Coalcliff SLSC postpones Dave Winner events

UPDATE: Due to the extreme weather event, Coalcliff Surf Life Saving Club has postponed this Sunday’s Dave Winner Swims until early November.

By Rob Deacon, Club Captain of Coalcliff SLSC

On Sunday, March 9, Coalcliff SLSC will be staging two marquee events: the Dave Winner Beach to Bombie Swim and the Dave Winner Lifeguard Challenge.

Both events are proudly sponsored by Equilibrium Healthcare and Ohana Ocean Athletics.

At 11.15am, The Dave Winner Lifeguard Challenge will take place. In this event lifeguard teams from Sydney Northern Beaches, Waverley, Randwick, Sutherland Shire, Wollongong, and Shellharbour Councils will compete over a two-kilometre ocean swim to claim the prize of champion lifeguard team.

Professional ocean lifeguards are the elite of surf lifesavers, and the event will showcase some of Australia’s finest ocean athletes as they fight it out to win bragging rights for the next 12 months. The reigning champions are Sutherland Shire Council Lifeguards, who were led to victory last year by Dave Winner’s son, Steve.

At 12pm, the Dave Winner Beach to Bombie Swim will take place.

The Dave Winner Beach to Bombie Swim is a popular public swim over a course of 1.5 to 2km that has been running for 15 years. The race invites both competitive and recreational ocean swimmers to enjoy this unique swim in one of Australia’s most beautiful locations.

Spectators won’t miss any of the action during both events with great viewing from the hill and grass area in front of the Coalcliff SLSC clubhouse.

The community is invited to come down and join the festivities as both events celebrate Dave Winner and the family and friends who have supported his remarkable recovery.

Both events also provide Coalcliff SLSC with the opportunity to promote the Dave Winner Foundation and Dave’s quest to see one million Australians receive free training in CPR.

In 2021, Dave Winner survived a near drowning and spinal injury while surfing at Coalcliff beach that has left him a partial quadriplegic. Knocked unconscious and submerged underwater for more than three minutes, Dave’s life hung in the balance. Thanks to the swift actions of bystanders and their proficiency in CPR, Dave was rescued and airlifted to safety.

One of the people who applied CPR to Dave had, in fact, been trained by Dave in CPR himself. As Dave had always said to his CPR classes during his many years as Coalcliff SLSC Chief Instructor: “One day the life that you save may be mine!”

And that is exactly what happened.

Dave has been inspired by his own experiences to establish the Dave Winner Foundation to help save lives.

If you wish to swim in the Dave Winner Beach to Bombie Swim you can register and buy your entry ticket at the following link.

For more information about the Dave Winner Foundation visit davewinnerfoundation.org

Competitors and friends are invited to join Dave for lunch at Coledale RSL after the event, with one of Dave’s best mates, Pete Jordan, belting out some of Dave’s favourite tunes.