Halle takes home silver!

By Christine McDonald, Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club publicity officer

The NSW State Champs were held at North Steyne from 24 to 26 February. We had a small team representing The Park in our red, white and blue colours. Lincoln, Halle, Nate, Frankie, Tiahna, Zalie and Indiana competed in their age events in a mixture of pouring rain and humid heat against the States’ best.

On day one it was the sprints for Lincoln, Halle, Nate and Frankie. Halle made it through to the U10 final. Nate finished 4th in his U11 heat and progressed to the next round.

Day two was an early start for Nate on the beach as he competed in the 1km Beach Run or should we say ‘1km Sprint’. It was fast and furious but Nate stayed with the pack and was happy with his result.

Following the 1km Beach Run; Lincoln, Halle, Nate and Frankie were back on the beach in the rain to compete in what will be their best event for the competition, Flags. All four Nippers did exceptionally well placing in the top 24 in the State. We did have a very exciting day with Halle taking home the silver in her U10 Beach Flags!

On day three our senior Nippers – Tiahna, Zalie and Indiana – were pumped and ready to run their Beach Sprints. Tee started the day with an impressive 5th in her heat and Zalie gave it her all. Both girls made the club proud in the U13 Sprint. Unfortunately that is where the State carnival ended. Indie missed out on competing at her last Nippers carnival due to heavy rainfalls creating health concerns for the water area.

Congrats to all our team for making your families and the club very proud. Thank you to Tradies Helensburgh for their sponsorship; the team looked great in their State Shirts – next year we may need raincoats!

Leadership Camp

The annual Leadership Camp was on 4-5 March at the Surf Club with our U13 & U14 Nippers braving the conditions (rain, mud and the odd bit of sunshine).

It was a great camp with fun activities like the amazing race, group challenges, helping to prepare dinner (aka gut fish), fire on the beach with toasted marshmallows, and movies. All this combined with learning about the facilities and functions associated with the surf club.

Special thanks to Council Lifeguard Matt for giving his time to talk to our Nippers about career pathways, lifeguarding with the council and beach supervision. Thank you to the parents for allowing their children to have this special experience.

Nippers Presentation Day

On Sunday, 20 March we held our Nippers Presentation Day. It was a huge afternoon seeing more than 120 Nippers and their families attend. Congratulations to all our Nippers; the major award winners, the 100% Attendance Nippers, Age Champs and to all those Nippers who gave it their best with a smile on their faces.

A big congratulations to the following Nippers who received these prestigious awards:

Jack “Daki” Mawson Seagull of the Year:
Noah Papendreas

Keith Mills Seagall of the Year:
Halle Bostick

Neil Langdon Boys Endeavour Award:
Kade Taunton

Jack Higgins Girls Endeavour Award:
Angelina Novotny

The Thompson Family Most Consistent Senior Water Competitor at Carnivals:
Nathaniel Amadio

Ryman Family Beach Encouragement:
Matilda Luck and Jay Makwana

To view all the award winners, visit www.stanwellparksurfclub.com and follow the links.

Thank you to the Junior Activities Committee for a great end to the season and to all those parents who have volunteered to be part of the JAC for season 2022/23. Let’s hope we have awesome weather, great surf conditions and no more global pandemics!