24 September 2022
Surf Life Saving Central Coast
$50,600 this year
$529,260 since 2012
Photographs by Simon Pierce and Murray Richards.
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The ‘Raising of the Flags’ ceremony heralds the start of the Central Coast Surf Life Saving season and is always a proud moment for our members.
Freemasons on the Central Coast have been supporting local Surf Life Saving clubs since 2011, with the presentation of a surf boat and Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) to Soldiers Beach SLS Club. However, 2022 is a milestone year for our partnership. Not only do we continue to be a major contributor to Surf Life Saving Central Coast (SLSCC), but this year our total donation tally exceeded half a million dollars.
Take a trip down to the beach on the weekend and you can’t miss the Square and Compasses on the bright pink rashies of all Central Coast Nippers.
The bright pink rashies was an initiative by Central Coast Surf Life Saving and Freemasons on the Central Coast commencing in 2012, to help keep our kids safe by making them more visible in the water. An initiative that has spread throughout Australia.
This year Freemasons on the Central Coast are also supporting the ‘Rookie’ Surf Life Savers.
Welcoming the 2022/2023 summer season, the Rookies of 15 local Surf Clubs marched onto the beach to the glorious sounds from the City of Gosford Pipe Band. The ceremony started with a ‘Welcome to Country’ and Smoking Ceremony performed by Gabby Duncan. This was a beautiful sight on a glorious Saturday morning with many locals looking on.
Mr Michael Hyslop from SLSCC introduced and thanked sponsors and local politicians for their continued support to Surf Life Saving Central Coast and, by extension, the Central Coast Community.
The SLSCC President, Mr Max Slattery from North Avoca SLS, then talked us through his aspirations for the coming season as well as sharing some facts and figures before handing back to Mr Jon Harkness, CEO SLSCC who reminded us all about beach and swim safety as well as the expansion of the role of surf lifesavers.
“Remember to always swim between the iconic red and yellow flags and to wear life jackets whilst rock fishing or similar activities.”
“NSW Surf Life Saving has played an integral part in the social, cultural and lifestyle fabric of both state-wide and local beaches. NSW Surf Life Saving boast over 75,000 members across 129 Clubs (that span 1,500km of coastline) made up of local volunteers who accumulate over 650,000 volunteer hours making our beaches some of the safest in the world.”
“It is estimated that over a million people visited our beaches last summer season and it is anticipated to be a greater number this year as we slowly come back into some normality following the COVID pandemic.”
Finally, we were introduced to the two “Head Rookies”, Jet Avis (left) from North Avoca SLSC and Emily Rose (right) from MacMasters Beach SLSC who represent all the Surf Life Saving Rookies on the Central Coast. To the applause of all gathered, Jet and Emily ceremonially raised the two red and yellow flags for the first time, thereby commencing this 2022/23 season.
With fifteen (15) clubs, eight thousand two hundred and forty eight (8,248) members and seventy-seven (77) years of tradition and achievements, SLSCC enjoys its position as one of Australia’s most successful, dynamic and celebrated Branches.
Recognised as the SLSNSW ‘Branch of the Year’ for six of the past ten years!
To keep Central Coast beaches safe, Surf Lifesavers patrol beaches from September to April each year, spending ninety seven (97,000) volunteer hours patrolling the fifteen (15) accessible beaches from The Lakes in the North to Umina in the South. This year, our members performed one thousand six hundred and twenty nine (1,629) rescues with twenty two thousand, four hundred and sixteen (22,416) preventative actions. Since 1938, SLSCC has rescued over fifty thousand (50,000) lives.
It is thanks to the tireless efforts and dedication of the army of red and yellow volunteers that Central Coast beaches are amongst the safest in the world.
To save lives, create great Australians and build better communities on the Central Coast.
Freemasons on the Central Coast would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of SLSCC for all their hard work and continued commitment to keeping our beaches safe for our community.
We wish you a very safe and uneventful season.
media@FreemasonsCC.org for more information and for hi-resolution images associated with this Media Release.
PO Box 6232
West Gosford NSW 2250
