They say “Teamwork makes the dream work” and this is no more evident than a week at Trigg Island SLSC.
Each weekend 4 patrol teams work together to make our beaches safe, combining the skills of the individuals to provide water safety, first aid, education and a variety of rescue techniques for the public benefit. Getting to that stage each weekend requires the work of our mid-week crew who fill up and charge vehicles, pump up tyres, fix broken equipment and make modifications to get us through the season.
Then there’s Youth and Nippers that may look like chaos but actually are finely tuned activities for our members. With the coordination of Water Safety, Age Managers, Coaches and canteen volunteers, Sunday mornings are an awesome example of teamwork. Even just the stocking of food and drink fridges falls to our volunteers who do such a great job. Last Sunday morning, as well as keep our Nippers safe we performed 77 rescues!
Our Educators are aged from teens to 70s and go out of their way to make sure all members are proficient in their skills and trained and assessed to the highest level. Making sure all members upskill and gain new awards is paramount to the continuation of strong patrols.
Our coaches are mostly unpaid and so giving of their time. Teamwork is at its highest level in making sure our athletes are prepared to the highest level, competing both at State and National level with integrity and spirit, and fit to perform their patrolling duties. Our athlete performances over East this past week have been amazing.
Leading from the top our Board and employed staff are there to ensure the vision of Saving Lives and Developing Inclusive Communities” is upheld along with our values of Teamwork, Care and Respect.
A few weeks ago I accompanied our Champion Patrol competitors to Sorrento for their first ever go at this event. The camaraderie amongst those 4 girls who went on to win a Bronze medal was inspiring to watch and reminded me why I love surf so much. Add that to the weekly rescues we perform, a huge number of them out of patrol hours this season, and collectively we have a club with enormous influence, diversity and solidarity.
This has recently been recognised by the Labor State Government who have pledged $300 000 for upgrades to the northern building, and matched plus 10% by the Liberal Party should they be re elected. This recognition lays testament to my report above and I thank the teamwork of our Building Committee for making this happen.
This week and next, we have been instrumental in coming together with advocates for refugees by providing swimming lessons in the pool and surf safety sessions at our beach. With a grant provided by DLGSC and working with the Edmund Rice Centre, Multicultural Service Centre WA, RLSS and Youth Futures, refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Palestine and other countries, are getting important education which could save their life. It has been an eye-opening experience as some participants have never been in the water other than a shower! For those of us who have grown up in the ocean this has been particularly mind blowing!
I urge you to join in on the teamwork that this great club provides by stepping out of your comfort zone, learning something new or just volunteering where you can.
See you on the beach
Cas Ryan
