Congratulations to Carson on his Surf Rescue Certificate

By Karl Webber, Club Captain at Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club

Well done to club member Carson, aged 13, who completed his Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC) on February 4, following in the steps of his older sister, who did hers in 2021. We believe Carson is only the second person (and the first male) from Lajamanu to obtain an SRC. The qualification isn’t too sought after back home, as it’s about 12 hours from the nearest beach – and that beach is full of crocodiles!

Lajamanu is about 900km north-west of Darwin. It is hot and dry, and accessible via a dirt road. Lajamanu is home to about 600 people, of whom 90 percent are Indigenous, mainly part of the Warlpiri nation.

Carson joined the Shellharbour SLSC in 2019 at age eight and has completed his final two years of Nippers at Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC.

The SRC has been a great activity for growing Carson’s confidence, knowledge and skills at the beach.

The past two years have also helped Carson make new friends at the club, which tailored a program to suit his needs and the beach conditions (including the three sharks that decided to swim past on assessment day).

Carson loves the water. He enjoyed learning the skills needed to patrol and help others. Like any 13-year-old boy, he found sitting down and completing the online components of the course was tough but having a sister who had also completed her SRC helped, and they have now both achieved this milestone in surf lifesaving.