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BLACK

SWAN

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Membership & Admin For all updates regarding your member-

ship, administration and finance.

Copyright © 2016 Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club, All rights reserved.

34-36 Alexandra Paradede, Maroochydore, Queensland 4558 | p (07) 5443 1298 | f (07) 5443 8963 | lifesaving@marochysurfclub.com.au

September Edition 2016

Dear Members

The

Firstly I would like to welcome Paul Thomas to the team as the newly

appointed Deputy President and I would like to thank Wade Lee for

his service and commitment to the role over the last 2 years.

It has been a busy August around the club with the Board of Surf Life

Saving getting ready for the patrol season making sure equipment is

ready, skills maintenance updates for patrol members starting, and a

new Bronze Squad commenced their training. Patrol gear is being

repaired and serviced ready for season start, plus new equipment pur-

chased is being commissioned for use including the new IRB hull and

outboard motor.

In the next couple of weeks the awning at the front of the club is being

replaced. The Board of Management have chosen to increase the

length of the awning and construct the frame in aluminium with an

insulated roof, to extend its life. The design should reduce the flow of

smoke from the upstairs licensed area down into the club room..

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Surf Sports Find out what the current activities

are and updates are.

PAGE 9

Junior Activities The updated details on all Junior

events and activities.

Inside this issue

PAGE 3

Lifesaving Everything you need to know about

patrols and updates from the team.

PAGE 10

Events & Promotions Key dates for upcoming events you need

to have in your calendar.

We want to hear your feedback!

What do you think about our NEW Newsletter format? Please take a few

minutes to fill out our online survey. Your answers are confidential, and

your feedback will help us improve what you need to know.

2

Sometimes it seems people forget that

all club equipment is purchased through

money donated by Maroochy Supporters

Club and the general public, or raised by

our hardworking committees and volun-

teers. It is getting harder to source these

funds year in, year out, so please look

after our valuable Club assets – report

damage, take care of equipment and put

equipment and gear away in the correct

storage areas.

SLSQ held its Awards of Excellence

Gala on 14 August and I was proud to

see Maroochydore members receive

recognition for their contributions to

Life Saving in Queensland.

Ben Ellwood was the recipient of the 18

to 25 Young Lifesaver of the Year

award. Ralph Devlin was congratulated

on his outstanding service as outgoing

State President for SLSQ, and Peter

Lucas was granted Life Member-

ship. Congratulations to Ben, Ralph

and Peter on making a positive differ-

ence to the Life Saving movement.

I must not forget the outstanding effort

by Ollie Hoelscher and Pat Lafferty to

win the ResusAnn Skills Manikin for the

club by performing the best resuscitation

at the conference. A near perfect score

of 99% accuracy and Maroochydore

now has a $4,500 training manikin for

our members to use.

The club’s Social Calendar has been

busy with the Board of Marketing &

Promotion in conjunction with CEO,

Lindsey Palmer and his staff running

and organising the half-year Golf Day

and Maroochy SLSC Race Day. The

annual Race Day, was a great success

with over 205 people coming down to

Corbould Park including a number of the

club’s younger members who joined Surf

Girl, Darcy Star –Thomas on the day.

27 August the club welcomed home our

two Rio Olympians, Alyce Burnett & Jor-

dan Wood, where we had the chance to

hear about the highs of the games. It was

a great afternoon with a large number of

club members attending the event and

showing the club’s support of these fine

athletes.

Right now 5 Maroochydore members are

in The Netherlands representing Australia

at the 2016 Life Saving World Champion-

ships. Pam Hendry, Sam Bell, Chelsea

Gillett and Cody Rychvalsky have been

selected as part of the competitive squad,

and Danny Short as Head Coach. This

competition will be live streamed and

results will be updated on Twitter

@auslifesaving and Facebook.

As some of our athletes go overseas, an-

other group return. The 2016 Shimoda

Exchange representatives; Ollie

Hoelscher, Maddi Korac, Drew Beveridge

and Beau Farrell are back in Australia

after returning from helping the beaches of

Shimoda. From all accounts this has been

another successful trip with friendships

forged between our two clubs. This is the

last newsletter before the season gets off

and running on 17th September. I urge all

members to maintain our proud tradition

of having No Lives Lost between the Flags

into the 2016-2017 seasons, and to remain

vigilant in their duties and continue to

offer the exceptional service that Maroo-

chydore has always provided.

See you on the beach, or at one of our

club events!

Steve Wieland - 0409 497 912

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Rescues

Maroochydore

Beach Rescues

Maroochydore

First Aid

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First Aid

Maroochydore

Beach Preventions

Maroochydore

Beachgoers

1,216

Preventions

112,163

beachgoers

The 2015/16 Patrol Season was a busy

year on Maroochydore beaches, with our

volunteer lifesavers performing 79 res-

cues, 49 first aid treatments, and 1,216

preventative actions while looking out

for 112,163 beachgoers.

Our activities on the beach are always

carried out by volunteer lifesavers.

Paid lifeguards patrol during the week

and are employed by Surf Life Saving

Queensland who have an agreement with

Sunshine Coast Regional Council to sup-

ply the trained lifeguards.

Surf Life Saving

Maroochydore

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Lifesaving

September has arrived which means

the patrolling season is upon us.

Hopefully all patrolling members

have seen the roster for the first half

of the season. Each patrol has five

half days up until just after New

Year’s. For our two patrols trialling

full days, you have two early in the

season after which we’ll assess

whether they’re working or not.

There are some modifications hap-

pening with the arena to make it more

user friendly and new vinyls being

organised for the towers. Special

thanks to Michelle Burnett & Drew

Moles for their work on these projects

as well as overseeing board repairs.

It was great to see the first group

complete their proficiencies last Sun-

day and leading by example were our

Olympians, Alyce Burnett & Jordan

Wood as well as our president, Steve

Weiland. Special mention also to the

“boaties”, who were the best repre-

sented group at that session.

A number of our members attended

the SLSQ conference at Twin Waters

last month and we’ve brought back a

number of ideas to implement in our

programmes. I’m sure our winners

will be mentioned elsewhere in this

newsletter but congratulations firstly to

Oliver Hoelscher & Patrick Lafferty who

won the CPR competition held over the

duration of the conference – winning a

manikin for the club valued at over

$4000. The big Maroochydore winner at

the Awards night was Ben Ellwood,

named Lifesaver of the Year - 18-25

year olds. This is a truly prestigious

award that Ben thoroughly deserved and

we can take great pride from his achieve-

ment.

To the patrol captains, our kick –off

meeting on September 10 will now start

at 3pm. By the end of that session, we’ll

all be more comfortable with what is

required for inspections and how to pre-

pare for that scenario on every patrol.

We’ll also have a good grasp on the

patrol gap calculator to assess strengths

& development needs for each patrol and

will be familiar with the LIMSOC pro-

gramme on iPad where patrol statistics

& incident reporting will be captured

this season. Patrol sign-on will remain a

paper process this season.

I look forward to seeing you all on the

beach in your red & yellows, having fun

& keeping the beach safe.

Scott Steele

Director of Surf Life Saving

DOLS@maroochysurfclub.com.au

2016/17 Skills Maintenance HEADS UP! Put these dates in your calendar for this

season’s Skill Maintenance days!

Sunday 11 September 7.45am - noon

Sunday 16 October 7.45am - noon

Sunday 30 October 7.45am - noon (Masters only)

Sunday 13 November 7.45am – noon (Junior

Activities water safety 10am - noon)

Sunday 11 December 7.45am - noon

Anyone who has not completed a Skills Maintenance

day and who is not proficient by 31 December 2016

will not be permitted to:

Perform patrols

Participate as water safety

Operate rescue craft or

Compete in surf lifesaving competition

NOTICE OF CAUTION:

The 2016-17 Skills Maintenance is an online assess-

ments via www.elearning.alaq.com.au.

Do not complete the SLSA Skills Maintenance

online assessments that you see on the member’s

portal – they will not be recognised in Queensland.

DOLS - Director of Surf Lifesaving

Scott Steele

DOLS@maroochysurfclub.com.au

CTO - Chief Training Officer - Brad Kildey

CTO@maroochysurfclub.com.au

IRB - Inflatable Rubber Boat Captain -Drew Moles

Club Supervisor - Mike Dwyer

clubsupervisor@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Lifesaving Contacts

To find out the dates of the club’s upcoming SLS award

training visit the website

2016/17 Training

Calendar

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YDO Update Clasp your laser and prepare yourself for an intense

battle of skill on Saturday 17th September for the

Laser Zone Challenge—cost is $15. Transport to

Lazer Zone will be leaving the club at 3pm.

Register with Ben or Lifesaving Admin desk if you

are attending.

Membership & Admin

Members Renewal

2016/17

The new Surf Life Saving season is nearly upon us and, as summer approaches we

would like to invite all existing members renew memberships.

Select the links below for the membership forms which apply to you to be direct

to the forms online portals.

Remember to create portals for each child and parent, and you can pay via the

payment gateway. Membership fees for the 2016/17 season are $180.00 for the

first child and $60.00 for additional children in the same family.

Membership Renewal 2016/17 Step by step help

Blue Card Application and Renewal Form

Blue Card Authorisation Form

Blue Card Exemption Form

Information Regarding Unique Student Identifier

SLSA Social Media Policy

Maroochydore SLSC Social Media consent form

Director of Administration and Membership

Narelle Souter - Secretary@maroochysurfclub.com.au

General Administration Enquiries

Lauren Mulholland & Chelsea Roxburgh

Lifesaving@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Youth Development Officer

Ben Ellwood 0450 241 118

Membership

& Admin Contacts

Welcome Home & Congratulations to Alyce

Burnett and Alyssa "Aly" and Jordan Wood.

What a great effort and an amazing experience

competing at the Olympics! You have done your

club's and Australia proud!

YEP Want to register for 206-17 Youth Excellence

Program? Then fill in page 3 of the YEP Partici-

pant Handbook and give to Lifesaving Admin

desk. The club’s YEP Co-ordinator, Ben

Ellwood, or one of the YEP Mentors will give you

a call and help you get started.

5

VALE-Life Member Noel ‘Tommy’ Godfrey

In fact, in the early years of 1900 his Grandfather William fea-

tured in one of the miracle rescues at the treacherous Maroochy

river mouth during a flood event. He was swept out to sea and

was found by a search party perched naked in a tree in the mid-

dle of the night. Tom used to tell the story with great gusto, de-

scribing one of the many near-misses on the Maroochy bar that

led to the formation of the surf club in 1916.

Tom joined the club with his scouting mate Kevin Short. It was

before the Bli Bli Bridge was built, so Tommy would row over to

the Cod Hole from the North Shore, grab his little old car and

drive the couple of miles down to the Surf Club.

He had a near-miss himself one night when, after becoming

‘tired and emotional’ at the old Maroochy Pub with his surf club

mates Col Lister and Bill Bethe, they attempted a night crossing

to the farm. One of them leaned out a bit far and they all found

themselves in the water. Tom was a good swimmer though and

a tragedy was avoided.

Tom served his early years under 3 legendary Club Captains of

the 1950’s – Des Morrison, Bob Sherwell and Doug Webster. A

good swimmer and a tough young cane farmer, Tom did all that

was asked of him around the Surf Club for many years.

As he stood with Sandra to take his leave from the Life Members

Lunch back in May, there was a tear in the eye of this tough

man. This was the last time he was to see his beloved Maroochy

Beach and to be among his surf lifesaving friends. The moment

was not lost on the 45 Life Members who were there either. That

moment will stay with us, as will Tom’s memory.

Our condolences to Sandra, Tim, Peter and Tom’s wider family.

Noel Godfrey, respected Life member and our friend, rest in

peace.

On Friday 13 May this year in the Centenary year of Maroochydore Surf

Life Saving Club, ‘Tommy’ Godfrey, together with his wife Sandra, attend-

ed his last Life Members Lunch.

‘Tommy’ came to say goodbye. He knew that his terminal illness would

soon take him, yet he summoned some strength from somewhere to at-

tend a function with his mates from his beloved surf club.

Noel Godfrey, known as ‘Tommy’ joined Maroochydore SLSC in early

1951 and gained his lifesavers qualification, the Bronze Medallion, on 18

November 1951. There were 21 Bronze Medallion awards gained that year

in the club, signalling the best ever post war season for the club.

Tom was elected to Life Membership of the club in 1967, an honour he

never took for granted and always treasured.

The presence of so many senior Life Members and senior members today

demonstrates the regard in which Tommy was held.

Tom was a regular attendee of major events, proudly wearing his Life

Membership tie and badge, and took particular pleasure in the events of

our Centenary season. He was third generation cane farmer at Bli Bli, his

Grandfather William having selected the land in the late 1800’s.

6

2016 World Life Saving

Championship Good luck to all competitors departing for The Nether-

lands to race in the 2016 World Life Saving Champion-

ships - especially our awesome Maroochydore SLSC

members! National teams competition commences 6th

September details of their events are below...

PAM HENDRY: 7th September (100m manikin tow,

4x50m obstacle relay), 8th September (100m manikin

carry, 4x50m medley relay, 200m Superlifesaver), 10th

September (rescue tube rescue), 11th September (taplin

relay)

SAM BELL: 7th September (100m manikin tow, 4x50m

obstacle relay), 8th September (100m manikin carry,

4x50m medley relay, 200m Superlifesaver), 10th Septem-

ber (rescue tube rescue), 11th September (taplin relay)

CHELSEA GILLETT: 7th September (200m freestyle with

obstacles, 4x50m obstacle relay, 100m medley), 8th Sep-

tember (50m manikin carry, 4x50m medley relay), 10th

September (rescue tube rescue, beach sprint, beach

relay), 11th September (taplin relay)

CODY RYCHVALSKY (AUS Youth Team): 7th Septem-

ber (beach sprint and beach relay), 8th September

(beach flags and taplin relay).

And a big Thank You and Good Luck to Maroochydore

SLSC member, Danny Short, Head Coach of the Australi-

an Team!

Congratulations Peter Lucas

Peter Lucas,

Life Member

Surf Life

Saving Queens-

land Citation.

On behalf of all Maroochydore Surf

Life Saving Club members, congratu-

lations to Peter Lucas for receiving

Life Membership to Surf Life Saving

Queensland on Saturday 13th August

at the State Conference Annual

Awards of Excellence Gala held at

Twin Waters.

Peter joined Maroochydore SLSC in

1971, stayed until 1975 and returned

in 1998. By 2001 he was an Examin-

er and by 2004 the Branch Director

of Life Saving, a position he held

until 2009.

Such a meteoric rise for such an im-

pressive Lifesaver: Peter made up for

lost time, and apparently an entire

lost decade, by immersing himself in

the important work of Life Saving in

Queensland. 15 years later, his period

of special service is done and Peter

can be assured in the knowledge that

he has left Life Saving in a better

place than when he found it.

Peter assumed the position of State

Life Saving Officer in 2010, meaning

that he has played an important Lead-

ership role in Branch and State Life

Saving for 6 years and State and

National Life Saving for a further 6

years.

Among his many other roles stands 3

years as Branch Deputy President,

State IRB Advisor, Surf Sports Offi-

cial for 17 years and Peer Support

Officer.

Peter was Branch Surf Rescue

Championships Referee for 6 year

(2004-2010).

Peter holds the National Patrol Ser-

vice Award (2014), the ILS Citation

of Merit, was a Clive Hammond

Silver Medallist and Volunteer of the

Year for Queensland in 2009.

He is a Life Member of the Sunshine

Coast Branch.

Peter has had an influence over a

wide range of Association activities

in Queensland and has rendered truly

special service over the last 21 years.

Peter is rightly described as a pas-

sionate Life Saving Volunteer, a

stickler for detail and a role model

for many in our Association. He is

elected Life Member of SLSQ, in the

Centenary Year of his Club.

7

Surf Sports

With training well underway for the start

With training well underway for the start

of the upcoming season it’s time to set

the foundation for competition ahead. It

is time to listen to your coaches and be

preparing for the long season ahead.

Our Olympians are home and we are all

in awe of their commitment and perfor-

mances in Rio, we are all so proud of

Jordan and Alyce. Surely Tokyo will see

them shine again.

Sam Bell, Pamela Hendry, Chelsea Gil-

lett and Cody Rychvalsky are all in the

Netherlands at the moment as members

of the Australian Surf Life Saving Team

and are due to start competition on the

7th of September. We wish them well.

Coolangatta Gold is just around the cor-

ner and we are well represented again

with 2 teams and 5 individuals taking up

the challenge. The Qld State Endurance

entries are open and the Masters are

making their annual trip to Hervey Bay.

The initial draft of the SLSQ Carnival

Calendar has been released and the

Board of Surf Sports will meet and en-

dorse those Carnivals that Maroochydore

will be attending in the coming weeks. I

would caution you not to book accom-

modation other than States and Aussies

too early as dates change and there will

be some carnivals we will not be attend-

ing.

Subsidy applications are open and will

close on 30th September 2016, the appli-

cation form is on our web site.

Our planned USA tour next July is gain-

ing momentum with fund raising well

under way. A new surfboat is on the way

because of the generous support of two of

our long standing members and the fund-

raising efforts of the Boat section, watch

this space for the launch date.

Stuart Travers is settling in to his new role

as Team Manager and all correspondence

regarding entries and Senior Team matters

should be directed to Stuart at teamman-

ager@maroochysurfclub.com.au

The Patrol Calendar is out so check your

Patrol Group and rostered patrol dates.

“ONE CLUB“

Coaches Report Well done to all those training consistent-

ly at the moment. I’ve been more than

happy with the attitude and effort levels

going into the sessions. A positive attitude

towards your training and willingness to

take on the hard tasks goes a long way to

building the mental ability to handle stress

and fatigue in race situations.

We are entering our second phase of gen-

eral strength and endurance development.

Make sure you are on top of your nutri-

tional requirements and giving your body

the best ways to recovery and replenish-

ment. Body maintenance should also be a

part of your daily routine with time set

aside for stretching.

Coaching Activities For Coaching Programs and Weekly Timetable

please click here .

Please contact Team Manager – Stuart Travers to

enter competition.

teammanager@maroochysurfclub.com.au

SURF SPORTS INFORMATION

Junior and Senior Commencement Dates

2016/17 Carnival Calendar

2016/17 Surf Sports Subsidy Applications

RESULTS

2016 World Titles The Netherlands

This competition will be live streamed and results

will be updated on Twitter @auslifesaving and Face-

book.

Director of Surf Sports

Rob Elford

doss@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Coach - Nathan Greig

coach@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Team Manager - Stuart Travers

teammanager@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Masters - Larissa Hallam

Surf Sports Contacts

8

Masters has commenced Introduction to Board Paddling sessions.

This is lead by Jobbo and is open to anyone in the club with a bronze

medallion, over 30 years old and wants to learn how to board paddle.

Currently this will be held Saturday mornings at 7am on the river, and

we will move to the club in the next few weeks. Please text Larissa

0414669915 if you want to join and confirm our location. Please bring

a board and wear a pink rashie.

Masters are competing in our first event of the year at Hervey Bay on

the 10th September. Please ensure all your gear is on the trailer by

Thursday 8th September 5pm. Thanks to Peter Mitchell for taking the

trailer up.

10th September

Hervey Bay Masters

20th November

Craft Masters, venue TBC

11th February

SSC Branch Masters, venue TBC

10th March

QLD Masters Championships- North Kirra

27th-28th March

Aussie Masters- North Kirra

To keep up to date with Masters please join our Facebook

page Maroochydore Masters. Next Masters meeting is scheduled for

Saturday 24th September at 8:30am in club over a cuppa.

Another successful pool rescue season done and dusted.

AUSTRALIAN POOL RESCUE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Gold Coast Aquatic Centre 5-7 August 2016

Australian Pool Rescue Championships were held in August at the

Gold Coast Aquatic Centre at Southport.

Maroochydore has always had a strong presence at this event, and

this year has been no different with 55 athletes competing at this 3

day event.

We finished 2nd overall against a massive Currumbin team. Nation-

al records fell all weekend with our own competitors breaking their

fair share of records along the way.

2016 Overall Australian Championship results:

1st - Currumbin SLSC

2nd - Maroochydore SLSC

3rd - Northcliffe BMD SLSC

The Interstate Team competition was held in conjunction with the

Australian Pool Rescue Championships. Queensland edged out

New South Wales to take out this competition. Congratulations to

Sam Bell (Captain) Hayden Cotter, Chelsea Gillett, Kurt Lorme,

Pamela Hendry (Captain) Summer Short, Hamarna Williams in

helping steer Queensland to victory.

2016 Overall Interstate Championship results:

1st - Queensland

2nd - New South Wales

3rd - Western Australia

4th - Victoria

Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club has a very proud and successful

history in Surf Sports competition. The Club has been traditionally

nicknamed the “Black Swan” due to the appearance of a black swan

in the club emblem. This name carries with it a long history of Pride,

Tradition and belief in core values that underpin the characteristics of

a Maroochydore Member. Click here to see upcoming events

2016/17 Carnival Calendar

Masters

9

Junior Activities

Parent

Participation

Sun 25th Sept 8.15-8.45am

Black Swan Room

OR Sun 2nd Oct 8:15-8:45am

It is compulsory that at least one

parent from each family attends.

New and existing families benefit by:

• Better understanding of the Surf

Life Saving Movement

• Feeling welcomed and part of a

club

• Understanding how they can pro-

vide help

• Understanding why they should

help, and appreciating that they can

save a life

• Connecting with other people

immediately

• You may find that a lot of Par-

ents and families of your junior

members are keen and interested

in getting more involved they just

don’t know how and may never

have been asked!

REVIEW PATHWAYS VIA THIS LINK

To keep up with the latest nippers

news join our closed Facebook

group for nippers members only –

search for ‘Maroochydore Nippers’

and request to join.

Click here for all Forms and Infor-

mation.

Director of Junior Activities

Kirk Jarrott

DOJA@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Secretary of Junior Activities

Natalie Jarrott

nippers@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Junior Team Manager

Steve Rychvalsky

juniortm@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Junior Activities

Contacts

827

-6%

Likes

in total

Video Views

in August

666

+616%

Reach

for August

Post Engagement

for August

3,147

-26%

721

-45%

For all of the latest updates online make sure you

are connected to our Maroochydore Clubbies

Facebook page which has been created as a sec-

ondary form of communication for members, and

to share awards, events, comps & training!

Social Media

10

Events & Promotions

2016 Surf Safe Appeal 2016 will mark the 13th year of the Surf

Safe Appeal, one of the largest annual fund-

raising initiatives for Surf Life Saving

Queensland. The appeal is pivotal in ensur-

ing that volunteer surf lifesavers have the

necessary equipment, training and re-

sources to continue safeguarding our

state’s beaches and provides a valuable

Maroochydore Surf

Life Saving Club's

Annual Race Day

Director of Marketing and Promotions

Fran Boulton

Marketing@maroochysurfclub.com.au

Events &

Promotions Contact

Proudly supporting the 2017 Summer Surf Girl Darcey Starr-Thomas

A big thank you to everyone who attended and sup-

ported the Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club's

Annual Race Day in the luxurious Champagne Gar-

den, Corbould Park Racecourse at Caloundra. The

day was a huge success and proudly supports our

2017 Summer Surf Girl - Darcey Starr-Thomas. We

had a wonderful day of fun, racing, fashion on the

fields, giveaways, fashion parade, food and so much

more! The next events to be held to support our 2017

Summer Surf Girl - Darcey Starr-Thomas will be:

Bare Foot Bowels

Swans Bowels Club – Maroochydore

Sat 22nd October 1-4pm

High Tea - February 2017

Details TBA

Melbourne Cup Lunch Watch the race that stops the nation at Maroochy Surf

Club's Melbourne cup cocktail party. There will be

sweeps, live entertainment, fashions on the field and

lucky door prizes. $59pp inc glass of bubbles & a gour-

met buffet. Call 5443 1298 to purchase your ticket.

avenue for Surf Life Saving to high-

light the services we provide to the

community.

The main aim of the Surf Safe Ap-

peal is to highlight Surf Life Saving’s

urgent need for funding and to en-

courage the community and corpo-

rate sector to answer Surf Life Sav-

ing’s call for help.

The appeal will run from Monday

24 October – Sunday 30 October.

Volunteer lifesavers from the 58

Surf Life Saving Clubs across the

state will participate in door-to-door

and street collections seeking dona-

tions for their local club.

11

Club Chaplin

“Some meetings are meant to be”

Some weeks ago on a Saturday morning I was sitting on the bench next to the club just

watching the surfers enjoying themselves and wishing my foot had healed so I could join

them, when a fellow who I recognised from my time out in the surf sat down and we started

chatting about things generally but nothing specific. I only knew his face from seeing him

every now and then in the surf but had never really gotten to know him at all. He did not

know that I was the club Chaplain, but he did know I was a club member.

All of a sudden he started to tell me a bit about himself and the problems he was facing in

his life at that point in time and how he was really struggling with life in general.

You see, his wife had left him for another man, and as a result he was really down.

Naturally, he was devastated, but he was also trying to deal with his emotions, his anger,

frustration, and hurt, and really needed to talk and get some things off his chest. We chat-

ted for well over an hour that morning and have spoken several times since to encourage

him through his difficult time.

Just through sharing with him and giving him an opportunity to express himself he was able

to lift a huge load off his shoulders and cope with life without feeling such pain every day. It

was important not to give him a false sense of hope but rather a hope that a resolution and

outcome could be achieved if he maintained the right sort of positive attitude as part of the

healing process. By walking with him it has been an amazing experience.

Just last weekend we met up again. This time his demeanour was much better. His wife

has not had a change of heart and gone back to him but he is now coping with the matter,

and has a positive outlook on life, and is getting back to some normality in his life.

By just walking alongside and lending a listening ear to support him has been an amazing

experience that is so rewarding not just for him but also for me having had the privilege to

help someone in need. How often do we hear about a similar thing in our society, with

depression and all sorts of not so pleasant outcomes. He now knows that I am chaplain at

the surf club and that he can contact me at any time if he needs to talk things over.

The role of a chaplain is many and varied but when we see so many people experiencing

different painful experiences in their lives it is comforting to know that there is someone

there to lean on when needed. Needless to say we are on first name terms now and have

become good friends. I will call him every now and then to make sure he is OK and will no

doubt share the odd wave or two in the future. Either Gary Olive or I as chaplains are al-

ways happy to chat at any time if you have a need or know someone who could do with

some support. See you on the beach! Clive Herrald | Club Chaplain

2016 Hydrothon Thank you to all Maroochydore SLSC members who

participated in the Hydrothon event on Aug 28. The

event was a great success and raised vital funds for

our club.

Well done to our volunteers at the Maroochydore

Sunshine Coast marathon water station on Aug 21.

We raised over $1,500 which will go straight to our

Summer Surf Girl Darcey Starr-Thomas and Junior

Activities. Great team work by some special Maroo-

chydore SLSC members caring about our communi-

ty and club. We know many who would have been

there if they could of and this is why we are such a

strong unit at Maroochy Nippers! Thank you from

Maroochydore JAC

12

Thank You to our Sponsors

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www.maroochysurfclub.com.au

Copyright © 2016 Maroochydore Surf Lifsaving Club, All rights reserved.

34-36 Alexandra Paradede, Maroochydore, Queensland 4558 | p (07) 5443 1298 | f (07) 5443 8963 | Lifesaving@marochysurfclub.com.au

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