It’s going to be a challenging season, even for NSW’s finest.
For 2508 District News' October 2021 cover story, Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC president and Life Member Steven McDonald spoke to Caitlin Sloan about the club’s recent triumph and how they’ll cope this summer
For the first time since the club was formed in 1908, Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club has won the NSW Club of the Year award.
There’s a simple reason for the victory, if you ask club president Steven McDonald.
“Because we’re awesome,” he said, with a laugh.
On 28 August, at a virtual ceremony attended by more than 1000 people, Surf Life Saving NSW president George Shales OAM and a panel of judges recognised our dedicated volunteers.
The Surf Life Saving NSW Award of Excellence acknowledges the club’s devotion to patrolling operations, efforts to improve the experience of club members, and commitment to promoting surf life saving in the community.
“It’s just recognition for the whole season’s work [and] a number of seasons leading up to this year,” Steven said.
On accepting the honour at the virtual presentation, Steven extended his gratitude to present and former members and said the win was the highlight of his current seven-year presidency at the club.
Although the glitz and glam of the annual event was confined to computer screens as another casualty of the Delta strain, the champagne is already on ice at Stanwell Park Surf Club.
It’s not the first accolade for the club this year, as Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC was named Surf Life Saving Illawarra’s Club of the Year in June.
“We’re planning a big celebration for when these restrictions are lifted,” Steven said.
“We’ll have the president of Surf Live Saving NSW come down, George Shales, and he’ll present us with the award.”
Surf life saving runs in the McDonald genes.
Steven’s father is Peter McDonald, Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC’s patrol secretary and president of the Sea Eels Winter Swimming Club, and his son, Lachlan, was this year’s Illawarra Youth Volunteer of the Year and was among 11 nominees for Youth Volunteer of the Year state-wide.
“That was a huge achievement as well,” Steven said.
“That topped off a pretty good season for Lochie.”
Lochie balances regularly patrolling Stanwell Park Beach with IRB racing, assisting with the Nippers program, attending Stanwell Park Sea Eels winter swimming club events and participating in the club’s emergency callout team.
Two years ago, Lochie won the Youth Life Saver of the Year award at the 2019 Surf Life Saving Illawarra Awards of Excellence.
“He’s just generally around the club as much he possibly can [be] for an 18-year-old,” Steven said.
The 2020/21 season was one of the busiest for Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC, with more than 50,000 people visiting Stanwell Park beach over the swim season, which runs from the start of the October public school holidays until the end of the April holidays.
During the season, Helensburgh and Stanwell Park’s volunteer life savers performed 66 surf rescues, assisted in over 40 first aid cases, and carried out more than 900 preventative actions.
Flags went up for the 2021/2 season on Saturday, 18 September. Crowds are again expected but, with Covid throwing a spanner in the works, surf life saving will be a little different this year.
Steven kindly took time to answer our questions about the season ahead.
What activities have the Covid restrictions prevented?
We have missed out on pretty much all of the IRB racing season because that happens in winter. Our winter swimming club swam until the end of June, and then we stopped, so we’ve had no one really in the surf club since then.
How will restrictions affect the upcoming season?
Surf patrols are going to look a bit different.
We’re going to have a maximum of six people on patrol… There’ll be exclusion zones around the patrol area, the trailer, so that the public that turn up don’t infect the lifesavers. We’ll all be in masks. We’ll be getting people to treat themselves if it’s just a minor first aid case… We’re trying to prevent anything that will increase the risk of a lifesaver getting infected by Covid.
How do you plan to cope with the crowds?
We are looking forward to seeing people back at the beach [but] the crowds are a challenge when they choose not to “Swim Between the Flags”, as our resources become stretched making sure that the public are safe where they have chosen to swim.
The seven patrol teams the club has rostered, have on average 10 members in each patrol, with at least two IRB drivers and crew in each patrol, as well as advanced resuscitation and beach management qualifications.
Initially, with patrols limited to six members due to Covid restrictions, if large numbers are in the water the patrols will be faced with the challenge of managing resources adequately to ensure the safety of the swimmers. Once restrictions are lifted, the club will be able to go back to full patrols and cover the whole beach more effectively.
The club has developed a management plan to deal with excessive numbers on the beach.
Wollongong City Council lists the maximum number of people on the beach as 1800. Although club lifesavers are not there to manage crowd numbers and only have responsibility for the safety of swimmers in the water, the club’s management plan provides the lifesavers with an escalation strategy to ensure the safety of swimmers and lifesavers should crowd numbers build to beyond 1800.
Surf Life Saving Illawarra has a RWV (Jetski) based at Coalcliff, the plan is to have the RWC operational every weekend over summer and it will be available to assist lifesavers at Stanwell Park and Coalcliff.
What new gear and technology has been introduced to keep beachgoers safe?
This is very exciting. SLSNSW, working with the DPI Shark Surveillance Program, announced that Stanwell Park Beach will have full-time UAV (drone) Shark Surveillance during the Christmas school holidays and the Easter holidays. This will be seven days per week, between 9am and 4pm.
The program is run by Surf Life Saving NSW’s company, Australian UAV Service.
The pilots are paid, and will be flying two to three flights per hour, with the aim of identifying any marine life and particularly sharks coming into the swimming area of the beach. Recruitment for pilots will be starting soon, more information can be found by searching for SLSNSW UAV.
Helensburgh-Stanwell Park SLSC has a UAV that will be operated outside of the SLS/DPI Shark Surveillance Program. The club has been utilising this technology since January 2019.
Surf Life Saving Illawarra will be utilising UAVs along the coastline this summer, with the introduction the two new UAVs at Stanwell Park, they will have access to six UAVs to assist lifesavers not only in shark spotting, but identifying swimmers in difficulty beyond the break and outside the flagged swimmer area.
Currently the club has four IRBs, which are always at #RESCUEREADY status, at least one IRB will be on patrol each weekend.
The club has been working hard to train up new drivers.
Is there any news on the start of Nippers season?
No news yet. Stanwell Park is ready for the nippers to start as soon as we’re allowed to. All the plans are in place, all the Covid safety plans are done, and we’re ready to go.
To keep the Nippers active while we are waiting for Covid restrictions to be lifted, they have been set weekly challenges, [which] involve things they can do around the home and in their suburb, and can be as simple as going for a walk, taking a photo, having a swim, washing up, etc.
What are the Covid safety plans in place for Nippers?
Obviously QR code on arrival. One parent per child, effectively. Kids [will be] fenced off from the parent so there’s not as much mingling between parents and the children. One way in, and then another way out so we don’t get people crossing over. We wash down the boards [and] we wash down the beach flags. We’ll keep all the different age groups separate from each other while we’re going around to try to prevent any cross infection, if anyone is infected.
Is the club looking forward to being back in action?
Absolutely, the club held its Annual General Meeting on Sunday, 26 September 2021. Filling most of the keys roles in the club. Patrols have been well attended so far, despite members having to patrol from 9am to 5pm.
The club is planning for a big celebration of winning Surf Life Saving NSW “Club of the Year”, this will be held in conjunction with the election of a new Life Member for the club, and the Surf Life Saving Australia Awards of Excellence event, where they will announce Surf Life Saving Australia “Club of the Year”. More details soon.
As soon as restrictions are lifted, the club will be opening up for Friday Night Drinks and we will be welcoming members and the public back to the surf club.
We can’t wait to see you!
Visit www.stanwellparksurfclub.com
