Coast scoops pool at surf lifesaving awards

Terrigal Club scooped the pool at the annual Surf Life Saving NSW Awards of Excellence event in Sydney on August 24, taking gongs for Club of the Year, Coach of the Year and Masters Athlete of the Year.

Taking the top individual honour, Mollie Murphy of Umina Surf Life Saving Club was crowned Surf Lifesaver of the Year.

Her award, coming less than a month after also being named a Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards winner, was the 24th and final award announced as volunteers from clubs up and down the NSW coastline came together.

The Central Coast notched up six awards in total – a quarter of the total awards on offer.

“It’s incredible to be the Surf Life Saver for NSW, but I’ve always just done it because I love it not for the recognition,” Murphy said.

“It’s pretty crazy but I’m very grateful.

“The community around the club I love, there’s so many people I’ve grown up with and it just makes for a real family.”

As well as taking the Club of the Year crown, Terrigal also saw Ryan Quick take Coach of the Year and Paul Lemmon named Masters Athlete of the Year.

Director of Administration Julie Redfern said it was a “momentous occasion” and “an unexpected reward” as the club received its first ever Club of the Year award.

“We have been working so hard to improve our governance and inclusivity; we are also finally delivering a major renovation of our clubhouse that has been in the planning for almost 20 years,” she said.

“Terrigal has 274 strong and trained patrolling members, serving a beach with large tourist numbers.

“They performed 22 rescues this season but this number could have been significantly greater as they were able to mitigate over 2,000 situations that may have escalated due to their vigilance on the beach.”

Director of Lifesaving Tim Pittolo said the club had members aged from five to 98.

“We have adopted a something for everyone philosophy whilst maintaining our core focus on keeping the public safe,” he said.

The Terrigal club has also been actively engaging the wider community through a host of key events not only for locals but for the region as a whole, and has leant on strong, distinguished leadership through its Board of Management to secure critical facilities upgrades and mentoring future leaders of the club.

Club President Richard Green said volunteers had worked hard to achieve the accolade.

“To be named the top club in NSW for 2024 makes me happy beyond words and am so excited about the future, with an all new clubhouse opening later this year – this is the start of even bigger things to come,” he said.

Other Central Coast award winners were Richard Grimmond from Ocean Beach SLSC (Trainer of the Year) and Jackie Sproll of North Avoca SLSC (Patrol Captain of the Year).

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib congratulated all the finalists on the night and thanked the state’s volunteer lifesavers for their commitment to keeping the coastline safe.

“It’s so difficult choosing just one winner out of a group of Surf Life Saving volunteers who sacrifice their precious time to help keep our beaches safe over the swimming season,” he said.

“These awards are a great way of bringing our amazing Surf Life Saving volunteers together to celebrate them and everything they do to keep us safe while we enjoy our beautiful beaches and other waterways.”

Surf Life Saving NSW President Peter Agnew said that with 78,000 members, NSW was fully prepared leading into the Summer season.

“I’m very proud to be leading an organisation that represents so many people who have no hesitation in giving up their time to protect the lives of others,” he said.