Two of the Central Coast’s brightest young surf lifesaving talents were named Newcastle Permanent Junior Surf Life Savers of the Year in a ceremony at Umina Surf Club on Sunday, February 4.
The female winner was 13-year-old Remy Avis from North Avoca SLSC, while Seamus Meares, also 13, from Wamberal SLSC took out the male award.
With her family highly involved in surf lifesaving, Remy has been on the sand since she was three months old, joining Nippers in the Under-6s and achieving 100 per cent attendance since then.
Remy has achieved her Surf Rescue Certificate and is the Junior Club Captain and Club Person of the Year of North Avoca SLSC, where she values patrolling, education and training to help save lives, and would like to increase youth involvement in surf lifesaving.
As Junior Surf Life Saver of the Year she follows in the footsteps of her brother, Jett, who received the accolade in 2022.
Seamus also joined Nippers in the Under-6s and has often shared the sand with his father, who is a Patrol Captain and Age Manager.
He has gained the confidence to perform rescues and preventative actions, and also excels in his signals, theory questions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Seamus believes that one of the most important areas of surf lifesaving is resourcing and educating the community to be safe and help others around the water, and he is also passionate about sun safety in the Nippers program.
Surf Life Saving Central Coast CEO Michael Hyslop said there was a strong field of contenders for the awards.
“Each of our local clubs puts forward a female and male nominee, who are required to participate in the Newcastle Permanent Branch Championships and also sit for an interview with a panel of judges,” he said.
“It’s not easy, but Remy and Seamus really rose to the challenge and both impressed the panel with their work ethic, passion for the sport and dedication to the community.
“With both their families very involved in surf lifesaving their abilities are no surprise, but they have never taken that for granted and continued to learn and grow.
“Newcastle Permanent has supported us for over 20 years, which helps keep events like this one running, our nippers in the water and our beachgoers safe.”
Newcastle Permanent Morisset Branch Manager Michelle Densem said she was very impressed by the talent of the young members in Central Coast Surf Life Saving.
“All of the candidates for the Newcastle Permanent Junior Life Saver of the Year are phenomenal and demonstrate a dedication to their local communities like no other, so for Remy and Seamus to come out on top is a huge achievement,” she said.
“Along with their beach safety knowledge and water skills, it’s wonderful to see that they are giving back to their community at such a young age.
“Witnessing the development of young leaders like Remy and Seamus makes all of us at Newcastle Permanent feel exceptionally proud of our partnership with Central Coast Surf Life Saving.
“It’s clear that Remy and Seamus have very bright futures ahead.”
The Central Coast branch of Surf Life Saving NSW has 15 clubs, patrolling beaches from Budgewoi to Umina.
Newcastle Permanent has been a proud partner since 2003.