ARE YOU UP FOR SUMMER SURF GIRL?Nominations are now open for Surf Life Saving's fundraising and awareness initative, the Jupiters Summer Surf Girl program. The focus might be on raising money but the 2009/2010 Jupiters Summer Surf Girl winner Paige Cooper reckons it’s more about fun than funds. In a year that included everything from etiquette classes to teaching classes, from public speaking to personal development, Paige kept her focus on spreading the surf safety message.
The girls also got plenty of media exposure from photo shoots to interviews throughout the year. Whether it was getting inside tips on how to perform for the camera from Channel Nine personalities or getting behind the microphones at Gold Coast radio station, Hot Tomato, Paige said that through Summer Surf Girl, entrants recieved the media training to help them make the most of those opportunities. "Things like the media training, public speaking, organising events, I'd never have done any of it if i hadn't been in Summer Surf Girl and now i've got those skills and experience to take away". Paige found that all the entrants shared one thing in common: a passion for lifesaving. “We are all fully qualified lifesavers and Summer Surf Girl recognises what we do and that in itself is very satisfying”.
Paige has one simple message for anyone thinking about Summer Surf Girl “This is by far the greatest achievement of my lifesaving career and I encourage all women to give it a go and I can guarantee you will get something out of it”.
So why don’t you give it a go and contact the Surf Life Saving Foundation Events team on (07) 3846 8000 or email events@lifesaving.com.au and see how much fun you can get out of being a Summer Surf Girl. Keep up to date with what's happening with the Jupiters Summer Surf Girl program.
SURF LIFE SAVING AND VIRGIN BLUE WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE LIVES Virgin Blue Airlines will be the first airline in Australia to take the surf safety messages to the skies following a number of drowning tragedies across Australian beaches.
The airline has joined forces with Surf Life Saving to drive home some key messages on domestic flights for those visiting Aussie beaches.
The first phase will be launched from May and will involve using the carrier's in-flight seatback TV screens to highlight the "Swim Between the Red and Yellow Flags" message via a simple still TV advertisement. It will then be stepped up another notch in June when the airline will feature a tailor made commercial aimed at highlighting the risks associated with swimming at unsupervised beaches. MORE Watch the new CSA online
2010 QUEENSLAND JUNIOR SURF LIFE SAVING CHAMPIONSHIPS  Following on from a successful Senior State Championships at Kurrawa, the 2010 Queensland Junior Surf Life Saving Championships were held at Emu Park from April 16-18. More than 1400 young athletes from as far north as Port Douglas down to Rainbow Bay competed in the race for state titles. Reigning club champions Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park cemented the club's third consecutive victory followed by Maroochydore and Northcliffe in second and third place. Joseph Kerby from Dicky Beach was awarded the Pelerman U14 Junior Lifesaver of the Year announced during the Championships. Results from the carnival can be found here.
2010 CRAZY JOHN'S SENIOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS A record 2300 U15 to masters competitors hit the waves at Kurrawa for the 2010 Crazy John's Queensland Life Saving Championships from March 5-7. Athletes converged on the Gold Coast from as far north as Ellis Beach to compete in surf boats, water, beach and team events. With Kurrawa’s famous open stretch and notorious shore breaks, the event was a spectacle with plenty of thrills and spills. Northcliffe won the overall club pointscore in both the Masters and Seniors competition, with Mooloolaba hot on their heels placing second in both competitions. Kurrawa rounded up the top three in the Seniors competition while Alexandra Headland came third overall in the Masters events. It was almost a Sunshine Coast whitewash in the Open male ironman as Corey Jones (Met Caloundra) broke the Gold Coast’s stranglehold on the event. Fellow Sunshine Coast ironman Matt Poole clinched silver but the closest race of the day was a sprint to the finish between third place getter Jarrod Cain (Cudgen Headland) and Dicky Beach’s Rhys Drury.
Courtney Hancock (Northcliffe) took out the women’s event for a second year, ahead of the Sunshine Coast’s Rebecca Creedy (Met Caloundra) and younger sister Bonnie Hancock (Northcliffe). The 21 year old defending champ held off a late surge from Creedy in the final swim leg to repeat her 2009 success. Melissa Howard (Kurrawa) claimed victory in both the Open beach sprints and flags, and clubmate Ben Mitchell won the Open beach sprint. The Sunshine Coast’s Thomas Reiken backed up his Fastest Man on Sand title taking out the Open beach flags. Currumbin took out the honours in the Open female surf boat, while Kurrawa clinched the Open male final.
For championships results click here.
SURF LIFE SAVING LAUNCHES NEW RIPS EDUCATION CAMPAIGN Surf Life Saving (SLS) has launched a public safety campaign, to educate Australians about rip currents and how to survive them. Although the key surf safety message for all beachgoers remains ‘swim between the red and yellow flags’, the new campaign will provide people with the simplest way to escape a rip. The campaign’s tagline “to escape a rip, swim parallel to the beach” is specifically targeted at males aged between 25 and 34, who are over-represented in beach drowning data and who often swim at unpatrolled beaches. The aim of the campaign is to teach people how to survive a rip in case there isn’t anyone available to rescue them. Visit our new rip currents website at www.ripcurrents.com.au To see a video on rips click here. | 
