Welcome to the August Edition
of the
Surf Life Saving Illawarra Newsletter
Welcome to our Surf Life Saving Illawarra August newsletter. With our surf life savers back on the beach on the 28th of September, now is the perfect time to renew your membership or sign up as a new member or nipper.
You may have noticed that the SLSA members hub where you manage your membership has had a makeover and if you haven't already you will need to re-set your password on your first log in. SLS Hub - Login Screen
Illawarra had a number of members and clubs represent our region at the Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) Awards of Excellence this month, keep reading to find out which of our deserving members won their award category and will progress to the Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) Awards of Excellence.
We are excited to be hosting another Club Open Day on Sunday 14 September at our clubs in the Illawarra. We hope to see lots of familiar and new faces learning all about what our clubs have to offer.
Download Beachsafe App!
Access the latest information about every Australian beach or find a beach near you including local conditions and lifesaving services. There’s also safety advice and information about flags, signs, rips, waves and more.
A reminder that North Wollongong is the only beach patrolled between May- Mid September. Use the beach safe app to find out the hours the flags are in operation.
Surf Life Saving recommends swimming at patrolled beaches, between the red and yellow flags.
Education Courses
Upcoming First Aid Course
First Aid is open to current members above the age of 14 who are currently patrolling at their club or will be commencing patrol at their club.
Our next First Aid course is on Monday 29 September and Wednesday 1 October 2025 in the evening.
Contact educationadmin@slsillawarra.com.au for more information and to register for the course.
Chief Training Officer (CTO)s & Trainers and Facilitators (TAF)s
Our Pre-season Education Meeting for our Illawarra club's CTOs and TAFs is being held on 13 September 2025.
If you hold this role in your club and have not received an email with further information, please contact Megs on 02 4228 3884 or educationadmin@slsillawarra.com.au
2025 Sharkskin Australian IRB Championships
Congratulations to the following members from Thirroul SLSC who represented their club at the Sharkskin Australian IRB Championships in July and came away with a medal.
1st- Open Male Teams Rescue- Jayden, Max, Jaryd, Nick, Samara and Layla
3rd- Open Male Mass Rescue- Jayden, Jaryd, Samara and Fran
2025 Australian Lifesaving Championships
Congratulations to Stephanie Staniforth from Bulli SLSC who represented Australia as part of the Australian Lifesaving Team at the 2025 Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships in Wales.
SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming Branch Carnivals
Junior Development Carnival - Sunday 18 January 2026
This is a great carnival for competitors who are new to carnivals and those looking for a day of fun. We offer a local carnival with non-competitive events for our nippers to learn about how to compete and experience surf sports in a fun, friendly environment.
Keep an eye out in future newsletters and our social media pages for further event information.
Surf Life Saving Illawarra Branch Championships- Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February 2026
Our Annual Branch Championships are a great event where our Illawarra competitors from all 17 of our clubs have the opportunity to come together and compete.
We hold competition for our Juniors on Saturday and competition for our Seniors and Masters on Sunday. Saturday also involves our Junior Lifesaver of the Year (JLOTY) presentation, and we begin the day with a March Past with all our competitors.
We are looking for clubs to host both of these carnivals. Find out more information in Circular 2505 and 2507 on our website.
Sydney Water Surf Series
The Sydney Water Surf Series returns for 2025!
This news wouldn’t be possible without Sydney Water’s enduring support which gives lifesavers of all ages the chances to display their skills in the water and on the sand.
The “Double weekend” round allows Series athletes to compete in other major Surf Sports events early in the season. It also provides a multi-day race experience as used at State and Aussies.
Note: Senior beach competitors will complete both Rounds 3 and 4 on 6 December.
Thanks to Infront and Finz, all athletes will again have the opportunity of being rewarded with some great Series pointscore prizes.
Circular and entry information will be released in the coming weeks.
SLSNSW Awards of Excellence
Following our Surf Life Saving Illawarra Awards of Excellence in June of this year, a number of our award winners went on to represent our branch at the SLSNSW Awards of Excellence on Saturday the 16th of August.
Congratulations to all our Illawarra nominees, listed above, who give tirelessly to the lifesaving movement in their respective roles. Illawarra had two very deserving winners on the night.
Michael Russo from Fairy Meadow SLSC who won SLSNSW Lifesaver of the Year and Alyssa Norris from Windang SLSC, who took out Youth Volunteer of the Year.
A huge Congratulations to Michael and Alyssa. They will both now represent their clubs and our branch at the SLSA Awards of Excellence in November.
Find out more about Michael's contribution to Fairy Meadow SLSC in the 24/25 Season
Michael served as a Patrol Captain, IRB Captain, Surf Sports Coordinator and serves as a subject matter expert assisting with education. Michael has help to build future leaders within Fairy Meadow SLSC club over the 24/25 season. Leading one of the club's younger patrol teams (aged 15–20), Michael has managed to help us retain a demographic the club traditionally finds difficult to keep engaged.
Michael has identified that the Club needs new ways to keep members engaged and boost the club's retention. During the 24/25 season he saw competition as way not only to keep members active and involved but also as a way to promote the club and gain new members. Michael encouraged members to compete in the Branch Championships, the first time Fairy Meadow SLSC has sent a team in many years. His efforts directly motivated members to engage in surf sports, leading to increased participation in training and a renewed interest in competition. This has had a positive flow-on effect on patrol engagement and skill development, improving frontline service delivery and helping respond to an identified problem at the Club.
Find out more about Alyssa's contribution to Surf Life Saving in the 25/25 Season
Alyssa held the roles of Vice Club Captain, Rookie Coordinator, First Aid Officer, Media Officer and Patrol Captain at Windang SLSC in the 24/25 Season.
Alyssa is a role model and is passionate in developing the Youth. She jointly co-ordinates the Rookie program developing lifesaving and personal skills. She organises an annual Amazing race based on Lifesaving skills and fun, held with Bellambi SLSC to develop friendships.
Alyssa is naturally a leader, always modelling positive behaviours. She leads by example, always wearing her uniform enthusiastically with a smile. Alyssa does a lot with the youth lifesavers and Life members, constantly including all ages and abilities encouraging them to take every opportunity available to them. She enjoys seeing them grow and gain self confidence.
Alyssa identified a need within surf lifesaving where there are limited Education resources for children with disabilities. Alyssa organised “'All in for the Sea” a program for children with disabilities. Participants from Kidswish attended and learned through sensory touch about beach safety rather than just sitting through a presentation. Alyssa handmade 2 x Rock pools which contained water and various things you would find at the beach. The 20 participants also got to use radios, play on the equipment and dress as a lifesaver. This will now be an annual event and now she is working with Vision Australia to further adapt this program for vision impaired participants.
Expressions of Interests Open
Surf Life Saving Illawarra is currently taking expressions of interest for a Branch Complaints Manager. More information can be found about the position here:
NEWSLETTERS
Does your club have any news, training dates or just anything you would like to share. Send it through to the SLSI branch office and we will put it in the newsletter.
