A huge season with a record number of rescues has been celebrated and reflected on by nearly 500 volunteer lifesavers and their supporters, coming together on Saturday 24 August for the annual Surf Life Saving NSW Awards of Excellence event in Sydney.
Newport were awarded the Community Education Program of the Year for the 'Fit to Learn' program.
''The ‘Fit to Learn’ program run in conjunction with the NSW Police Youth Command has been a rewarding experience that we are looking forward to continuing this season. Well done to everyone involved, it has been an amazing success.'' Newport stated afterwards
It was a strong night for the Sydney Northern Beaches Branch with members winning four awards respectively across the night: Youth Volunteer of the Year to Amanda Cannon (South Curl Curl SLSC), Assessor of the Year to Scott Stein (South Curl Curl SLSC), and Facilitator of the Year to Caroline Hjorth (Mona Vale SLSC), along with the Community Education Program of the Year.
The spotlight was also shone on Manly LSC’s Ray Petersen – a stalwart of the movement and an invaluable contributor to preserving the history of Surf Life Saving in NSW in his role as founder of the SLSNSW History Panel. For his more than six decades of service, he was honoured with the prestigious President’s Medal.
President’s Medal – Ray Petersen (Manly LSC)
Ray Peterson first joined Surf Life Saving in 1959 and did his Bronze Medallion in 1971.
Ray has held pretty much every position under the sun at Manly Life Saving Club over the decades, as well as being a representative-level competitor, coach and official. He is a Life Member of the club, the Branch and Surf Life Saving NSW.
Along with his work on the SLSA History panel from 1996, Ray was the founder and still heads up the Surf Life Saving NSW History Panel, formed in 2000. Since 2010, Ray has painstakingly researched and compiled the names of all Australian lifesavers who died while serving in our armed services, work which was critical to the creation of the national Fallen Lifesavers Memorial at Coogee Beach.
The large bronze statue and digital honour board sits sentinel overlooking the ocean, a fitting tribute to all those volunteers who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country. Hundreds and hundreds of hours of research and liaison with clubs across the country has seen Ray document over 900 names of members who lost their lives in armed conflicts, dating back to World War One.
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Fallen Lifesavers Memorial at Coogee Beach. Photo: Sardaka
The commitment has been enormous, and in doing so, Ray’s legacy is an indelible record of the past that will be available to generations of lifesavers in the future.
Ray was honoured with Life Membership of Manly Life Saving Club in 2000 and the Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches Branch in 2009.
The gala award ceremony signed off in signature fashion – by crowning the 2024 Surf Lifesaver of the Year. Umina SLSC’s Mollie Murphy took the title this year, to huge applause and excitement from the Central Coast corner of the room.
Mollie’s award – coming less than a month after also being named a Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards winner – was the 24th and final on a night in which volunteers from clubs up and down the NSW coastline came together to recognise the achievements of more than 78,000 members across the state and announce a new crop of award recipients.
The 25-year-old Club Captain also rounded out an amazing night for clubs and members from the CentralCoast – a quarter of the awards up for grabs went to the Branch, including three alone for Terrigal SLSC; Club of the Year, Coach of the Year (Ryan Quick) and Masters Athlete of the Year (Paul Lemmon).
“It’s incredible to be the Surf Life Saver for NSW, but I’ve always just done it because I love it not for the recognition,” Mollie said moments after receiving her award.
“It’s pretty crazy but I’m very grateful. The community around the club I love, there’s so many people I’ve grown up with and it just makes for a real family.”
Perhaps the highlight was Redhead SLSC’s dominance of the individual athlete categories, with Lani Waller(Youth Athlete of the Year) and Dan Collins (Athlete of the Year) illustrating the club’s surf sport excellence.
Dan’s award was his second straight Athlete of the Year victory – the first to go back-to-back since Cronulla SLSC swimming legend, Chris Allum in 2009 and 2010, while Lani was justly rewarded for a season that included winning both the U19 and Open Female Iron titles at the NSW Surf Life Saving Championships.
Further highlights on the night included the roar from the Bondi SBLSC table when the club’s IRB trainer Team was named Services Team of the Year, and a double-win for South Curl Curl SLSC in the Youth Volunteer of the Year (Amanda Cannon) and Assessor of the Year (Scott Stein) categories.
Meanwhile, Larnie Mordue out of Woolgoolga SLSC picked up the Youth Surf Lifesaver of the Year award – an amazing reflection of the dedication she brings to her North Coast club at just 15 years of age.
“It means so much and it’s so much more than a ‘me’ award, it’s so much down to my branch and my club and I’m so proud to have been built up by such great people,” Larnie said.
The Hunter Branch took home a fully equipped drone kit for winning Branch of the Year, thanks to the event sponsor, D1 Store – Australia’s home for DJI.
Minister for Emergency Services, Jihad Dib congratulated all the finalists on the night and thanked the state’s volunteer lifesavers for their commitment to keeping the coastline safe.
“It’s so difficult choosing just one winner out of a group of Surf Life Saving volunteers who sacrifice their precious time to help keep our beaches safe over the swimming season,” he said.
“These awards are a great way of bringing our amazing Surf Life Saving volunteers together to celebrate them and everything they do to keep us safe while we enjoy our beautiful beaches and other waterways.”
Surf Life Saving NSW President, Peter Agnew AM congratulated all winners on the night, and highlighted his pride at the wide representation of finalists from across all Branches.
“Another tricky season is in the bag but the field of candidates for all of the award categories highlights just how prepared we are heading into this summer; there were so many deserving recipients of these awards,” he said.
“I’m very proud to be leading an organisation that represents so many people who have no hesitation in giving up their time to protect the lives of others.”
The 2024 Surf Life Saving Australia National Awards of Excellence, when Australia’s top surf lifesavers will be recognised for their dedication and commitment to their communities, takes place on Saturday 9 November, 2024.
The SLSSNB Awards of Excellence 2024 were held Friday 28 June 2024. Details of awards winners available in:
2024 Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches Branch Awards Of Excellence
Surf Life Saving NSW 2024 AOE WINNERS
YOUTH
Youth Surf Lifesaver of the Year – Larnie Mordue (Woolgoolga SLSC)
Youth Volunteer of the Year – Amanda Cannon (South Curl Curl SLSC)
Youth Athlete of the Year – Lani Waller (Redhead SLSC)
Youth Volunteer of the Year – Amanda Cannon (South Curl Curl SLSC)
MEMBERSHIP
Innovation Award – Dusk Patrol Program (Birubi Point SLSC)
Services Team of the Year – IRB Trainer Team (Bondi SBLSC)
Administrator of the Year – Steve Smith (Caves Beach SLSC)
EDUCATION
Trainer of the Year – Richard Grimmond (Ocean Beach SLSC)
Assessor of the Year – Scott Stein (South Curl Curl SLSC)
Facilitator of the Year – Caroline Hjorth (Mona Vale SLSC)
Community Education Program of the Year – Fit to Learn with Police Youth Command (Newport SLSC)
Assessor of the Year – Scott Stein (South Curl Curl SLSC)
Facilitator of the Year – Caroline Hjorth (Mona Vale SLSC)
SURF SPORTS
Official of the Year – Michael Crowle (Mollymook SLSC)
Coach of the Year – Ryan Quick (Terrigal SLSC)
Masters Athlete of the Year – Paul Lemmon (Terrigal SLSC)
Surf Sports Team of the Year – Bulli Open Men’s Surf Boat Crew
LIFESAVING
Lifeguard of the Year – Lily Murphy (Ballina Shire)
Patrol Captain of the Year – Jackie Sproll (North Avoca SLSC)
Support Operations Member of the Year – Gary Raso (Cudgen Headland SLSC)
Rescue of the Year – LNC Duty Officers/Cape Hawke Call Out Team (March 2024)
MAJOR
President’s Medal – Ray Petersen (Manly LSC)
Branch of the Year – Hunter
Club of the Year – Terrigal SLSC
Athlete of the Year – Dan Collins (Redhead SLSC)
Volunteer of the Year – Elyse McMaster (Evans Head-Casino SLSC)
Surf Lifesaver of the Year – Mollie Murphy (Umina Beach SLSC)
Report and photos by Surf Life Saving New South Wales