Wollongong City Surf Life Saving Club celebrated 50 of its finest at an Australian and World Champions Presentation Evening on Saturday, November 11.
More than 250 people gathered at the club to see 50 champions, or their family representatives, receive framed ‘maroon and white’ surf caps inscribed with their name and championship number.
Inspired by similar programs at Bulli and Barrack Point Surf Life Saving Clubs, the event recognised senior and junior stars of the 108-year-old club.
“I think it's pretty special to be even rubbing shoulders with these 80-year-old guys that have been around forever,” Wollongong City SLSC club captain and cap recipient Matt Hiesley said.
“It’s an amazing feat for, say, Milton [Stepanovski] who's the youngest, he's 14 years old, but then you've got guys like Warren Green, who's 80, who's receiving a cap as well.
“That's why surf clubs are so successful because these guys are still around helping everyone out. They drive the club spirit, and in community organisations, without a club spirit, things just fall apart.”
This is the 31st consecutive surf season with Wollongong City Surf Life Saving Club for Matt, who joined the Nippers program at age seven.
Matt – raised in a family who were heavily involved in still-water swimming – went on to win six gold medals. He still holds the title for most national championship wins at the club, taking home his first gold in the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships Under-16 Surf Race in 2001.
Saturday’s function was a chance to catch up on friendships formed over three decades and reflect on memorable competition highlights.
“[Most memorable] I think was winning my third Australian Surf Belt title in the under-19s [because] you're in that age group for three years – and I won it for three years straight – but probably the third year winning that because it was the first time it was ever achieved, and the other one would be winning the under-19 Australian title in the Board Rescue with one of my best mates,” he said.
“We weren't favourites, we were probably middle of the pack where we'd been all year… and I swam and got to the cans maybe second or third, and then in the board paddle Aaron Brown got out there about second, and luck was on our side and we got a wave and the rest is history.
“The competition's great, but having camaraderie, having a bit of a joke with the boys, being able to lean on those guys even for life skills… I've got some great mates out of it, and I love going down the surf club, my heart's in it, it's not for [recognition].”
First to receive caps on Saturday night were the family members of the 1953 Open Boat Crew (Ross Dawson, Terry Nay, Geoff Daniel, Ron Priest and Don “Sparrow” Burrows), who rowed Wollongong City SLSC to their first national championship victory in challenging surf at Newport.
All four champions from the 1957 Junior Surf Team – Kim Harrington, Peter Brown, Col de Mestre and Warren Green – received their caps personally, recalling their dominant display over home beach favourites, Bondi, when swimming to victory 66 years ago.
Bobby Little – who has a place in Surf Life Saving Australia’s Hall of Fame – was recognised alongside national swimming champions Matt Hiesley, Robert Nay, Michael McKeon and Gary Lord, and board riding champions Dean Carney, Craig Morris and Nic Squiers. National and world beach champion Darren “Pocket Rocket” Peters was among those recognised for international championship titles.
Saturday night’s youngest cap recipients were under-15 stars Isabella Evans and Milton Stepanovski, who both won national titles in 2022. Isabella was also the only female recipient recognised for winning an individual event.
Wollongong is considered a strong family club and several father-son and sibling combinations were honoured together, including the father, Larry, and brother, Tim, of the program’s head organiser Michael Jennett.
“If it wasn't for Michael Jennett, the amount of work he has done, it wouldn't go ahead… in terms of writing the spiels on everyone, what they've achieved, their nicknames, how they grew up in the surf club,” Matt said.
“Obviously achievements like this are amazing, but the value of our surf club is to provide a safe swimming environment for the public, and obviously that comes first and then accolades like this come on the back of that.”
Future national and international championship winners won't miss out on a framed cap, with the next major presentation evening to coincide with the club's 110th anniversary in 2025.
