Chairperson’s End of Season 2023/2024 Update

Dear members, 
  
The beach flags are now down which signals the end of the active lifeguarding season this summer.  It is great to be able to report we have had no major incidents on our beach this summer.  This is obviously greatly assisted by the fabulous weather we’ve had but also the wonderful service our volunteer lifeguards provide alongside the regional patrols.

Thank you for your wonderful support of the rebuild project at Waitangi weekend.  The submission process closed last week, and the subcommittee is now assessing the inputs they have received.  It is important to keep top of mind this project is necessary first and foremost to house our lifeguard service.  The current buildings are not considered fit for this purpose.  Any other facilities around the lifeguard service are simply perceived as a ‘nice to have’ which is why we must persist with our plan and get what is best for our community, which includes facilities for our lifeguards, as well as other facilities such as the bar and hall to serve the wider community.

I hope those of you who attended the 50th celebrations enjoyed the festivities.  Thank you to the subcommittee who ran the event.  Events like this are very expensive to host but we did manage to make a small profit.  Huge thanks to David Kerr who as the professional photographer for the weekend.  His pictures truly captured the essence of the celebrations and are available on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/share/gjwP7qYzzqmBAnLv/?).  Also, a massive thank you to David Bruce, editor and producer of the wonderful local magazine - The Whiritoa Tidings.  He worked closely with the team to provide a beautiful Tidings magazine to commemorate the event. Lastly a huge thanks to the volunteers whose efforts supported the weekend celebrations, including staffing the bar, cleaning up, and generally helping out.

The committee are saying farewell to Ella White who has been our Junior Surf Coordinator for the past two years.  She stepped away from this role earlier in the season and I am delighted to announce that Sammy Smith will be stepping into this role.  Please see Sammy’s introduction in a separate blurb and on social media.  Thank you Ella!!

We had a busy season on the beach with our junior surf participant numbers at a record high.  We are one of the few Clubs on the coast who pays their coaches and it is pleasing to be able to provide employment opportunities for our young people during the summer.  One of the requirements for the privilege of a paid coaching job is to undertake a minimum number of volunteer patrol hours during the season so this is a reciprocal arrangement that works for everyone’s benefit.  I hope we will be able to continue to offer paid coaching roles in the future.  Some of our junior members carried on from the junior surf sports season and competed in local Eastern Region competition and got a taste of a tougher competition field from around the region.   We also increased our lifeguarding ‘stock’ with all five of our trainee lifeguards successfully completing the exam at the end of January, earning their full SLSNZ Lifeguard Award, meaning they are now fully qualified to wear the ‘red and yellows’.  Congratulations to you all.

I look forward to seeing you at the end of season prize giving on Saturday 30 March (Easter weekend).  More details will be confirmed closer to the time.

 Take care and keep enjoying the wonderful weather.

Joanna Wood
 
Mobile +64-21-405 544
Email chairperson.whiritoaslsc@gmail.com