Champion Life Saving and First Aid Results

State Lifesaving Championships were held over two weekends at Swansea for Champion Lifesaver and Caves Beach for Champion First Aid.

Conditions were excellent for Champion Lifesaver competition.  Freshwater had nine competitors across multiple age groups.  The team in grateful for the tremendous support of James Coates for towing the trailer, managing gear and competitors for on beach events as well as doing water safety over the three days.

Event	Competitor	Place	Points	Aussies?
Open Male	Josh Orr	2nd	5	Yes
Open Female	Sammy Lever	3rd	4	Yes
U15 Female	Emily Isaacs	9th
U14 Male	Cooper Orr	6th	1
	Jayden Jessop	10th
30-39 Female	Clare Freakley	1st	6	Yes
50-59 Female	Kelly Dobrow	3rd	4	Yes
60+ Female	Jo Kirkby	2nd	5
	Cheryl White	3rd	4	Yes

Champion First Aid competition was at Caves Beach which proved to be a great venue (despite no phone service for some).  Once again, there were some great results.  Our youngest and newest competitors got a taste for working under pressure and will come back better and stronger next year.  Some very close scores among teams where a simple pulse check or a blanket placed on a patient may have made a difference in placings.

Event	Competitor	Place	Points	Aussies?
Open First Aid	Julia Baker & Tahlia Dearden	1st	6	Yes
	Josh Orr & Sammy Lever	4th	3	Yes
	Eloise Parker & Kirra Budd	6th	1
U17 First Aid	Minnie Borrell & Elle Sheehan	1st	6	Yes
U15 First Aid	Minnie Borrell & Elle Sheehan	1st	6	Yes
	Emily Isaacs & Anika Humphries	2nd	5	Yes
	Harrison Burrough & Cooper Orr	7th
	Audrey Lonngren & Jayden Jessop	8th

Congratulations to our placegetters and all who gave it a crack.  Our Masters Female CLS rocked it and had a lot of fun along the way.  Audrey competed with a broken finger – very hard to put a sling on someone when your own hand is wrapped up!!  Emily was competing after partially dislocating her shoulder at Branch.  Both of them unlucky not to be at full strength.

A big shout out to our supporters, officials, water safety (James Coates – Again!!) and especially our coaches.

Bring on Aussies!!

Freshie Masters completed another successful State Championships finishing 11th overall on the pointscore with 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 6 Bronze. Conditions were absolutely steaming on the Wednesday with little to no surf and not much respite on Thursday although a slight breeze made it a little more tolerable with a little bit more of a wave coming through.

Some standout performances from the championships were Ben Kirkby winning 3 Golds including the 35 year old double ski with Michael Kirkby coming down a few decades in age groups, the return of Sigi Hill to the tent with a dominant swim to anchor the 50 – 54 board rescue gold with yours truly and in a history defining moment with the inclusion of the 190 Mixed surf Teams, we had Jo Kirkby as the first female medallist in this division win a silver along with Phil Bird and Paul Stormon.

As best i know we came through without any injuries and for the first time I can remember we didnt need to adjust any teams on teams day. Many thanks to the Freshie officials and safety team that enable us to race – Batey, Kel, Critto, Torvy, Judy B, Sparkles, Kev and Issy (apologies if i have missed anyone.) Focus now on Aussies, looking forward to seeing you all up at Kirra.

Thanks

Gav

25-26/02/2026	State Masters Championships Swansea Belmont
1st	35-39yr Male Board	Ben Kirkby
1st	35-39yr Male Ski	Ben Kirkby
1st	35-39yr Male Double Ski	Ben Kirkby & Michael Kirkby
1st	50-54yr Male Board Rescue	Gaven Needham & Sigi Hill
1st	65-69yr Male Board Rescue	Paul Stormon & Phillip Bird
1st	260yr Male Boat	Marc Bindner, Nathan Perry, Carl Quitzau, Bryan Weir & Nathan Perry (s)
2nd	35-39yr Male Iron Person	Ben Kirkby
2nd	60-64yr Male Board	Michael Kirkby
2nd	70-74yr Male Ski	Stephen Bennett
2nd	70-74yr Male Double Ski	Stephen Bennett & Stephen Davis
2nd	170yr Male Taplin	Phillip Bird, Gaven needham & Sigi Hill
2nd	190yr Mixed Surf Team	Jo Kirkby, Phillip Bird & Paul Stormon
3rd	60-64yr Male Ski	Michael Kirkby
3rd	130yr Male Ski Relay	Ben Kirkby, Michael Kirkby & Gaven Needham
3rd	130yr Male Board Relay	Ben Kirkby, James Coates & John Landells
3rd	150yr Male Surf Team	James Coates, John Landells & Sigi Hill
4th	65-69yr Male Board	Phillip Bird
4th	60-64yr Male Iron Person	Michael Kirkby
5th	60-64yr Female Sprint	Shanny Dyer
5th	70-74yr Male Rescue Tube	Stephen Bennett
5th	170yr Male Board Relay	Gaven Needham, Phillip Bird & Michael Kirkby
5th	190yr Mixed Taplin	Stephen Bennett, Michael Kirkby & Paul Stormon
5th	190yr Mixed Board Relay	Ben Chalmers, Paul Stormon & Stephen Davis
6th	50-54yr Male Ironperson	John Landells
6th	65-69yr Male Rescue Tube	Phillip Bird
6th	70-74yr Male Board	Stephen Davis
6th	190yr Mixed Ski Relay	Paul Stormon, Phillip Fagan & Stephen Davis

Freshwater was proudly represented at the SLSNSW State Open Championships over the weekend, with five of our surf sports athletes taking on some of NSW’s best competitors –  Harry Parker, Josh Orr, Sammy Lever, Jade Needham and Zaylee Zouroudis.

With extended lightning delays on the first day of competition, the program was pushed back and created an even bigger demand on athletes across the second day. Despite this, all five competitors showed great determination and sportsmanship, doing Freshie proud every time they stepped up to race.

A standout moment from the weekend was Zaylee bringing home gold in the U15 2km run – an incredible result at State level and a testament to her hard work and preparation.

Well done to everyone who competed — we’re so proud of your efforts and the way you represented the club!

27/02 – 1/3/2026	State Open Championships Swansea Belmont
1st	U15 Female 2km Beach Run	Zaylee Zouroudis
1st	Open Men’s R&R	Seb Di Sano, Ian Donald, Patrick Kiely, Christopher Tyrrell & Hugo Weston
1st	Open 6 Person R&R	Seb Di Sano, Ian Donald, Jarrad Freakley, Patrick Kiely, Christopher Tyrrell & Hugo Weston
2nd	Female Reserve Boat	Mia Glasson, Cheyenne Hayes, Kelsey Crawford, Ela Cornwell & Nathan Perry (s)
3rd	Male Reserve Boat	Tristan Kavanagh, Rory Bartle, Andrew McMinn, Charlie Griffith & Nathan Perry (s)
4th	Open March Past	Sue Walmsley, Kelly Marsh, David Torevell, Ross Parry, Wendy Quail, Andrew Murphy, Elizabeth Murphy, David Inches, Judith Bennett, Anna Block, Jo Kirkby & Rachel Needham
6th	Open Female Surf Team	Bree Coates, Amelie Hosie, Samantha Lever & Jade Needham

Freshie Masters completed another successful State Championships finishing 11th overall on the pointscore with 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 6 Bronze. Conditions were absolutely steaming on the Wednesday with little to no surf and not much respite on Thursday although a slight breeze made it a little more tolerable with a little bit more of a wave coming through.

Some standout performances from the championships were Ben Kirkby winning 3 Golds including the 35 year old double ski with Michael Kirkby coming down a few decades in age groups, the return of Sigi Hill to the tent with a dominant swim to anchor the 50 – 54 board rescue gold with yours truly and in a history defining moment with the inclusion of the 190 Mixed surf Teams, we had Jo Kirkby as the first female medallist in this division win a silver along with Phil Bird and Paul Stormon.

As best i know we came through without any injuries and for the first time I can remember we didnt need to adjust any teams on teams day. Many thanks to the Freshie officials and safety team that enable us to race – Batey, Kel, Critto, Torvy, Judy B, Sparkles, Kev and Issy (apologies if i have missed anyone.) Focus now on Aussies, looking forward to seeing you all up at Kirra.

Thanks

Gav

Results

19 – 22/02/2026	State Age Championships Swansea Belmont
2nd	U14 Female 2km Beach Run	Darcey Herd
3rd	U11 Male Flags	Alexander Woodland
3rd	U14 Female Surf Team	Violet Benham, Piper Brenchley, Florence Warren & Darcey Herd
3rd	U14 Male Board Relay	Lennox Newby, Harrison Burrough & Tom Mcilvain
3rd	U14 Female 2 x 1km Beach Run Relay	Darcey Herd & Piper Brenchley
4th	U10 Male Sprint	Felix Welsh
6th	U11 Male Beach Relay	Alexandfer Woodland, Alex Mandalanic, Ruaidhri Nolan & Max Switzer
6th	U14 Female Cameron	Florence Warren, Sophie Yeates & Piper Brenchley
6th	U14 Female Beach Relay	Darcey Herd, Sophie Yeates, Ginger Wessling & Piper Brenchley

U14 Surf Life Saving New South Wales State Championships

Our U14 competitors travelled to Swansea Belmont SLSC for the 2026 SLSNSW State Championships, a fitting location for their last Nippers State Champs, as this was also the location of their first State Champs, some years ago.

In fantastic weather and small surf conditions, a committed group of 13 competitors, Cooper, Darcey, Florence, Ginger, Harrison, Jake, Jayden, Lenny, Lucas, Piper, Sophie, Tom and Violet, competed over 4 days, with some exceptional racing on the beach and in the water.

Congratulations to all our competitors for a successful State Championships campaign, with many making Finals across both land and water events. A special mention to the below competitors & Teams who received State medals:

Darcey- 2^nd U14 Female 2km Run

Darcey & Piper- 3^rd U14 Female 2x 1km Run

Darcey, Florence, Piper & Violet- 3^rd U14 Female Surf Teams

Harrison, Lenny & Tom- 3^rd U14 Male Board Relay

A big thanks to the parents, water safety, officials and coaches who supported the kids over the weekend. It was great to see the Club touring again for State Championships, with everyone enjoying staying together at the Ingenia Holiday Park. We look forward to touring and racing again at Aussies, only a few weeks away! For those who missed watching our athletes compete, the Livestream is available via the SLSNSW YouTube page.