrate our lifesaving achievements. As society changes we will evolve, but we will still celebrate! Till next time team, “Bondi Patrol, Out”
Damon Somerfield
So, unexpectedly that is another season over. Although it was a short season we have racked up so many achievements. The new proficiency on patrol initiative was a big success and has highlighted that trainers are a valuable patrol resource who can use their training skills all year to improve our patrol capability. We gained 34 SRCs and 118 qualified and beach-ready Bronzies with another 21 waiting in the wings to resume their training at some point in the future - I won't be beating Brent's 2018-2019 record this time but expect that number to be exploded next season. I'm so deeply thankful to all of my amazing team for everything they've accomplished this season. Shout out to the mentors and lead trainers who ran courses this season - James, Ollie, Toby,
Sarah, Jeremy, Sam, Nicola, Max, Mark, Tony, Mike, Alex, Anne-Marie, Shauna, Mason, Tom and even our President Brent got in on the act. Thank you to those who ran our ART and ancillary courses and our assessors - Charles, Shauna, Marissa, Geoff, Mark and Kristy. Thank you to Alex and her team for getting a record number of IRB crew through. Thank you to all our junior trainers/lead trainers in the making, too many to list here but I'm already looking forward to having you on the team next season. Thank you to all our new trainees, thank you to our water safety, thank you to our life members for handing out the uniforms and making our graduations the special, fun (drunken) events they are. I'm am so privileged and proud to be a leader of this community and I know our community will be
back better and stronger than ever. In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy and look after yourselves and each other. SYOTB
Amber Jones
BM5 - Get Bronzed - Wrap-Up(ish)It's been a tough one for Get Bronzed this year, initially being kept from training by crazy surf and weather and then not it improving a huge amount after that. Just two practical sessions had favourable conditions for training with two cancelled for safety reasons. That being said, Get Bronzed are a tough group and worked hard throughout the course. They made huge progress in the time that we had and will make great lifesavers in time. With all assessments cancelled, we're looking forward to continuing with the course when it is safe to do so. In the meantime I would like to congratulate the group and the
trainers on all their hard work so far. We will eventually get across the finish line!
Masters Winners AgainCongratulations to Team Bondi who, for the third straight year, won the overall NSW State Masters Championship point score over Redhead and Manly surf clubs.
The NSW State Championships, held over three days at Blacksmiths Beach in Swansea Belmont saw the mighty blue and white Bondi quartered cap defend and retain the overall title of top masters team in NSW. From small beginnings in the early 1990s, Bondi has now become the most successful club in NSW, and arguably Australian, Masters history. Winning four of the past five State Championship including the past three consecutive years as overall Australian Champions is an accomplishment that is to be applauded. Read the SLSNSW news article: Surf Master Class at State Champs
Sadly, we were well positioned to have a decent crack at the Australian Championships on the Gold Coast and World Championships in Italy, but we will never get to find out (due to the cancellation of both events) just how we would have faired.
A big thank you and congratulations to all our competitors, coaches, IRB crews, officials, supporters and the Board of Surf Sports leadership group who have spent countless hours to achieve this success.
Congratulations also to Zoe Fletcher, Nicola Watkins and Dori Miller who were at the forefront of our open competition team, all gaining points towards our overall opens points tally. Gold medal winners:
Dean Gladstone: 40-44 surf race, rescue tube race
Darrin Jones: 50-54 surf race
Cyril Baldock: 75 & over surf race, rescue tube race, 1km beach run
Courtney Date: 30-39 champion lifesaver
Damon Somerfield: 40-49 champion lifesaver
Dori Miller: 45-49 surf race, rescue tube race
Laura Thurtell: 50-54 surf race, rescue tube race, iron woman
Jan McCloskey: 75 & over surf race, beach sprint
Robyn Hill: 40-44 board race
Robyn Hill, Virginia Pope, Samantha Wolf: 130 years surf team, 130 years taplin relay
Dori Miller, Louise Santos, Laura Thurtell: 150 years surf team, 150 years taplin relay
Robyn Hill, Samantha Wolf: 40-44 board rescue
Dori Miller, Louise Santos: 45-49 board rescue
Louise Santos, Laura Thurtell: 50-54 double ski View all the individual results
Sixty Years and Still Going StrongThis month Michael Fischer The Surfer sat down over a coffee with Life Member Rod Harvey.
Hello Rod…thanks for taking the time for this.
Can we begin with your beginnings in Bondi Surf Club? Where did it all start?
A pleasure Michael. I first joined the Club way back in 1958 and last year I received my SLSA 60-Year Long Service Award. A great honour! I had been a member of the Bondi Amateur Swimming Club and it just seemed the right thing to do ... to move across to the Surf Club. At the time I had some relations who were members including two uncles who were Life Members. And what was your early involvement in the club?
Well after gaining my Bronze and then Instructor's Certificate, I became involved in surf boat rowing and later stroked the A boat crew for about 10 years. When the Club revived the Bondi Lifesavers’ Rugby teams in the late 1960s, I became involved there as well although my body is now telling me I played too long! But they were wonderful years with surf club activities in the
summer and rugby in the winter ... with your mates all year round. What official positions did you hold Rod?
I became a patrol captain after a few years active service and my first committee position was that of Honorary Publicity Officer. A really proud milestone in my membership was being elected Club Captain in the mid 1960s. Over the next few decades I held various positions including Committeeman, Vice President and Senior Vice President, and I was again honoured to be elected Club President from 2007-09. I’ve been involved in fundraising for the Club in various aspects over the years from the Annual Fancy Fair in the 1960s but probably the major activity was with current Club Patron Peter Stapleton in negotiating for Government, business and member financial support for the 2007 clubhouse renovations. I’m currently a member of the Club Renovations Planning Committee as we strive to provide a rebuilt modern facility befitting the oldest and most famous surf lifesaving club in
the world. Wow! So from all that involvement Rod, is there one single highlight?
Being elected Honorary Life Member in 1982, the Club’s highest honour, has been my highlight as a member of this wonderful organisation. So Rod, in your many years in the Club you must have come across some personalities and some rogues! Can you share some with readers?
This Club, and its proud history, is full of wonderful characters and it would take me hours to rattle off my top 100 or even my top 1000! Therefore at the risk of offending some of our contemporary leaders and identities, I’ll safely stick to the "old days". Many of our prominent lifesavers and competitors are identified as the current names of our patrols. But way back in time and over the years, administrators and leaders like Tom Meagher, Bas McDonald (past
President and founding President of our Nippers), Kevin Murray, Charles Smith and Cliff Ryan come first to mind. Boat sweeps like Gordon Harmon, Ted Healy, Bob ("Big Waves") Reid and my dear old mate John ‘ Beachie’ Burrows provide vivid memories of my surf boat days, whilst in the old fashioned "scallywag" stakes of yesteryear, you couldn’t go past Roth ‘ Basso’ Bassingthwaite and Bill Jenkings. Rod what are the big challenges facing this Club in the near future?
The clubhouse renovations project which will set us up for well into the future as we provide a safe surfing environment at Bondi Beach is our biggest challenge. Bringing the plans to fruition will require the raising of many millions of dollars and we must not let this opportunity pass. Of course, the maintenance of membership recruitment is an ongoing challenge. I mentioned to you earlier our proud history, and I’d like to see us spend more time informing our membership in that regard. These Life Member interviews are a good start. Well, finally Rod, any final comments?
Firstly, I’d like to see greater recruitment of teenage members; from our Nippers, from local schools and sporting groups alike. Like many of my current club member friends, we joined in our teenage years and that was about 60 years ago! We’re so fortunate to be still here, and in so many ways our membership of Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club has been the making of us. Thanks for your time Rod. Best wishes to you.
The Patrol That Plays Together ...It’s a Saturday afternoon in early March and the Hutchings team have arrived at the beach just before low tide to begin their patrol. It’s not exactly beach weather with a wind that picks up as the day goes on but there are a few fast-moving rips along the beach and still enough people in the water to keep them busy. Fourteen cadets visiting Bondi from Port Campbell SLSC join the patrol, there’s a group of SRCs spotting problems from the tower and radioing those by the water and "older hands" at the flags, roving between ramps 2 and 4 and down at southern outpost. While there’s a distinctly Mediterranean feel to Hutchings patrol - with plenty of members from Spain, Portugal and Italy – what becomes apparent pretty quickly is that this is a patrol defined by friendships made and nurtured by learning, training, patrolling and partying together. At the core of that is a group who did their Bronze almost 10 years ago, among them Francisco (Cisco) Cordero and Chris Lorang. For Chris, who has been an active member for most of that time including a period serving on the Board, Hutchings is home. It was where he started at the Club but after earning his Gold Medallion a few years later at a time when that was an even rarer feat than it is now, he floated around patrols for a while before becoming co-Patrol Captain with
Dori Miller on Besomo for two years. “Then at the end of the 2017/2018 season, I spoke to [Hutchings Patrol Captain] Pep and told him I wanted to come home to Hutchings. I think your first patrol is always home. In those first few years we were on the beach a lot, we did a lot of rescues and we spent a lot of time together.” Cisco agrees. “We started together doing our Bronze. Pedro and Pep were our trainers [under lead trainer and current Walsh Patrol Captain, Geoff Sumner]. Pep and I are Spanish and Pedro is Portuguese, so there was that point of connection but we were all competitive, loved the competition and found the theory pretty challenging, so we bonded through that. “At the Ball at the end of that year,
I made the ‘jolly’ suggestion that we all do the Coolangatta Gold so we continued to train together for that throughout the year. I think Pep is the only one who actually did it, though. “We caught up a lot. We got into the habit of volunteering together on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Australia Day – all the big days. We were in the water all the time. Then we started organising costume parties to fundraise for the Club – they were epic!” A work promotion saw Cisco move to New York for six years and, when he returned to Sydney in 2018, he returned to the Club and to Hutchings patrol. “The core of the patrol (Pep, Pedro, Chris) was still here”. Pedro’s time at the Club has been similarly
fractured. He joined in the 2006/07 season and was Instructor of the Year in 2010 before a move to Perth meant a couple of seasons with North Cottesloe SLSC, then a year at Terrigal before returning to Bondi in 2015. The constant for Hutchings is its Patrol Captain of 10 years, Pep Font, who has also been the Club’s Deputy President for the past five years. Pep did, indeed, complete the Coolangatta Gold in 2012 and has done so six times since. He has also competed at State and Aussies for the past six years in ski, swim, board, ironman and beach sprints and won Aussies gold for the Blue and White. “Hutchings does have a core group who’ve been in the Club for a while,” he says. “But it’s also about those who’ve joined and
stayed since. Angus [Chard] did his bronze in 2010, started training with us too and then moved across to Hutchings after a few years. Nuria, Charles, Augusto, Massimo, Alejandro, Kristina, Alex and Simon have all been with us for a number of years and are all active in other areas of the Club. And we have a group of keen, engaged SRCs - Caelin, Brodie and Connor - coming through. Hutchings is, and has been for a long time, a big part of my life”. Hutchings Patrol Team: Pep Font Sadurni PC, Chris Lorang PC, Tony Kvatch VC, Stephen Winnall IRBD, Sarah Chard IRBC. Members: Angus Chard, Sarah Anderson, Pedro Araujo, Cate Brighenti, Kristina Boehm, Francisco Cordero, Massimo Gagliardi, Nuria Guillamon, Alejandro Jaramillo, Mason Kemeny, Alex Porebski, Razvan Pravat, Augusto Santos,
Charles Stanford, Matt Malcolm, Peter Roberts, Michael Delaney, Jo Cheong, Simon Barbeti, Cuba Kanakis, Dominic McGrath, Danial DiPaulo, Damien Poulos, Michael Magdic, Caelin Bofill, Brodie Mezei, Connor Mezei. Life Member on Patrol: Rod Harvey. Hutchings is named after Brian "Hutcho" Hutchings. It is said that Hutcho was our best individual competitor, and his results speak for themselves. He beat all comers in the surf, including a long list of Olympians, many of whom he convincingly smashed at Australian Titles. Hutchings was a Life Member, and was a committee member for many years. He held the position of Patrol Captain in an era when only the best of the best achieved this honour. He competed successfully in Masters competitions until his death in 2006 of a heart
attack, aged 69, while surfing in a longboard contest on the Gold Coast. In 2004 he was inducted into the Surf Life Saving Australia Hall of Fame, an honour which he was "a bit embarrassed by".
Other Representative Sports: Lifesaving – Australia 1954, 1956; Swimming.
Australian Championships: Senior Surf 1954, 1956, 1959; Senior Surf Belt 1961, 1963
What's Been Happening at the Club
Bondi Blue Water ChallengeOcean Events Organiser, Simon Smith, delivers his wrap-up of the day. Being a key fundraising event for Bondi, combined with cancellations for the past couple of years, there was a lot of pressure for us to make the Bondi Blue Water Challenge 2020 a success. I can now say that it was a great success! Here are some stats: - The water safety crew led by Brent
Jackson included 4 x IRBs, 2 x Jetskis, 10+ board paddlers, 10+ lifesavers with tubes
- Total profit for the club - $21K, with the BBQ bringing in just over $2K
- Over 1,000 participants across 3 swim and 1 run event
- 100+ volunteers helping with setup, BBQ, registration, water safety, pack up and generally ensuring the event ran smoothly
- 2-3 foot waves, high tide and a slight NE wind
This event could not have happened without the help and support of all of the volunteers that helped leading up to the event and on the day. Special thanks to the organising committee - Dori Miller, Nick
Nezval, Kieran Varcoe, Veronica Fernandez and Brent Jackson. There is quite a bit of planning and preparation that goes into ensuring an event of this size runs smoothly. In the final weeks leading up to the event, I wanted to call out a few more people. Louise Santos for getting the BBQ supplies and organising the prizes. Caroline Pierce for composing and sending emails to our database of competitors. Alex, Brent and Veronica for learning how to set up buoys and anchors from Bursty, and setting them up the day before. On the day, we had some key roles, and I wanted to say thanks to these people: - Kieran Varcoe - managing and coordinating the volunteer workforce across
the various areas. Kieran was there from the very beginning right to the end of pack up!
- Steve Hackers - setup and packup of the beach. Steve coordinated the crew that did this important function. At one stage he was the turning marker for the 4km run!
- Alex Ayscough - IRB coordination. IRBs were critical for setting the course, laying the buoys and water safety during the event. I was really impressed how well the team ran. We had many people comment that this is the first year they have seen the buoys ready and the course setup on time!
- Garry Beath and the BBQ crew - You guys were a well-oiled machine from setup to pack up. Thank you so much for providing a great service (with a smile)
and ensuring the competitors and volunteers were well fed! $2K is a great result.
- Greg Byrnes - Race briefing and starter. Having someone as experienced as Greg running the race briefings and starting was invaluable. Thanks Greg!
- Nick Nezval - Announcer. Nick you are a natural on the microphone. It helps having someone with Nick’s experience providing commentary, facts and information.
- Michael Green and Veronica Fernandez - Cash handling, this is usually an area that goes unnoticed and un-thanked. Thank you both for staying with the cash and making sure nothing went missing!
In closing, it is fantastic that we made a great profit this year,
however I think the real benefit in the running of this event is the fact that it brings all members of different ages and groups together for one day for a single purpose. This is what makes me proud to be part of Bondi Surf Bathers' Surf Life Saving Club.
Seventeen Ducklings All In A RowWe recently welcomed 17 new crew to the Club's patrols. After a 5:30am start to ensure there was a bit of space to test, the new crew who've been in training since early January were put through their paces and by 9am we had lots of new ducklings ready to patrol the beach. Well done to you all and your drivers/assessors. Now the learning really begins as you patrol and rescue.
Dippers Come To BondiDippers is Nippers for children with Autism. It has been running for four seasons now at Coogee, and it was time to bring the fun (and inclusion) to Bondi! First week - yes! Second week: Nippers was cancelled, but not put off by the big surf, the blue bottles and the wind and rain, we crocodile-lined up to the North Bondi baby pool to play in the waves breaking over the baby pool sides, with helpers on blue-bottle duty!! For some of the kids this is their first time in water, their smiles and amazement on their faces and their parents and
families was indescribable! ️ squeals of excitement and joy from helpers and kids were heard as we raced after them on the beach, and gave them piggybacks and boogyboard rides in the pool!! It kicked off on the first Sunday in March in perfect conditions. The weather wasn't so good for the second week. Nippers was cancelled but not put off by the big surf, the blue bottles, the wind and rain, we crocodile-lined up to the North Bondi baby pool to play in the waves breaking over the baby pool sides, with helpers on blue-bottle duty. For some of the kids this is their first time in water, their smiles and the amazement on their faces and those of their parents and families was indescribable! ️ Squeals of excitement and joy from helpers and kids were heard as we raced after them on the
beach and gave them piggybacks and boogie board rides in the pool! The AutismSwim team pointed out that there was no shortage of smiles. "The tears of joy from parents make it all ever so worthwhile. Thanks to everyone who assists in allowing magic like this to happen". And one of the parents, Lara Taylor Adams, posted this on Facebook:
"Today was Xavier's first session as a Bondi Dipper. I can honestly say it's the happiest I have ever seen him and he loved every second. Thank you to all you incredible volunteers - to give up your own time in the pouring rain to help a stranger have an experience that I could never manage and to treat him with such kindness and respect, well it warms my heart and I am so grateful. We can't wait for next week!!!" Marty, Felicity, all the volunteers and the Club are looking forward to welcoming the Dippers and their families back to Bondi next season.
Fellow Clubbies, What a tumultuous month, since I last put pen to paper. We started off with two fantastic weeks of racing, with good numbers and outstanding competition. This was followed by big and dangerous seas which lead to the cancellation of two weeks of racing. At the start of last week it looked like Patrols and the Surf Race would be the limit of our activities, however, SLS canned all surf sports and Patrols finished on Sunday arvo. Looking back it was not a bad season, with a couple of new faces and the old stalwarts turning up on a regular basis. To all those who assisted me with ticking off names and took photos, my thanks for making the job so much
easier. The Memorial rounds not held will be adjusted and the events will be awarded, God willing (Marty we need your prayers here), we will be back in September/October. In the interim, keep safe and stay healthy. I will see you sooner than later. Cheers
Doc PS: Anyone who wishes to move from A Grade to B Grade, please let me know. Those on a
handicap of 3 minutes or more in B Grade will be moved to A Grade. To those who did not swim, there are plenty of vacancies in B Grade, awaiting for you to slot into.
Surf Race Images - Week 24 - March 8
Surf Race Images - Week 23 - March 1
For great Clubbie discounts, look out for the Bondi sticker at friendly local businesses!
Don’t forget to check out the Member Benefits poster in the Club to discover new businesses supporting us.
Summer Office Hours
Monday - Friday 9:00am-3:00pm. Sunday 9:00am-12:00pm, Closed Saturdays and public holidays.
ARTICLES FOR THE SURFERIf you have an interesting article concerning a member, past or present, please direct them to editor@bondisurfclub.com Photo submissions: photos@bondisurfclub.com Phone: +61 2 9300 9279
Fax: +61 2 9300 9596
Email: info@bondisurfclub.com
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