Avoca Beach surf lifesaver in Hall of Champions

Murray Braund from Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club will be inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions at the prestigious NSW Champions of Sport Ceremony at The Star Event Centre on November 25.

Braund will be one of five NSW sports greats to be inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions on the night joining Suzy Batkovic (basketball), Alex Blackwell (cricket), Pattie Dench (sport pistol) and Tim Gavin (rugby union).

The ceremony will also see Sydney Swans AFL great Paul Kelly elevated to NSW Hall of Champions Legend status.

As a NSW Hall of Champions inductee, Braund joins the company of Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Jack Brabham, Dawn Fraser, Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, Ken Rosewall, Louise Sauvage and others.

In a career spanning 1969 to the mid-1980s, Braund is considered the best surf ski paddler of his generation, with victories in three World, seven Australian and 13 NSW championships.

In 1972-73, Murray became the first competitor in Australian Championships to win both the Open Single and Double Surf Ski titles at the same championship.

He claimed both these titles again the following year.

He won the Single Ski Teams event in South Africa with Ken Vidler at the inaugural World Life Saving Championships in 1974. 

In 1972, Murray was awarded the Royal Humane Society of NSW Bronze Medal for rescuing and resuscitating a young girl at Collaroy Beach. 

He instigated and ran the Australian Surf Ski Challenge in 1982, a 254km, four-day event from Forster to Sydney.

Murray won three World Masters titles and has been inducted into the Surf Life Saving Association Hall of Fame.

Sport NSW Chief Executive Stuart Hodge paid tribute to the five new inductees.

“We also welcome Suzy, Alex, Murray, Pattie and Tim into the Hall of Champions,” Hodge said.

“They join other NSW sports greats who have served NSW and Australian sport with honour and distinction.”

The gala ceremony dinner will also celebrate the achievements of NSW athletes, coaches, administrators, and organisations across 12 award-winning categories including Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Year with a Disability.