FLAGS ARE UP!

by Director of Lifesaving

On a beautiful Sunday morning on the 19th, Craig Fairbrother and his team in Patrol 5 raised the red and yellow flags for the first time for Season 21/22. After a long and cold winter, it was great to see the beach officially opened and our surf lifesavers in red and yellow uniforms patrolling the beach to help keep everyone safe.

With the challenges of COVID-19 ever present, the team demonstrated preparedness and discipline in carrying out their pre-patrol briefing, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

The day passed without major incident and the patrol packed up satisfied with a job well done.

As some of you may be aware, we have been working with Surf Life Saving Illawarra to assist with patrols on other beaches. A big thanks to those patrollers who volunteered to help Branch with getting all beaches in the Illawarra open on the 19th.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

by PRESIDENT - ROY WAKELIN-KING

This past month has been very busy for Thirroul Surf Club.

The most significant activity has been getting the Club ready for the patrol season. It was a great team effort with all parts of the Committee helping us get ready for the flags going up on 19th September. Particular mention needs to go to the Club Captain, Ian Sakoff and his team for getting the patrol teams organised, the rosters out and the gear checked in readiness for operation.

COVID-19 still dominates the planning for the patrolling, nippers and competition seasons, but we are hopeful with some restrictions easing next month that we will be able to run more programs in the not too distant future. Please stay tuned and ready to get involved.

An area that doesn’t get much notice but is critical in the Club being safe and fully operational, is education and training. Our Director of Education, Kim Shipton, has been working behind the scenes to help us get ready for the season and prepare for when we can come back to face-to-face training. Thanks Kim! Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

I would also like to say a big thank you to all the people who were able to assist with the building works (see the Building Project update below). 

We made some excellent progress over the last three weeks, and it was all done with the willing help of plenty of Club volunteers.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the beach soon. Stay safe and thank you for your ongoing support to our great Club.

NEWS FROM THE CLUB

by Board of Directors

Education and Training

Education is currently restricted to critical education for patrols only, however, we’d encourage parents and members to use this time to do their online Age Manager and Safeguarding Children course so we can be ready to hit the ground running when Nippers begins.

We are currently taking expressions of interest for training courses that we can implement once our normal education program can begin. Please take a minute to visit the Education page on our website and let us know what education you’d like to do this season. We will send you details on how to access the training, and when you can complete the practical side as Public Health Orders allow.

Nippers

At this stage we don’t have a start date for our Junior Activities due the government restrictions surrounding community sport, but rest assured, we are looking to start Nippers as soon as the Public Health Orders allow.

When we do get the green light, this year we are rolling out our Nippers Academy. These are free training sessions outside of Nippers to improve skills & confidence in the water and on the beach. They will run twice a week and anyone from u8-u14 is very welcome.

We are looking for Age Managers for the 2021/22 season. Please contact Jen at

juniors@thirroulsurfclub.com.au if you would like to volunteer and have heaps of fun.

Surf Sports

Surf Sports (training and competition) are on hold until Community Sports are allowed to resume under Public Health Orders. At this stage NSW Health recommends that Community Sport can return when 80% of the community is double vaccinated.

Unfortunately this pushes back our plans for beginning training in September and at this stage we have no indication of when the vaccination rate will be met, allowing us to begin our program. However Surf Life Saving Illawarra is ready to run local carnivals as soon as the restrictions ease and SLSNSW are progressing with their plans for a State Championships on Sydney's Northern Beaches at the end of February. TSLSC are also planning to again host the Branch Championships across the weekend of the 12th & 13th of February.

BUILDING THE CLUB TOGETHER

by Building Committee

What a difference a month makes. In our last newsletter we were just getting the brickwork finished and the new windows were about to go in.

After the efforts of our contractor, Grand Pacific Homes (GPH) and many volunteers, we can really see the building project take shape.

The rendering has been done, the scaffolding is gone, the roof is completely finished, the new floor in the gym is just about complete and the windows have been installed.

In the front of the Club, thanks to the efforts of our volunteers, we have been able to relocate the gym equipment, demolish some internal walls and transform the old gym and paddle board areas into a new open space ready for the next major work by GPH.

FUNCTION ROOM TAKING BOOKINGS 

By Function Co-ordinator

We are happy to announce, following a slight easing of Public Health Orders, that the John Kosten Function Room is again able to take bookings. We have a large indoor area, a front enclosed balcony and an open back courtyard that can be hired as one large space or as single spaces.

The capacity limits for these spaces will depend on the current Public Health Orders at the time of your booking. A reminder that Active Members (patrollers or committe memebrs for the previous 18 months) receive a 50% discount on booking fees.

For further information, check out the club website and then email functions@thirroulsurfclub.com.au to make your booking.