Surf Life Saving Cornwall. Vigilance and Service

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1 Surf Life Saving Cornwall Vigilance and Service Annual Report 2013

2 Surf Life Saving Cornwall Region Officers President Chairman Vice Chairman Treasurer Secretary Sport Commission Region Life Saving Officer Region Commission Disciplinary Rep. Tim Higham Nigel Bowden Adrian Parsons Nikki Kendall Diane Green David Green Alex Bowden Diane Green Rob Phillips Affiliated Clubs Bude Crantock Crackington Haven Falmouth Gunwalloe Gyllngvase Harlyn Hayle Holywell Bay Lusty Glaze Mullion Newquay Perranporth Polzeath Porthtowan Portreath St Agnes St Ives Tintagel Watergate Bay Whitsand Bay

3 Presidents Report 2013 It is the time of the year when we must reflect on the activities of the past year. Owing to circumstances I have not been as active as I should like to have been, but have been kept abreast of all that has been happening within surf lifesaving. I would like to congratulate all those who have been involved with lifesaving both in gaining qualifications and providing backup to the RNLI lifeguards. It is gratifying to know that our working relationship with the RNLI appears to be working amicably. Competitions have again this year been well attended. The nipper section has once again proven to be popular amongst the children and parents alike. Like many other organisations we are finding it difficult to maintain interest through to senior membership. The open competitions have been well supported by masters but I should like to see more of the younger generation contesting in the open events. However our total membership has remained fairly constant. With the horrific weather we have experienced during the past few months I do hope clubs have not suffered too much damage. With the very rough and high tides the beach profiles and geography of our beaches has changed quite dramatically. This is sure to present many different tidal conditions than we have previously experienced and I would stress great vigilance will be needed this coming season in order to maintain our excellent beach safety record. On behalf of the membership i extend our thanks to the officers and committee for all the voluntary work they have carried out during the past year, much of this work beyond the call of duty, I am sure the committee would appreciate more help with the organising of events It has been an honour to have been president of Surf Lifesaving Cornwall for some time now and feel it is time for a new face to take the helm. I would encourage anyone who feels as passionately as I do about surf lifesaving to submit their name for nomination at the AGM. Tim Higham President SLS Cornwall 11 th March 2014.

4 2013 Chairman s Report I find it hard to believe that yet another year has gone by, and we are already looking forward to next summer. Over the last few years my reports have always started with the summer never really got started well I can t say that about the summer of 2013, as it must have been one of the hottest for a few years. There is always a lot of hard work going on throughout the year, and I would like to thank everyone for their effort and support, which makes Cornwall the Region it is today. There has been a drop off in clubs attending the monthly meeting, which is a little concerning as we need the voice of all our member clubs and not just a few. I would like to think that we can engage with more members to become involved with sub committees and start supporting our clubs and events where ever we can. Along with the Region we must also look at the National Commissions which should be the driving force behind everything we do, but we as a region are no longer attending these groups in number and I feel our input is needed as we need to be involved with the development of our organisation. We are lucky to have some strong people sitting on these commissions and between me and Diane we chair two out of the three, we do need more support. The income of the region at the moment relies on its sport events, which needs to be addressed with us looking at more grants funding which will help us setup support packages for the clubs. One good example of this approach came to fruition in 2013 when myself, Diane Green and Dave Parker worked on an Awards For All / Big Lottery grant application. At the heart of our application was a plan to renew and revitalise the Region s IRB (Inshore Rescue Boat) capability. We developed & articulated a carefully argued case that resulted in a successful application and an award for the full 10,000, so this year there will be a new Arancia 388 boat shipped from New Zealand, along with trailer, a new Tohatsu Surf engine and ancillary rescue support kit was the first time in 14 years I have missed a Nipper event which I apologise, but being invited to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace and being presented to Prince Phillip and the Graduation of my son in Cumbria I didn t think many would mind. Everyone pulled together and both events and they were both a great success, but I think this highlighted the need to have an organising committee to arrange and setup each event. The Cornish Champs to me is still the best event on the calendar (and I go to a lot of events) and this year was no different with some fantastic racing and banter. I would like to thank the club s on behalf of the Region who hosted the event: Harlyn SLSC Max Hocking St Ives SLSC - Cornish Nipper Championships Holywell Bay Cornish Championships Looking forward to 2014; which will be a long session ending with Rescue 2014 at Montpellier in France, which I would like to whish every success to all the Club s, competitor and officials attending. Nigel Bowden Chairman surf Life Saving Cornwall

5 2013 Lifesaving Report Alex Bowden (RLSO) As we conclude yet another successful year for our region, I am pleased to say I can look back over my second year as RLSO at the outstanding results of our Lifesaving Clubs and Approved Training Centres. After getting my geek on with the MIS, over 272 courses we submitted between January and December, of which only 7 were not approved by myself or SLSGB HQ. However as a Lifesaving Governing Body, I have chosen to focus on the total number of Lifeguard Awards (Surf, Beach and Inland Waters). I am very pleased to say that of the 272 total courses that were submitted to me last year, 98 were for either new Lifeguards or Proficiencies; allowing our fine Trainer Assessors to produce 408 Lifeguards (about 4 a course). Bude Surf Life Saving Club, one of our country s oldest clubs (I try not to get into the debate), topped the table for total number of trained lifeguards from a lifesaving club with a total of 56 Lifeguards. This was however topped by the guys at Harlyn Surf School (Approved Training Centre), adding 3 more to the total with 59 Lifeguards trained/retrained. But what other key lifesaving moments did our region have. Well here is a quick look back at the past year: March 22 nd 24 th : National Youth Leadership Camp (Perranporth) March 23 rd and 24 th : National Update (Perranporth) June 15 th : St Agnes SLSC member Howard Davey rescues surfer in trouble June 25 th : Falmouth SLSC youth members rescue an injured kayaker November 5 th : Hayle training session turns rescue December 7 th and 8 th : Inland Waters Awareness Course runs at Hayle Whether it is delivering a course, competing in an event or making a rescue, Cornwall does it best. I can happily look back over the past two years, seeing our region develop and grow and say a massive well done to you all for your hard work and outstanding achievements. Keep up the great work, and I look forward with working with you all next year. Alex Bowden Regional Life Saving Officer (Cornwall)

6 Overall Region Club Competition Aggregate for 2013 Taken over 5 events Portreath SLSC 482 St Ives SLSC 319 Newquay SLSC 300 Gyllngvase SLSC 278 Hayle SLSC 267 Holywell Bay SLSC 227 Perranporth SLSC 114 Polzeath SLSC 92 St Agnes SLSC 65 Holywell Bay SLSC 82 Bude SLSC 43 Harlyn SLSC 40 Watergate Bay SLSC 9 Porthtowan SLSC 6 Lusty SLSC 5 Surf Life Saving Cornwall Competition Results for 2013 Nipper Stillwater Championship Nipper Ocean Championship 1st St Ives SLSC 698 1st St Ives SLSC 718 2nd Portreath SLSC 338 2nd Gyllngvase SLSC 716 3rd Gyllngvase SLSC 321 3rd Newquay SLSC 500 Youth Ocean Championship Male Female 1st Portreath SLSC 529 1st Portreath SLSC 500 2nd Hayle SLSC 186 2nd Newquay SLSC 225 3rd Polzeath SLSC 179 3rd Hayle SLSC 220 Total 1st Portreath SLSC nd Hayle SLSC 406 3rd Newquay SLSC 382

7 Masters Ocean Championship Male Female 1st Newquay SLSC 270 1st Portreath SLSC 156 2nd Holywell Bay SLSC 236 2nd Crantock SLSC 155 3rd Portreath SLSC 152 3rd Portreath SLSC 141 Total 1st Portreath SLSC 334 2nd Newquay SLSC 318 3rd Holywell Bay SLSC 282 Cornwall Ocean Championship Male Female 1st Portreath SLSC 254 1st Hayle SLSC 92 2nd Newquay SLSC 104 2nd Holywell bay SLSC 55 3rd Perranporth SLSC 98 3rd Portreath SLSC 54 Total 1st Portreath SLSC 308 2nd Hayle SLSC 141 3rd Holywell Bay SLSC 124 Review of 2013 Cornish Competitions Nippers The Nipper numbers are still growing each and it was felt that St Ives Pool was a maximum for numbers at the Nipper Stillwater; it was decided to change the venue and use electronic timing for The Cornish Nipper Champs was a great weekend again at Carbis Bay, but again we are outgrowing the beach for this event and changes need to be put in place for 2014 to allow the event to run more smoothly. Max Hocking Fun Day was held at Harlyn Bay which was a new venue for many Nippers. A great day with the event being run by the newly qualified officials. Cornish Champs A great event at Holywell Bay, the Club did a fantastic job at organising the weekend. Our Youth competitors are thriving but we are still struggling with Open and Master numbers especially the ladies. Many thanks to all the clubs that hosted events and to all the Officials and Helpers who gave up their time

8 Secretary Report I was invited to attend the Visit Cornwall Tourism Awards presentation evening in November, it was a great event at the Headland Hotel, Newquay. Part way through the evening it was announced that a special award was being made in recognition of the outstanding contribution to Tourism in Cornwall, holiday surveys feedback suggest that safety is high on the list of family holidays and that visitors appreciated the work done by lifeguards on the beaches in Cornwall. To my surprise this award was presented jointly to the RNLI and Surf Life Saving Cornwall, we went onto the stage to receive the award and had a standing ovation from all the businesses in Cornwall. The significance of this award that it was a joint one that appreciated the work done by clubs in training the lifeguards for voluntary patrols and professional employment, and that we have been recognised for this by the businesses involved in Tourism. The following statement was sent to the press: OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO TOURISM Friday, November 08, 2013 Western Morning News Beaches are one if not the biggest assets and draws for Cornwall, whether used as base for swimming, surfing, kite-surfing, paddle-boarding or kayaking, or as a playground for beach games, walking, and entertainment. The lifeguards are at the heart and soul of delivering safe experiences and when things go wrong are there to save lives, enhancing the reputation of Cornwall and Cornish tourism. The lifeguards of our beaches are all too often the saviors of local people on a day out or staying visitors, but in many ways are also safeguarding our reputation and our industry. Therefore we wish to thank and recognize their efforts and achievements by awarding the outstanding contribution to tourism award 2013 to the RNLI and Surf Lifesavers of Cornwall. Regards Diane Green Hon. Secretary

9 SLSGB Region Commission I have attended the Management meetings at SLSGB and also some of the Board meetings. The regions within SLSGB all work in different ways and there is still a lack of communication between the members of this commission. With changes in staff at SLSGB at the end of 2013 and the Board taking a more active role we really need to get the commissions working in the way they were intended. It is important for our regions members to come forward and have an input in our Association especially in the Life Saving and Sport Commissions. As you can see from the following statistics Surf Lifesaving Cornwall has the greatest number of members but we have very little input on decisions that are made and this does need to be addressed. This chart shows that Cornwall has more than twice the number of members than any other Region. Comparing the Nipper and Youth numbers to our Senior members illustrates the huge amount of work our clubs put in to training the young members in our organisation.

10 IRB Officer 2013 report. Cornwall region inshore rescue you boat report 2013/14 I feel IRBs in Cornwall has turned a corner this year, as we have received lots of new boats throughout the region, through the awards for all grants. Sparking more interest within clubs and hopefully stopping the drop off of club members, from 16 years of age up within the association. This is a great piece of equipment that can be a good asset for clubs. We have recently held a IRB taster day at Hayle which was attended by clubs from all round the county. We intend to run a lot more days throughout the year, hopefully every month if possible. This will help with the training within clubs and make sure we are setting the right standard and sharing experience, we intend to have different themes, with the involvement of kite surfers for rescues and to explain about their kit, using the event swim cans so crews are happy to lay the course in different conditions, without the pressure of the event starting. At the moment we have two regional IRBs, with a possible third if our lottery grant is successful. Surf life saving GB have said we can use their engines for training purposes, which is good for us and the engines and the engines as they have a run. We now have log books and equipment which is allocated to the regional boats, these will monitored to make sure the IRBs are being use correctly and equipment is not misplaced. I find it hard to monitor the IRBs at their present location (Perranporth) as I haven't got a key for the lock up. Maybe we could look at different locations throughout the county may be spread them out, as long as they are looked after. I am happy to stand again if required Dave Parker Cornwall IRB officer

11 Surf Lifesaving Cornwall Income and Expenditure Account For the year ending 31 st December 2013 Cornwall Team CAF Sponsorship Club Affiliation Fees Regional Champs Sundries- IRB income , Expenses IRB Insurance Meeting Pool Hire Medals Max Hocking T Shirts Equipment (inc repair to) Admin , Profit of Income over Expenditure 6, Opening Bank Balance at 1st January , Profit of Income over Expenditure 6, Closing Bank Balance 31st December , Nikki Kendall Treasurer

12 Surf Life Saving Cornwall Assets Gear Trailer containing: 2 spinal boards Buoys and anchors 12 stop watches Competition flags and stands Obstacle gates & manikin Sprint Lane ropes 2 IRB s Tape and stakes for crowd Laptop and case control Bibs and Tags Laser printer Banners Laminator 6 radios and chargers Projector Marquee Megaphone Finance: our accounts are looking healthy but we do need to replace some of the Region Gear and purchase some new items to help run the events and try and subsidise some courses. In October a Wish List was prepared: Competitions 4 radios already purchased 1 I-pad for finishes on the beach, the trialling this year has been successful. A tablet to record results where we do not have a power supply. Hi-vis jackets for all beach helpers /officials Lanyards and identity card for team managers and officials. A generator plus a water urn to make us more self sufficient at events. New feathered flags to show who we are. New tent branded SLS Cornwall and what we do. Life Saving I-gel packs and Manikin for clubs to use in training. De-fib trainer If we are successful with the IRB bid we will have to put approx towards it. The Region would like to run some IRB courses. Run Train the Trainer courses need a minimum of 6 on a course. Coaching courses. Encourage more Assessors.