A unique season for our communications team dealing with the challenges of COVID-19.

This season provided an opportunity for increased online presence and developing communications strategies that will make it more efficient to relay comms out to members of our surf club.

Email Communication

In an ever-changing environment, an increased effort was made to keep our members informed with the latest news, restrictions, and recommendations to safely open the clubhouse and continue our essential lifesaving service. The technology used to create club updates was improved, allowing for greater creative flexibility when sending emails and allowing subscribers to opt-in or opt-out of news updates. This was a great win for our club reducing the time necessary to create informative news updates so our team can focus on more pressing tasks in the future.

Club Website

The introduction of the club online store assisted the merchandise team as restrictions reduced capacity for face-to-face sales. The new online component provides a dynamic way for members to purchase club merchandise at their own discretion while also reducing member fatigue by lessening the burden to conduct sales in the scorching summer sun. Click & collect methods were used to comply with COVID protocols and were successful for members to order products online then arrange to pick up merchandise at the clubhouse during set times throughout the season.

Merchandise

Like most areas this last year, merchandise sales this season were different, & sometimes challenging. Covid restrictions meant most of our usual in-person sales channels, like Nippers bag pick up day, Nippers on beach sales, and Bronze Medallion courses didn’t occur at all. This resulted in sales being only 20% of last FY’s sales despite a number of significant price reductions. However, from adversity sprang innovation: online sales were activated, with click & collect successfully rolled out during the December-January period, including Nippers next day on-beach deliveries to Woolamai Waters & Smiths Beach. While we’d hoped to start postal deliveries, this was not possible due to significant variance in parcel size costs & resourcing of pick & packing options. Many sales would have cost more in delivery cost than the items themselves. Patrol caps & hats were introduced for purchase by patrolling members. The most popular items overall were club trackie pants and hoodies. Patrol uniforms were 20% of all sales, which were a valued service for patrolling members with items sold at the same cost as purchasing through SLSA, but without delivery cost.

Huge thanks to our dedicated volunteers who helped pull together our merch sales this year including Helene Mau, Janine Lloyd, Susan Close, Abi McCulloch, Cate White, Donna Brunt, Emma Baird, Nicole Trotter, and many others who aren’t named but whose help was gratefully appreciated.

Fi Blackmore

Merchandise coordinator.

Social Media Platforms

Our social media platforms continue to be an effective communication strategy showing growth in total audience and reach per post. Our public Facebook account Woolamai Beach SLSC has grown to 2,800 followers continuing steady growth on this platform and an essential tool to inform and educate people on our club.

The woolamaislsc public Instagram account has continued to grow from 1,155 to 1,301 followers and saw the continued growth of the Wooli Wipeouts Instagram page to encourage female surf development.

I would like to thank Fi Blackmore for her continued support over the last two years. Fiona’s dedication and hard work has provided a clear and consistent means to buy apparel at Woolamai and without her guidance, the club would be in a very different position to where it is today.

After this season I will be stepping down in my role as Director of Communications and would like to thank every member that has sat on the board of directors during my two seasons. I have gained tremendous skills and experience from this position which has helped me in both my lifesaving journey and also my personal life.

Forever Wooli,
Riley Fyffe

Director of Communications