In December 2020, after an absence of 4 years, my twin brother (Peter) and I decided to return as coaches at South Curl Curl SLSC for this prestigious and very demanding event.

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Champion Lifesaver is an individual event composed of three separate sections that provides “competitors with the opportunity to demonstrate in a competitive manner the physical, lifesaving and knowledge skills required of a lifesaver”. A New South Wales competitor can only compete in the Australian Lifesaving Championships if he/she is placed First or Second in the state Champion Lifesaver competition. In this respect, if a competitor competes in the Australian Lifesaving competition, they are in effect representing their state, as only the top two competitors in New South Wales and Queensland are allowed to compete. All other states are only allocated one position in the Australian final.

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Section points are allocated as follows. The competitor with the highest aggregate score is the winner.

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Section I – Theory Paper (40 points)

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Section II - Resuscitation and Patient Assessment (40 points)

• Part A – Live Patient Assessment and simulated resuscitation (20 points)

• Part B – Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on a manikin (20 points)

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Section III – Physical Events (40 points)

This section is made up of four components and points are allocated to a maximum of 10 points to each component.

• Board Race                  –         10 points

• Beach Sprint               –          10 points

• Surf Race                     –         10 points

• Rescue Tube Race       –         10 points

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In the 2020/2021 competitive season we coached two competitors (Logan Howes and Luca Stein) in the U/15 Champion Lifesaver event. Logan Howes became the club’s third Australian champion, when he won this event. Luca Stein was placed a very credible 5th place, missing a medal by only 1.25 points.

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In the 2021/2022 competitive season, we coached eight to ten competitors. Zoe Burke competed in the U/14s; Ben Leman, Archer Hogan and Evan Cahill competed in the U/15s boys; Amanda Cannon and Naomi Humel competed in the U/15s girls; Logan Howes and Luca Stein competed in the U/17s; Zara Howes competed in the U/19s. However, due to inclement weather, not only was the season disrupted, but the State Championships were cancelled due to poor water quality and an enormous surf. As a result, only three competitors qualified for entry into the Australian championships. Zoe Burke was placed 4th in the U/14 girls, Logan Howes was placed 5th in the U/17 boys and Amanda Cannon was placed 7th in the U/15 girls.

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In the 2022/2023 season, our squad increased to 13 competitors, the highest number of competitors that Peter and I have ever coached. Chanelle Humel competed in the U/14 girls; Byron Cahill competed in the U/14 boys; Zoe Burke and Edie Mulvey competed in the U/15 girls; Oscar Donnan and Alex Stanojevic competed in the U/15 boys; Naomie Humel and Amanda Cannon competed in the U/17 girls; Luca Stein, Logan Howes and Evan Cahill competed in the U/17 boys; Zara Howes competed in the U/19 girls, and; I competed in the Over 50s.

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Our competitors did exceptionally well winning 13 medals (4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze) at the Northern Beaches Branch Championships and 10 medals at the NSW State Championships (4 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze)