When you get more people coming to the

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1 Issue 32 - July 2018 OUR PATROLS ARE KEPT VERY BUSY Members of Whale Beach SLSC, won Branch Rescue of the Year; When you get more people coming to the beach then you are bound to have more rescues and preventative actions. Such was the case during the 2017/18 season when approximately 102,000 more people than in the previous season visited our beautiful northern beaches. Our 5,610 patrolling members undertook some 151,200 patrol hours, keeping safe 3,080 beachgoers and, at just a modest $30 per hour, your patrol service equated to a massive $4.8m. They performed 819 rescues, up 38 on the previous season and two of our clubs, Whale Beach SLSC and North Steyne SLSC, won Branch and SLSNSW Rescue of the Month Awards. There was a big increase in preventative actions, totalling 33,012 5,029 more than the previous season but first aids (total 2,594) were down by 1,168. Our members also completed 9,093 awards and qualifications. I always look forward to our Branch Awards of Excellence. It s a time of celebration and a time when our lifesavers, whether they be patrolling members, trainers, assessors, facilitators, officials or surf sports athletes are honoured. This year we had three new awards Patrol Captain, Patrol of the Year and Young Volunteer. Congratulations to my fellow SNB Branch Director and North Steyne s Tracey Hare-Boyd, Bilgola Patrol 14 and Sophie Rothery (Whale Beach SLSC). The prestigious Westfield Warringah Mall Lifesaver of the Year Award was won by David Price, of Freshwater SLSC. My choice for the President s Award was Matt Molinia, of Dee Why SLSC. I can only describe Matt as a life saving all-rounder. His passion, time, skills and energy is given so freely and generously and across so many functions of our service President s Award: Matt Molina (Dee Why SLSC). It is important to acknowledge our trainers, assessors, facilitators, surf sports officials and support services personnel. Without them, it just wouldn t happen. I would like to thank Darren Warrener for his contribution as Director of Surf Sports for the past four years. He has stood down and now we welcome Louis Tassone in that role. Great news for the Branch is Speedo coming on board as a sponsor of the Interbranch team for three years and we ll soon have a big announcement to make with The International College of Management Sydney (ICMS) as our new major sponsor. I would also like to thank Jason Falinski MP Federal Member for Mackellar, James Griffin MP Member for Manly, Michael Regan Mayor Northern Beaches Council and Candy Bingham Deputy Mayor for attending our Branch Awards of Excellence at Dee Why RSL Club on June 22. Before you know it, our volunteer patrolling members will be back guarding our 21 clubs for another season, starting on September 29. Doug Menzies President

2 SPEEDO BACK INTO THE SURF WITH THE TOP BRANCH THREE-YEAR DEAL AS SWIMWEAR PARTNER Speedo, the world s leading swimwear brand, has joined forces with Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches Branch. In a coup for the branch, Speedo has entered into a three-year deal and the arrangement includes sponsorship of the SNB Interbranch team. It has been well over a decade since Speedo was actively involved in surf life saving, said Graham Eyres, Speedo Australia Brand Manager. This is a new partnership with a branch. In Speedo s 90-year history it would be difficult to say if it was a first. But it is really exciting to make our way back into surf and on the beach and as the official swimwear partner with Sydney Northern Beaches Branch. We wanted to work with Sydney Northern Beaches Branch because we already had links through our ambassadors Kendrick Louis (Manly LSC) and Tahlia Dearden (Freshwater SLSC) and our approach is to build one step at a time through the links we are making. We are looking forward to the future and working with the 21 clubs on the northern beaches. For our ironman ambassador Kendrick Louis to win the Australian title at Scarborough this year in our new surf jammer, which he was integral to developing in year one of its release, is just amazing. REPRESENT AUSTRALIA Kendrick has been wearing Speedo since he was a nipper but became an ambassador in 2016 when he re-focussed on winning ironman events again and we wanted to work with an athlete to develop our new surf swimwear Speedo was on a winner when they chose Kendrick as an ambassador and he has definitely repaid the swimwear company. Louis has been chosen to represent the 12-person Australian team to compete at the Life Saving World Championships in Adelaide from November 16 to December 2. Sydney Northern Beaches CEO Steve McInnes said it was absolutely fantastic to have Speedo on board. Speedo was a sponsor for our Branch Awards of Excellence last year and will be a co-sponsor of the awards for the next three years, he said. This is now a significant partnership. Apart from providing gear for the Branch representative team to compete at the NSW Interbranch Championships at Black Head SLSC on the Lower North Coast on December 8 and 9, the Speedo sponsorship will extend to cover our Junior Lifesaver of the Year as well as provide opportunities for our clubs to purchase their club swimwear at competitive rates as part of the agreement with Speedo. All SNB members will benefit with a permanent 25 percent discount at Speedo s Warringah Mall store and a 20 per cent online discount code for all members. Mr McInnes added that the Branch was hopeful of securing some of Speedo s ambassadors to talk at branch functions down the track. Graham Eyres, Speedo Australia Brand Manager Pictures: Kendrick Louis winning the Aussie ironman and wearing the surf jammer the Eclipse; Tahlia Dearden models Speedo swimwear.

3 MEDAL OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA FOR LOCAL DUO TRISH LEADS THE WAY Trish Newton has been around surf clubs for a big part of her life. She was involved with her kids when they joined nippers at Dee Why SLSC, served as the first female president of Dee Why SLSC but her biggest passion has been heading up the TIPS (Traumatic Incident Peer Support) team for SLS Sydney Northern Beaches Branch. It started back in 1993 with Trish as the founding chair and co-ordinator. Steve Haggett, who has worked with Trish all those years, says if anyone deserved to be awarded the OAM in the Queen s Birthday honours list it was Trish Newton. It (TIPS) is such an extremely valuable service in surf life saving when lifesavers have to deal with critical incidents. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes.trish was so highly qualified to head it up, Steve said. She has done such a magnificent job in this field. Trish said: A big thrill and very honoured. Dee Why stalwart John Ewing wrote on facebook: A very well deserved honour for an amazing lady. Ground breaking in many areas of surf life saving and trauma treatment. FIRST DAD, NOW CHRIS HONOURED How amazing it must be for two members of the same family to be honoured in the Queen s Birthday awards. First, dad Greg Allum received his OAM for service to surf life saving and last month son Chris was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM). Chris is the current head coach at Queenscliff SLSC, is the coach of the Sydney Northern Beaches Branch team, which won the NSW Interbranch Championships, and, like his father before, achieved so much success as a competitor and captained the Australian team. I am so humbled an honoured, he said. There are many who deserve to be nominated. I am a lucky one. Younger brother Hayden said: I always have and always will love watching my brother succeed. Queenscliff member Phil Baird wrote on facebook: You are a great role model for us.

4 THE SNB HONOURS LIST SNB welcomed eight new members to the honour role at the Awards of Excellence presentation. Our new Life Members are - Robbie Williams (Manly LSC), Adrian Hill (Newport SLSC), Stuart Wye (North Curl Curl SLSC), Dennis O Toole (Bilgola SLSC), and Ross Parry (Freshwater SLSC). One Distinguished Service Award was given to Gordon Lang from Palm Beach and former SNB Branch President, and two Outstanding Service Awards were given to Adrienne Lowe from Dee Why SLSC and Jim Shearer fro North Narraben SLSC. Congratulations to all these new awardees. Pictured right; MC s for the evening - Shannon Job (L) and Bailey Dwyer (R) Above Left from left to right - The Hon Jason Falinski, new Life Member Robbie Williams, The Hon James Griffin and President Doug Menzies Above Left from left to right - The Hon Jason Falinski, new Life Member Adrian Hill, The Hon James Griffiin and President Doug Menzies New Life Member - Stuart Wye New Life Member -Dennis O Toole Above Left from left to right - The Hon Jason Fallinski, new Life Member Ross Parry, The Hon James Giffiin and President Doug Menzies Distinguished Service Member - Gordon Lang Outstanding Service Member - Jim Shearer

5 DAVID MAKES UP FOR LOST TIME WITH TOP AWARD David Price could have become a professional tennis player but decided to pursue a career as a solicitor and later as a barrister. He was also into ironman triathlon for a number of years but all that changed when he finally moved closer to the beach. David grew up in country NSW, spent his high school days at Normanhurst and then moved to the Central Coast. He travelled to Sydney to attend university. But life changed when he got married, moved to Allambie Heights and was a stone s throw from the ocean. He chose Freshwater SLSC when his kids decided that they wanted to do nippers. I had spent time on the beach with them so I thought why not go and do my Bronze Medallion and get involved in water safety, he said. I got my bronze in I think the day after that I got roped into becoming involved in the IRB s. It led to crew, becoming a driver and I did the jet ski course with SNB Branch. I did 105 hours on the jet ski last season and 80 patrol hours for Freshwater. I became an IRB trainer and also Bronze trainer. The last thing David expected was to become the SNB Branch Lifesaver of the Year. David said he was astounded when he was announced the winner at the SNB Awards of Excellence at Dee Why RSL Club on June 22. I just thought there were people who were head and shoulders above my achievement, David said. It has certainly been a big year for the Price family. David s daughter Caitlin was rookie Patrol Person of the Year at Freshwater SLSC. She also won the Branch Rescue of the Month Award for March. Caitlin is so heavily involved in surf life saving, said her proud father. FAMILY AFFAIR Joining an elite group to win Young Lifesaver of the Year is Trae Hare-Boyd, from North Steyne SLSC. It was certainly a big night for the Hare- Boyd family at the SNB Awards of Excellence at Dee Why RSL Club on June 22. Trae s mother Tracey won the inaugural Patrol Captain of the Year. Tracey is certainly no stranger to winning awards, either in surf life saving or for her community work. But she rates this one very special. Simply because you are on the beach and you are working together with a patrol. And I have to say I have a great patrol, Tracey said. She is so proud of her son. It was so nice to see him get this award. He does things with a minimum of fuss. Trae also served as an advisor on the Member Services panel for Junior Lifesaver of the Year. He did a remarkable job, Tracey said. Trae and Tracey Hare-Boyd; Young Lifesaver of the Year & Patrol Captain of the Year David Price in the IRB and at his home beach at Freshwater; (Photo: PAUL LEMLIN)

6 FRESHWATER, NORTH STEYNE CELEBRATE IN STYLE Freshwater SLSC and North Steyne SLSC stole the show at the Sydney Northern Beaches Awards of Excellence last month. Not only did Freshwater provide the Lifesaver of the Year in David Price but the club also took out five other awards. Freshwater were Most Outstanding Club, Most Outstanding Club Administration, Most Outstanding Club Member Services, John de Mestre was Masters Athlete, while the Open Female R and R team was Surf Sports Team of the Year. North Steyne SLSC picked up six awards. They won Most Outstanding Club Education, Club president Frank Traugott was Assessor of the Year, David Cowell, Volunteer of the Year for the second year running, Christine Gibbs-Stewart, Administrator of the Year, while Tracey Hare-Boyd and son Trae shared in the glory. Tracey was Patrol Captain of the Year, and son Trae, Young Lifesaver of the Year. On winning Volunteer for a second time, David Cowell said: It is an honour to be recognised for something I love doing each year with a fantastic group of people. It has been very special as we have seen our Ripper Nipper program expand to 36 kids and their families with acceptance and inclusion being such a large part of what we do. As a Patrol Captain, nothing makes me prouder than having my sons on the beach with many of their peers that I have had the privilege as their Nippers Age Manager, see them become exemplary young adults keeping our beach safe and accessible each summer. South Curl Curl SLSC member Mike LeGeyt took out the Facilitator of the Year. Mike was Branch Trainer of the Year the previous season. I started out with Royal Lifesaving Society in Jersey and qualified as a trainer when I was at school, he said. When I moved to Australia in 1998, I joined South Curl Curl when my eldest son Sam started nippers. My wife Jodi and youngest son Alex are also patrolling members and Jodi is also a trainer. Last season I decided to facilitate silver medallion beach management course and the spinal management course, in addition to my chief instructor role at South Curl Curl and assessing at Branch Central Venue assessment. Tim Cuthbert has broken through for his first SNB Branch award Trainer of the Year. Kaz Marks (Bilgola SLSC) has won several awards for her devotion to the surf life saving movement. Just two years ago, Kaz received Outstanding Service to Branch. Now she s Official of the Year for the first time. Kaz says she is focussing more on IRB s these days. Manly s Aussie ironman champion Kendrick Louis won Athlete of the Year, with Newport s Zach Morris, Young Athlete of the Year. Damien Daley, who took up sweeping boats at Queenscliff only 12 months ago, was named Coach of the Year. Photos: VICKI HUSTON David Cowell Volunteer of the Year Natalie Harrison from ICMS presenting Tim Cuthbert the Trainer of the Year Award Frank Traugott Assessor of the Year Mike Le Geyt Facilitator of the Year

7 Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches Branch held their Awards of Excellence at Dee Why RSL Club on June 22. Here are the winners: ICMS Education Awards Trainer of the Year: Tim Cuthbert (Manly) Assessor of the Year: Frank Traugott (North Steyne) Facilitator of the Year: Mike Le Geyt (South Curl Curl) Community Education Program: Youth Networking Program (SNB Member Services, Avalon Beach, Narrabeen Beach, North Steyne) Most Outstanding Club Education: North Steyne SNB AWARD WINNERS Administration Awards Bill Buckle Auto Group Administrator of the Year: Christine Gibbs-Stewart (North Steyne) Dee Why RSL Most Outstanding Club Administration: Freshwater Member Services Awards Northern Beaches Council Young Volunteer: Sophie Rothery (Whale Beach) Rfi Initiative: Patrol Support with North Palm Beach (Palm Beach) Thredbo Services Team: SNB TIPS TEAM URM Volunteer: David Cowell (North Steyne) Westfield Warringah Mall Most Outstanding Club Member Services: Freshwater Speedo Surf Sports Awards Athlete: Kendrick Louis (Manly LSC) Coach: Damien Daley (Queenscliff) Masters Athlete: John de Mestre (Freshwater) Official: Kaz Marks (Bilgola) Surf Sports Team: Open Female R and R team Freshwater Young Athlete: Zach Morris (Newport) Most Outstanding Club Surf Sports: Mona Vale Lifesaving Awards Cancer Institute NSW Patrol of the Year: Bilgola Patrol 14 Dee Why RSL Club Rescue of the Year: Whale Beach, December 2017 Dee Why RSL Club Most Outstanding Club Lifesaving: Palm Beach NSW State Government Patrol Captain: Tracey Hare-Boyd (North Steyne) St George Foundation Young Lifesaver of the Year: Trae Hare-Boyd (North Steyne) Westfield Warringah Mall Lifesaver of the Year: David Price (Freshwater) Bennett Board Overall Carnival Handicap Point Score: Newport Branch Championship Handicap Point Score: Mona Vale Branch Championship Point Score: Newport President s Award: Matt Molinia (Dee Why) Patrol Assessment: Queenscliff Streets Most Improved Club: Palm Beach Streets Most Outstanding Club: Freshwater Life Members: Adrian Hill (Newport), Dennis O Toole (Bilgola), Stuart Wye (North Curl Curl), Ross Parry (Freshwater), Robbie Williams (Manly). Distinguished Service: Gordon Lang (Palm Beach). Outstanding Service: Adrienne Lowe (Dee Why), James Shearer (North Narrabeen)

8 TWO OF OUR BEST RECEIVE HARRY RAGAN AWARD Steve says he was about 36 when he joined Dee Why SLSC. It was time to be a lifesaver, he recalls after movng from Bankstown. In 1995, he was NSW Lifesaver of the Year and, two years later, NSW Volunteer of the Year. Steve just got more and more involved and especially at SNB Branch level. You name it and Steve is it assessor, trainer, instructor, facilitator and a member of the very valuable TIPS team. These days Steve is a member of both North Narrabeen SLSC and Dee Why SLSC. This past season, apart from his other duties, he chalked up 130 hours of patrol duty at North Narrabeen. To say that Steve was surprised when he was declared joint winner of the prestigious Harry Ragan Award for outstanding service, an award chosen by the directors, would be an understatement. I have never won this award before but it certainly a great honour, said Steve. To win it (the award) as a member of both clubs is really nice. It is something you don t expect to win. Steve said he really enjoyed being a Patrol captain at North Narrabeen SLSC. Steve shared the award with North Palm Beach SLSC member and former SNB Director of Lifesaving Geoff Raper. It was just too hard to split, SNB Director of Education Adrienne Lowe said. While they come from completely different areas, they were two outstanding candidates, she said. I have to say we had a lot of outstanding candidates this year. It was such a difficult choice. Geoff Raper was having a chat and laugh with Steve Haggett at the Sydney Northern Beaches Directors Choice Awards at Warriewood SLSC totally unaware that he was to be the recipient of an award. Geoff attended the function as a member of support services and also to catch up with some old faces he hadn t since he stepped aside as SNB Branch Director of Lifesaving. When SNB Director of Lifesaving Glenn Tolan announced Geoff was a joint winner of the Harry Ragan Award for outstanding service, he just couldn t believe it. It came out of leftfield, said Geoff, who just happened to share the award with Steve. A former Branch Lifesaver of the Year and an SNB President s Award winner, Geoff said this one was pretty special. I am not what you d call a trophy hunter but to receive any award in surf lifesaving is a bonus, he said. I just love doing what I do. Geoff certainly hasn t taken a back seat since he relinquished his post as SNB Director of Lifesaving. I m a patrolling member and patrol captain at North Palm Beach SLSC, IRB trainer and IRB trainee assessor, he said. But I do miss it (being director of lifesaving). Top: Steve Haggett with his Harry Ragan Award; Bottom: Kieran Menzies (Middle) with his award and flanked by Glenn Tolan (SNB Director of Lifesaving) and his proud father, SNB Branch President Doug Menzies (right).

9 ADRIAN TAUGHT BY MASTER Adrian Hill feels he is pretty lucky to have not only known the late Ray Brown but also worked with him at the radio base at Fishermans Beach. I was probably about 18 at the time I first met Ray. What better man to learn the trade from. He had such a calming manner, Adrian said. Adrian is this year s winner of the Raymond Matthew Brown Radio Operator s Award. It is such a big honour to to be put in that class, said Adrian. Adrian, a member of Newport SLSC, was also Branch Facilitator of the Year last year. This is the first time he s won the Radio Operator s Award. It was a really busy time with the Digital roll lout last season, first with the testing, then training the clubs and patrol s and there was a lot of time also negotiating with the contractors and SLSNSW. But it s my passion, he said. And to cap off a remarkable season, Adrian was bestowed SNB Branch Life Membership. DEBBIE S SURPRISE Debbie Doyle hasn t been doing competition recording long but she has certainly made a good fist of it. So much so that she is this year s winner of the SNB Directors Choice Cedric T Walton Award for Kieran Menzies has now been involved with jet rescue skis for almost nine years. He was only 18 when he became really interested in them. Kieran, a former Branch Lifesaver of the Year and Clubman of the Year at Newport SLSC, certainly knows the value of the rescue ski in the surf. KIERAN, JET SKI WHIZ competition recording. It s just something I want to learn, she said. I really never thought about awards. I would have expected one of the more experienced ladies to win it. Rhonda (Lycett) did help me a lot. They are the best, he says. The SNB Branch Directors have chosen Kieran as the winner of the Supports Services Award. A great honour and certainly right up there with other awards I have won, he said. Kieran s immediate focus is to help develop more jet ski operators. Kieran Menzies receiving the Supports Services award, pictured with Director of Lifesaving Glenn Tolan (left) and Branch President and Dad - Doug Menzies on the right.

10 NEW SURF SPORTS DIRECTOR IS MAN ON A MISSION LOUIS TASSONE HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS New Sydney Northern Beaches Surf Sports Director Louis Tassone knows there s big challenges ahead for the Branch to keep the sport on an even keel. Louis, who has served on the Board of Surf Sports at Branch for the past five years as the carnival advisor, now takes on the leading role from Darren Warrener. I knew Darren was moving on and I still have a few things I just want to finish off and try and see if I can get them through, Louis said. The biggest concern for the North Curl Curl SLSC stalwart is the dwindling numbers in competition. Five years ago it was about growing the sport. Now it s about surviving, he said. When you look at statistics there are not many sports that are growing. We compete with Little A s in summer and my understanding is that it (athletics) has not grown but stagnated. I was surprised. I guess how long is a piece of string with surf life saving. You can be there forever and still things won t operate the way you want them to but I want to see if I can get them across the line. I want to have a crack. Louis has been SNB Branch Official of the Year four times, SLSNSW Official of the Year and Aussies beach referee for the past two years, his debut on the Gold Coast last year when Cyclone Debbie hit, he described as a logistical nightmare. That was certainly a baptism of fire for me, he said. We knew all about the cyclone coming so it was a case of what do we do. We had done a lot of planning and it was then all about reshuffling the program and moving to Coolangatta. GENERATIONAL THING This year at Aussies, the beach events at Trigg Island went off a lot more smoothly. One of the growing concerns facing the sport is the drop in participation numbers. It is the same across the country and an issue I have been trying to work on for the past four or five years, he said. I remember when my son Christopher ran for the North Curl Curl under 19 beach relay team at Scarborough in 2007 and they came second. There were heats, quarters, semis and the final. Participants have certainly dropped although I must say entries were quite good in Perth this year for the under 19s. Louis insists it s just not surf life saving fighting for competitors. It is sport in general, a generational thing I believe, he said. Here on the northern beaches we have done a lot of work around carnivals and formats. We have rolled out the Fast Fives (craft carnival), which are short, sharp in the opens. They seem to work really well and we want to see if we can tweak that a little bit more. With the nippers, we want to see if split carnivals is the way to go. The reality is that I would prefer to have the water and beach together. Feedback is that we are losing the club team thing by having separate carnivals. When the kids are 9s and 10s we try to write the program where they can do both water and beach. The main reason for the separation is we just don t have the officials. I want to have a look at the whole officiating and how we improve that. We need more parents to put their hand up. We have to find a way to make it more attractive to get parents involved. When I first started out as a nipper parent, we d be at the beach at 7am and not off the beach until 3pm or 4pm. Those days are long gone. Parents just don t have the time anymore. So what we are trying hard to do is find a balance. Finding clubs who want to host carnivals has been the other challenge. The past couple of years, just the pure conditions of the beaches have made it hard to find suitable locations to run a carnival. There may have to be a change in structure how we cost carnivals. That might be something where we can help to improve participation. Make it cheaper for the athletes to go to carnivals. I am not going to change the world but there s no harm having a go. Pictures: Louis Tassone at his beloved North Curl Curl Beach; On official duty and interacting with competitors at this year s Branch Beach Carnival.

11 Top:Naomi Scott; Below: Max Brooks. Pictures: Top left: Kendrick Louis; Middle: Blake Drysdale; Bottom: Jake Lynch; TRIO IN AUSSIE COLOURS It is always the highest honour in sport when you get to represent your country. Manly LSC athletes Kendrick Louis and Naomi Scott will be wearing the Australian colours at this year s Life Saving World Championships in Adelaide from November 16 to December 2, while Newport s Max Brooks represented Australia in the Sanyo Bussan Cup in Japan late last month. Louis, who won the Australian ironman title at Scarborough Beach last April, is in the 12-person open team, while Scott is the lone northern beaches representative in the youth team. Former northern beaches golden girl Georgia Miller is also in the open team but she is no longer with Newport and has joined Queensland powerhouse Northcliffe. Blake Drysdale and Jake Lynch are in the High Performance squad.

12 MENTAL HEALTH TRAINER TALKS TO SURF CLUBS Mental Health is a growing problem in Australia. Statistics show that one in five Australians will experience some form of different mental illnesses in one year. And there are still many people who are afraid to reach out for treatment and care. Lyndsay Smith has been a fulltime Salvation Army Officer for 38 years. But for the past 15 years my role is as Chaplain to Fire and Rescue NSW. I have been a Mental Health First Aid Trainer for about five years now he said. He has provided counselling and referral services to firefighters throughout NSW and, in some cases, to members of the public, who are affected by major incidents. Lyndsay said some people don t reach out for help because there is a lot of shame and stigma. People don t understand what is happening and, for some people, it is a sense I am weak, there is something wrong with me and they don t recognise the real issues they are facing, he said. Surf Life Saving Sydney Northern Beaches has been lucky enough to have Lyndsay run courses on Mental Health issues. It has now been opened up to the clubs, he said. It is really about giving some understanding of Mental Health issues as we face pretty much on a daily basis and, hopefully with some understanding will come a level of confidence that will enable us to have conversations with people and provide them Mental Health First Aid when they are experiencing some issues in their life. Lyndsay ran a course at SNB Headquarters at Warriewood last month and there will be a second course at the same venue on August 19 and 26. Contact jen@surflifesaving.net.au for more details on the August course. Pictures: Top: Mental Health First Aid trainer Lyndsay Smith; and people who attended last month s course.

13 ELLIOTT S DRONE SHOT LIKED MOST ON FACEBOOK Elliott Hunt took the shots with a drone, while his good friend Michael Bernerius arranged the shoot. Michael, who rows for the North Steyne open men s crew Nomads asked Elliott to take some shots of his crew while training at Dee Why before the Aussies in Perth. Eliiott s shot won the SLS Sydney Northern Beaches photographic competition, with the Manly Daily and Westfield Warringah Mall as the competition partners. Westfield provided $80 gift vouchers to eight weekly winners but the big prize was a $1000 gift voucher to the overall winner. This year s competition was decided by LIKES on the facebook pages of SLSSNB, Manly Daily and Westfield Warringah Mall sites. I thought the standard was fantastic. There were some incredible shots there by both local and professional photographers, Andrew Wolfe, Marketing Manager at Westfield Warringah Mall, said. The concept of likes on facebook, I think is really good. It gives the community and opportunity to engage with the photos rather than having a panel of judges. Ultimately it s done to reward the community. Who better to judge them. Elliott and Michael have known each other for about 10 years, meeting at Mosman Rowing Club. I am coaching there now but I still keep in touch with Michael, Elliott said. When he heard about the competition, he asked me if I d come and take some shots of his crew training. I have been into drones for about two years but photography coming up to seven years now. He s the one who found the competition. I wouldn t have entered without him. Of course, he gets half the prize. Pictures: Top: Michael Bernerius and Elliott Hunt return to Dee Why Beach; Right: the winning photo.

14 Here are the eight winners of this year s Manly Daily-Westfield Warringah Mall photographic competition. Each winner received an $80 gift voucher from Westfield Warringah Mall, while the winner received a $1000 gift voucher. The weekly competition winners and overall winner was decided by likes across the facebook sites of SLS Sydney Northern Beaches, Manly Daily and Westfield Warringah Mall. Winners were: Debra Allison Steve Dube Rowan Jacob Paul Lemlin Angela Osbon Michael Bernerius and Elliott Hunt Francis Whitfield Tom Matthews The overall winners were Michael Bernerius and Elliott Hunt for their drone shot of a North Steyne surfboat crew at Dee Why.

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