Woolamai Newsletter - March Edition
Telephone: 0467 475 263 Postal Address: PO Box 49, San Remo, VIC, 3925 Web: www.woolamaibeach.org.au Email: secretary@woolamaibeach.asn.au
In this Edition:
President’s Update
Board Update
Presentation night - Tickets available
Thank you dinner
Smith’s Beach Rescues - Well Done Niamh Moore
Victorian Surf Life Saving Championships
Bass Coast Series Summary
Cowes Classic Trivia Night
Pink Patrol Celebrations
LSV International Women’s day Breakfast
Islander’s Hawaiian Presentation Night
Smith’s Beach Rescue Base - Donations needed
Callout for historic club items!
Wild About Wooli Holiday discount!
President’s Update - Jason Close
Even though summer was officially over at the end of February, we have had a hot start to March.
The Cowes Classic and Little Penguin Dash took place at the start of March and saw a record number of competitors line up for each race in perfect conditions.
The Clubhouse hosted a great BBQ and Trivia Night which saw the brains of our Club battle it out with rounds of questions, newspaper tower building and some very animated dancing and lip synching to songs.
Thank you to our super Events team and everyone who helped at these races as well as the crew who put on the BBQ and Jordan Kuerschner, Emma Gallagher and the team who ran the Trivia Night.
On a hot long weekend we had two mega social events -on the Saturday night, a Thank You BBQ to recognise the efforts of our life savers and life guards involved in some of the summer’s unpatrolled beach incidents. On the Sunday Night the Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts came out for the Islanders annual spit roast and Presentation Night.
Our Club also ran its annual IRB Drivers Camp. A huge thank you to the training team of Mark Bain, AquaMole, Nick Reynolds, Nellie Boyce who organised and ran the camp, as well as Phoebe Clark, Jordan Kuerschner, Izzy Bulach and Zane Smith for all of their work as drivers. Congratulations to all of our candidates who made it through.
There are still several great patrol social events to come this summer and some exciting news and developments ahead for the Clubhouse before the end of the season.
Media interest in recent incidents
The recent drownings at unpatrolled beaches on the Island have led to significant media interest.
Whilst these events have been tragic and upsetting for many, there has been a focus on improving beach safety and signage.The Club has taken the opportunity to reinforce key messages to the community about planning their visits to beaches and to only swim at patrolled beaches between the flags.
The ABCs 7.30 Report recently aired a story featuring Jason Close and Darrell Clark sharing their experience at Forrest Caves and some key beach safety messages. A further interview on 9WIN TV Gippsland highlighted similar issues.
The Phillip Island and San Remo Advertiser has run several stories with a focus on beach safety signage. A recent article drew attention to some unofficial signs which have appeared in several locations around the Island. These signs showing images of a rip, whilst ‘well meaning’ are not the type that we would support as they almost encourage people to swim in remote locations at their own risk. We would rather see beach signage warning people of dangers and directing them to patrolled beaches.
Please see below for links to ABC story on video and online.
ABC TV 730
ABC Online
Smiths Beach Rescue Base
The Smiths Beach Rescue Base and stairs are in need of some urgent repairs and corrosion treatment. We have launched an online appeal to raise about $100,000 to cover this. The Club is also applying for grants and speaking with Life Saving Victoria and local authorities to assist. Without these works, the facility may not be usable after next season.
For more information on the Rescue Base and the repairs please click here - https://www.woolamaibeach.org.au/smiths-beach-rescue-base
If anyone would like to make a donation please visit our Donations page - https://www.woolamaibeach.org.au/donate
Thank you Rotary!
A huge thank you to the Rotary Club of Phillip Island and San Remo for their very generous donation of $2025 which was presented to the Club in late February.
For the past 15 years the Rotary Club of Phillip Island and San Remo has been running the market and donating all proceeds to the Club.
This is a terrific demonstration of their commitment to the community and the important work of the Club.
Rotary Club president, Rob Robertson handed over the cheque to Jason Close, Melina van der Weerd-Arceo and Graeme Burgan recently.
Please tidy up after yourselves
This is the part of the newsletter where I have to put on my grumpy President hat. For most of the summer our members have done a terrific job keeping the Clubhouse tidy. However there have also been a few occasions where this has not been the case.
Here are a few simple reminders.
If you eat food or drink, wash your glass or dishes at the time, don’t leave it for later on or for someone else to clean it up.
At the end of patrol, it is the responsibility of the patrol to vacuum upstairs, empty bins, wash and put away dishes, remove their food from the kitchen. Please make sure the Clubhouse is locked when you leave. Even if someone else is staying on, the patrol should do these things. The person staying on can then repeat them if need be.
It is not fair on others in the Club if the place is not tidy when the next patrol or guests of the Club arrive for them to be cleaning up after you.
A personal thank you
On the last day of the recent Inflatable Rescue Boat Drivers camp while training for her driver’s certificate, my daughter Ava had a bad accident after hitting some big waves.
Ava sustained two fractures to her pelvis and a broken ankle but was extremely brave throughout.
Susan and I would like to thank everyone who came to her assistance and looked after her so well during the incident. Everyone did an amazing job. Watching from outside the first aid room, I was so impressed with the expertise and compassion shown by our members. We have also appreciated all of the messages.
Ava was transported by ambulance to Wonthaggi Hospital and then transferred to the Alfred Trauma Centre where she spent 5 days and had an operation on her ankle. Ava is recovering at home now. It will be a while before she is back on her feet or in the water, but she is keen to get back out there.
See you down the beach soon.
Regards
Jason Close - President@woolamaibeach.asn.au
President
Decisions
The Board made the following decisions:
Presentation Night to be held Sat 18 May at Silverwater. Junior cost $60, Senior Cost $80. Tickets are on sale - read below!
General Business
Discussion of recent media coverage of Forrest Caves incident on 24 January. Jason Close and Darrell Clark appeared on ABC 7.30 on 5 March. There has also been local newspaper coverage. Key beach safety messages have been shared in all instances.
Discussions have been held with local authorities about beach safety signage.
BBQ to occur on Sat 9 March at Clubhouse to thank life savers, lifeguards and other emergency services involved in beach incidents over summer. Jordan Crugnale MP, Member for Bass and Councillor, Clare le Serve, Mayor Bass Coast Shire to attend. Life Saving Victoria to cover costs.
Family and friends of Cooper Reid have made very generous donations to the Club following his recent passing.
Board to put together a list of projects for future grant applications so grants can be targeted strategically.
SurfGuard training to be made available for several members to enable more efficient processing of memberships, courses, awards and Nippers proficiency testing and awards
Presentation Night has been booked for 18 May 2024 at Silverwater Resort. An organising committee will be discussed at a patrol leadership team meeting. We will need someone to organise the awards. Special guests will be invited.
A number of directors will not be returning to Board in 2024/25 due to overseas work commitments. These include: Annie Coleman -Vice President, Christian Born -Director Admin and Finance and Ryan Box -Director Communications, Terry Aslanidis -Director Member Development has also stepped down. These positions will be advertised in lead up to AGM but members may be contacted, given opportunities to express interest prior.
2 training courses coming up in March. IRB course to be run by Mark Bain and IRB training team. Erin Close and Lachlan Casey to run Bass Coast College SRC course.
3 junior members attending Life Saving Victoria Junior State Championships at Warrnambool on March long weekend
Presentation Night - Tickets available! 18/5/2024
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Presentation Night is a chance for our members, partners, families and supporters to reflect on the season that was. It’s a time to welcome our latest brigade of Bronzies, to celebrate the new awards strived for and achieved, to recognize the difference our service makes and to honor those members who have made outstanding contributions in 2023/24 season.
Event Details
When: Saturday, 18th May 2024
Where: Silverwater Resort - 17 Potters Hill Rd, San Remo VIC 3925
Time: 6:30pm arrival for a 7:00pm start - 10:00pm
Dress Code: Formal Attire
Limited parking is available at the venue. A bus will be provided, to transport members between the clubhouse and the venue for no cost! For those wishing to use this service, please meet at Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club no later than 6:00pm. This transportation is limited and will only involve a single trip in each direction.
Tickets
To purchase a ticket, visit our events page. https://www.woolamaibeach.org.au/events
Cost includes a 2 course meal (dinner & dessert) as well as pre dinner nibbles. Drinks are at bar prices.
Ticket Prices
Junior Members (Under 18 on 18/5/24)- $60
Senior Members (18+ on 18/5/24) - $80
**Please note: Tickets are limited so get in quick to avoid missing out!
There will be no option to purchase tickets on the night. For all further enquiries, please contact Campbell Smart at lifesavingservices@woolamaibeach.asn.au or a member of the board
After Party
Following the formal presentation night, all members are welcome to join us back at the club for more drinks and a boogie! Drinks and nibbles will be available at the bar.
Please reach out if you’re able to join the organising committee for presentation night! There’s a lot of different tasks that needs to be completed and many hands make light work!
Sincerely,
WBSLSC Board
Thank You BBQ
During January lifeguards and life savers from Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club were involved in assisting at incidents at remote unpatrolled beaches at Forrest Caves and Kilcunda.
Whilst our lifesavers and other emergency services did everything they could to assist, unfortunately 4 lives were lost at Forrest Caves and 1 at Kilcunda. An additional drowning occurred at Surf Beach where some off duty members also provided assistance.
With the support of Life Saving Victoria, the Club held a fairly informal thank you BBQ on Saturday 9 March to acknowledge everyone's efforts to keep our beaches safe and assist with these incidents.
We had between 40-50 guests in attendance -primarily lifesavers and lifeguards from our Club, but a few from other Clubs also. Quite a few of our members present at the various incidents over summer were there which provided a great opportunity to reconnect and say thank you.
Jordan Crugnale MP, the Member for Bass and Councillor Clare le Serve, Mayor of Bass Coast Shire came along and spent about 3-4 hours at the Club. They visited the patrol on the beach, did a Clubhouse tour, a thank you speech and stayed for dinner and drinks.
Each spoke about the importance of the work we do for the community and were so impressed with our young members and everything they do.
Chief Lifeguard, Ella Arnold and I also welcomed everyone and said a few words to acknowledge everyone’s efforts. We also acknowledged the role of Life Saving Victoria in supporting the event and also for the post incident debriefing, counselling and follow up support.
It was a nice evening and a big thanks to our barbeque team of Russell Poulton, Zane Smith and Max Stafford, to Maddie Hungerford for food ordering, Rachel Costello for the wonderful salads and to Georgie Wettenhall, Megan Crow, Andrew Crow and Susan Close for all of their help behind the bar and in the kitchen.
Smiths Beach Rescues - Well done Niamh Moore
After a series of incidents at unpatrolled beaches this summer, it was nice to hear about a successful rescue at Smiths Beach by 19 year old Niamh Moore, a local resident and former Nipper and Club member.
Niamh was working as a surf lesson instructor at Island Surfboards recently when a father and his 3 year old daughter were swept out 500m offshore on an inflatable ring at the unpatrolled Smiths Beach mid-week. The mother went out to assist and also got into trouble.
By the time Niamh and a colleague, Leigh Conway as well as a school teacher reached the family on their boards, they were going under and very distressed. Niamh helped reassure everyone and then brought them to shore.
In an article in the Phillip Island and San Remo Advertiser, Niamh said the rescue highlighted the importance of water safety education for everyone visting a beach. She thinks surf life saving and swimming should be taught in schools no matter how far people live from the ocean. “Good swimming is an essential skill, and surf lifesaving shouldn’t just be at Bondi Beach. Everyone should have basic ocean training”. She’s grateful for the training she received at Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club. “I wouldn’t think twice about sending kids to Nippers for training. Its important and worthwhile. Its easy to get the skills, people just need to do it.”
Well done Niamh!
Victorian Surf Life Saving Championships
A huge congratulations to our Woolamai Beach Nippers - Izzy, Jackson and Indi, who competed for Mordialloc at the Victorian Surf Lifesaving Championships over the weekend, in Warrnambool.
Izzy had an extremely successful carnival winning 2 Silver medals (swim and Iron) & 2 Bronze medals (board relay and aquacam). Indi also won 2 bronze medals (board relay and aquacam).
Jackson had a great carnival too, with 8th in aquacam.
The future of Phillip Island surf lifesaving is looking very bright
Bass Coast Series Summary and thank you
The Bass Coast ‘Summer Series of Aquathons’ finished on a great note on the 2nd March with record entries in both the Little Penguin Dash and the 31st Cowes Classic, which was the final leg of the Bass Coast Series.
All four Aquathons – the Cape Paterson Aquathon, the San Remo Channel Challenge, the Little Penguin Dash for Juniors (U/15) & the Cowes Classic – all set new records for the number of competitors entered into each event.
There was ideal conditions and at 10.30 there were 140 youngsters lined up to participate in the increasingly popular Little Penguin Dash for seven to fourteen years old Juniors. The previous best number was 108 last year and this event has seen increased entries in each of the five years that the event has been held. The LPD is not conducted as a race, with times not recorded, and no prizes for placegetters, but the emphasis is on participation and ‘having a go’ and every youngster that makes it to the finish line receives a Medallion for having finished the event.
Then later, when the competitors in the 31st edition of the Cowes Classic lined up at the start at 2.00pm, it was very satisfying for the organizers from the Phillip Island FNC & the Woolamai Beach SLSC, to note that the 393 competitors who were entered exceeded the previous record by 80 – a terrific result for all involved.
The highlight of the racing was undoubtedly seeing top Australian triathlete, Callum McClusky, make a clean sweep of all three Bass Coast events, and we wish him well in his quest to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics. There was also an impressive effort by local competitor, Justin Tilley, who is in the O/40 Masters category, as he recorded the second fastest time of all competitors in the Classic. Another local, Zoe Adams, was first home in both the Senior Open and Local Female categories while another local girl, Emma Moore, also won both of the O/50 Veteran Female categories. For the third time this summer we saw local O/40 competitors - Justin Tilley, Mark Rowe & Stephen Noble - finish 1st, 2nd & 3rd in both the Open & Local O/40 categories. Local boy, Callum McLeod, again did well to push a V.I.S. competitor in the Open Junior Male section and win the Local Junior Male category.
The Cowes Classic was the third and final leg of the Bass Coast Series and the cheques for each of the twenty category winners were presented along with the prizes for Saturday’s event. The closest finish was in the Veteran Local Male category where Kris Harris & Jim Corbett entered the final leg all square on points and in the deciding race only 14.5 seconds separated them over their 25 minute race. The Bass Coast Series was expanded this year to include a category for those competitors over 60 years of age (Super Veterans) and the Bass coast Series has been a popular concept which is definitely one of the reasons for the increased numbers at each event this year. Ther is a great deal of satisfaction for those who enter and finish in all three events each summer and the BCS is fully sponsored by the Bass Coast Shire who were represented at the Presentations by Cr Rochelle Halstead, the Deputy Mayor.
It has been a fantastic summer of events for the organisers from the Woolamai Beach SLSC, Cape Paterson SLSC and the PINFC as well as for the competitors who travel from far and wide to participate in these events which bring many strands of the local community together and we all hope to see even bigger numbers at the events in 2025. The organisers also wish to thank the many sponsors and organizations who make these events possible as it is a big job, and an expensive one, to put these events together and without the support from the local community they may not be possible.
Bass Coast Series Organiser and Life Governor - Ron Nicholson
Cowes Classic Trivia Night
After the events and success of the Cowes Classic, we held our annual Trivia night, with this year’s theme being ‘under the sea’ 🪸🐠🌊🦀🐬🧜♀️
A yummy bbq dinner was cooked up and eaten whilst watching the sun go down over our beautiful beach 🌅🍤
A massive thankyou to Jordan Kuerschner and his team for putting together this fun night. And a congratulations to Bonnie, Erin, Izzy, Phoebe and Ava for coming away with the win in trivia.
Hope to see you next year! Who knows… you might even come away with the ultimate prize 🏆
Pink Patrol Celebrations
On the 17th of February Woolamai took part in all pink patrol celebrations!
We started off the morning by attending the Bass Coast Pink Patrol Brunch at Cape Paterson SLSC. It was a brilliant event, with our very own Ellie Ryan running yoga and Halli Mau running a board skills session.
The panel also featured our own Ellie Ryan and Georgie Wettenhall. It was awesome to hear from these guys and celebrate women in lifesaving with all the other clubs in our region
We then headed back to Woolamai for a fun pink zinc patrol! Everyone put on the pink zinc and caps, getting in the water for what was a beautiful day on the beach. We then swapped the lifesaving uniform for pj’s as it was time for our annual pink zinc slumber party. There was a nail station, anklet making, face masks and a yummy snack bar. It was such a fun night and a massive thanks to all who put it together.
We’re all feeling so empowered by this year’s events and can’t wait for pink zinc next year!
LSV International Women’s day Breakfast
Some of our Wooli crew were in attendance at Lifesaving Victoria’s 6th Annual International Women’s Day Breakfast.
It was a beautiful morning listening to a panel of talented women share their stories of gender discrimination but how they’ve overcome these hurdles and achieved so much. We were all left feeling very empowered needless to say.
“I am feeling so inspired after this morning, I loved being surrounding by so many cool women! Women are incredible!!!”- Emma Gallagher
Here’s to celebrating women in lifesaving, and how far we’ve come, overcoming challenges that have led us to excel in this environment.
And here’s to striving to an equitable future in which men, women and all genders for that matter, are valued and treated equally. The change starts with you!
Islander’s Hawaiian Presentation Night
Islanders held their annual Hawaiian presentation night and it was a huge hit.
There were many challenges for every team to participate in with Hawaiian wrestling being the all time favourite game.
A big thankyou to Nick Reynolds for making a souvlaki spit for dinner and feeding all our hungry bellies.
Many awards went out to our Islanders members for their amazing contribution throughout the season and their passion towards the club and dedication to keeping our beaches safe.
Our award recipients
Most improved first year - Ryelan van leeuwen
Most improved junior - Mia Davies
Most improved senior - Ava Close
Captains awards - Max Tucker & Cooper Campbell
And the MVP’s as voted by the patrolling members - Maddy Reynolds & Ryan Box
Smiths Beach Rescue Base Repairs - Donations needed
Unfortunately since it’s inception the Smiths beach tower has been stripped down by the harsh weather conditions from the beach.
The rescue base is need of urgent repairs and maintenance (including re-painting in oil-rig spec paint) in order to avoid Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) issues / the structure becoming condemned; and to ensure that the two structures can continue serving the Phillip Island Nature Park (PINP) / Bass Coast Shire Council (BCSC) residents and visitors and Life Saving Victoria (LSV) lifeguard service over the next 20-25 years.
The required works includes
Wall panel works
Stair removal and replacement
Insitu painting works
If you’d like to donate to this cause please head to https://www.woolamaibeach.org.au/donate and select ‘Smiths Beach Rescue Base’ when filling out the donation form.
For more information on the rescue base head HERE
Callout for historic club items!
We now have a new email address historian@woolamaibeach.asn.au which is a great way to send in any photos or historic information you might have for the club’s records!
Hello to all Woolamai Members
From Graeme Clauscen, Club Historian
From the Archives a little bit of History !
S.L.S.A. Poster from 1977
Woolamai Aerial Photo 1987
I am currently working on the Club’s archives and cataloguing a lot of new items that have been given to the Club.
It is proposed that all of the items in the Club archive will be digitized and uploaded to Victorian Collections where anybody can access all of the items, on line.
The family of Dennis Harris recently provided a large number of photos and documents collected by Dennis over many years.
This is an appeal for donations of items of Historical interest to Club Members past and present. I am looking for the following:
Club Garments
T Shirts, Tops, Shorts, other Any item of clothing with the Club Name/Logo on it, condition not important.
Photographs
Color or black and white photographs of Club activities over the years 1959 -2022. Where possible, detail of, Location, Date, Names, and any other relevant info.
General Memorabilia
Any item of Club interest, Medallions Trophies Certificates Pennants etc. In other words if it is part of Woolamai History I would like to know about it and see it.
IMPORTANT. PLEASE PROVIDE – NAMES DATES TIMES LOCATION AND ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION
If you would like to donate any item that would be great, if not we will photograph the item and return to you.
Best Wishes
Graeme Clauscen
If you would like to contact me, 0412 789 499
Wild About Wooli! A 50 Year History of the Club
Discounted for Summer
Want a segment in next Month’s newsletter?
Hi all,
If anyone would like to submit something for next month, the best way to do this is send me an email at communication@woolamaibeach.asn.au with a title for the segment, and text of what you’d like to be included as well as any pictures or images and I’ll be sure to add it in.
Deadline for April’s Newsletter - 8th of April
Cheers,
Ryan Box - Director of Communications