Winning women, muscle men, and the heart of the Coast

Editorial –

What a time to reflect on the quiet strength of our locals from the Central Coast.

Our women have been showing the world what real power looks like, not in tanks, parades, or political theatre, but in hard work, style, humility, and heart.

Molly Picklum, carving her way through the world’s best on the surf stage in Fiji.

Nicola Olyslagers, jumping over bars so high that they once seemed impossible in Zurich.

And earlier this year, our very own Mariners women brought home a national A-League title, a victory that continues to inspire a new generation of Coasties to dream big.

But the story doesn’t end with those under bright lights and global cameras.

Across the Coast, as you’ll find in CCN’s local news platforms, men and women are building strength in quieter ways.

Volunteers at our surf clubs, Men’s Sheds, pitching in to fix community facilities, and neighbours looking out for one another, people proud to build communities rather than tear them apart.

Their muscle isn’t for show; it’s for service.

And next month, when the same quiet strength will take centre stage with a huge musical concert dubbed ‘Light Up for Audrey’ at Gosford’s Polytech Stadium to honour the memory of Audrey Griffen, whose life was so cruelly taken earlier this year in senseless violence.

What could have been only grief and fear is being turned into something more powerful, a family and community saying, through music and love, that we take care of our own.

So while the world spins with bombs and bluster, from war zones and military parades to the daily dramas of political strongmen, let’s remember what true strength looks like.

It’s here on the Coast, in women and men whose actions unite rather than divide, and whose victories, big and small, make us proud to call this place home.

David Abrahams – Managing Editor