Congratulations to all of our winners!

Nipper Chairman’s Award

Ben Carroll

• Ben’s enthusiasm for the club and the Nipper community is infectious.
• He gets involved in everything from helping the little Nippers to water safety to cleaning the showers at the end of the Sunday session.
• He positively interacts with every level of the club, from board members to parents of other Nippers, in a positive and effective manner.
• Ben is a future leader of our club.

Tim Francis Junior Competitor of the Year

Abigail Capell & Alannah Paul

Abi

• Abi is all in for Nippers.
• She is one of our Nipper Captains and is there every single Sunday.
• On Rainbow Day, she painted faces and brought smiles to the Nipper Community.
• From a competition perspective, Abi is a serious athlete with success at Branch, State and Nationals.
• 4th in Cameron relay at Youth Aussies with Charli, Alannah and Sarah Song.
• She is a great example of how competition and community fit together at Newport SLSC.

Alannah

Youth Aussies Results

• Australian Champion in two events:
  • U14 Board Race: Alannah Paul.
  • U13/14 Board Relay with Charli Barbour and Sadie Maggs.
• Silver with Charli Barbour, Sadie Maggs and Matilda Young.
• Bronze in the U14 Ironwoman.
• 4th in Cameron relay with Charli, Abi and Sarah Song.

Tom Guthrie Rookie of the Year

Niamh Murphy

• Niamh was nominated by Laurence McCoy, Captain of Patrol 7.
• As an SRC, Niamh regularly attended patrols and displayed an eagerness to learn and participate, which has been demonstrated by the recent completion of her Bronze Medallion.
• She shows initiative in getting to and from patrol, and during a patrol, she volunteers to undertake tasks or looks for opportunities.

Peter Dawson OAM Best New Member

Janet Dunn

• Janet received a staggering five nominations!
• Janet accepted the Registrar role and has excelled in this position.
• In her quest to learn more about the club, she took on completing her Bronze Medallion in December and has done 20+ hours since.
• Janet is a new member of Patrol 8. Janet is enthusiastic about patrolling and learning new skills. She contributes to the group and is a natural problem-solver. She has excellent communication skills.
• Nothing is too much trouble for Janet, and the ease of registrations and troubleshooting provided (especially to non-IT savvy members) has been widely noted.
• Janet is an actively caring and considerate club member – she takes an old-fashioned form of pastoral care of those around her, especially the Leatherjacket swimming crew.
• She is constantly at the beach helping with events and smiling.

John Holland Senior – Committee Member of the Year

Nicole Fasseau

• Is a first-year associate member who jumped in to take over the Nipper Shop and has been amazing.
• She audited the stock, quickly understood what sold and what didn’t sell, managed online sales and opened up new sales opportunities in the bar or separately through pop-up retail events such as the Beach to Beach or at other club functions such as Twilight Nippers. She has gone above and beyond.
• Nicole always provides a friendly face at Nippers and ensures all the kids have the correct uniform.
• Also, her calm manner and attention to detail are always apparent at committee meetings.

Inaugural Menzies’ Educator of the Year

Jess Menzies

• Jess has been training and assessing for many years, proficiencies, facilitator, and always helpful with course assistance.
• She always works hard to ensure our candidates are the best they can be. She is a trainer, assessor and facilitator and offers her time to branch duties as well.
• Training Officer for 16 yrs, assessing for 13 yrs, facilitating for 10 yrs.
• Trains 2-3 Bronze groups per year, SRC yearly, and multiple ART groups.
• Also organises and conducts most proficiency sessions.

Hans Trumm OAM – Award for Patrolling Excellence

Eric Crooke

• Eric has taken on the role of Captain and IRB driver not only for his own patrol but has been covering for both Scott Newey and Rob Barkley with their recent injuries.
• He has ensured that both patrols 7 and 10 can continue functioning whilst their captains have been unavailable.
• It’s no wonder he accumulated 63 patrol hours this season.

Inaugural Gary Cook Surf Sports Official of the Year

Darren Warrener

• Unfortunately, Darren couldn’t make it on Saturday night (3 June 2023) as he was in Adelaide attending the National Surf Sports Conference.
• Darren attended many carnivals within the Branch, NSW and interstate. He is working with SLSA to develop a series of videos to support the existing starters nationwide and encourage new starters.
  • Nth Curl Curl fast 5’s – carnival ref
  • KNG Trials – Tugan – Deputy Ref and Starter
  • Summer of Surf – Alex – Starter
  • KNG Manly – course supervisor
  • KNG – Maroubra – Starter and Dep Ref
  • SLSA state teams – Starter
  • Branch Championships water – sectional
  • Summer of Surf Northcliffe – Starter
  • State Championships – Sectional Referee
  • Aussies – Starter in Open Males area and Finals day

Competitor the Year

Conner Maggs

Conner’s numerous highlights for the season:

• Male athlete of Australian championships winning all individual water events (surf race, board, ski, iron) in U17, the first athlete ever to do so.
• A member of the very successful Under 17s Male Water Team (Australian Champions in surf teams, ski relay and Taplin).
• Won gold with Charlie Brooks at Aussies in the Open Board Relay!
• Youngest athlete to compete in the male KNG series as a 17-year-old.

Michael King Surf Sports Team of the Year

Under 17s

Zoe Warrener, Zach Paul, Bella Cox, Dom Melbourn, Olivia Clues, Max Barbour, Anthony Doyle, Luke Chaffer, Grace Osborne, Isabelle Osborne, Jess Walton, Conner Maggs

• Won the Aussies point score with results coming from the Water, Patrol Comp and First Aid.
• Not bad for 12 athletes in total!

Paul Stevens Junior Club Member of the Year

Emma Carroll

• Emma is a great example of what makes our club great. She has found her niche being a driving force in our Nipper Programme. She does not have a specific role, but we would be lost without her. Every week she is there, sometimes as an Age Manager, sometimes in a water-safety role, sometimes as a proficiency delegate, and sometimes as a mentor to new water safety volunteers.
• Emma coached the U17 first aid team along with Luci Bentley.
• She is also starting her trainers’ certificate in the off-season to take on more Bronze training next season.
• Also, her first aid skills and knowledge are exemplary, and she has responded to numerous incidents this season.
• She is willing to pitch in and get stuff done with a smile.
• Emma is a rare gem!

Michael Hill Memorial Trophy Club Member of the Year

Brendan Capell

Brendan:

• Is the Patrol 2 Vice-Captain and IRB Driver.
• Regularly steps in to fill other patrolling members when away.
• Obtained 92.5 patrol and water safety hours.
• Is a Bronze Medallion Trainer and Gear Steward.
• Provides encouragement to all new Bronze and SRC members and will often take them for a paddle on weekends.
• Provided water safety at the Pool to Peak and Nipper carnivals.
• Organised the SRC camp with Alan Carroll.