LIFEGUARD SNIPPETS
Lifeguards vie for most beautiful Lifeguards Anthony "Harries" Carroll (Waverley), Hayden Quinn (Warringah) and lifesaver and Ironman champion Ky Hurst joined a star-studded line-up including Luke Jacobz of X-Factor, House Husbands’ Firass Dirani, Dancing with the Stars’ Carmelo Pizzino, and Manly NRL winger, David "Wolfman" Williams in the final of the Celebrity Men’s Health Man competition in December. The competition was won by Australian Wallaby player Adam Ashley-Cooper. Carroll, who had given himself the best odds of taking out the competition, was unable to be contacted for comment, with his manager saying he was still too distraught to speak publicly.
Ironman Ky Hurst and Waverley Council lifeguard Anthony "Harries" Carroll at the Celebrity Men’s Health Man competition final
DROWNING PROMPTS PETITION TO NSW COUNCIL A Sydney council is being petitioned to improve beach safety following the drowning of a young boy in January at Dolls Point Beach in Rockdale, in southern Sydney. Locals are calling on Rockdale City Council to close the beach and erect warning signs, with more than 4,000 people signing a petition on change.org. In a statement released on facebook, the council said there had been constant changes to the beach through erosion and sand build-up along the 8.2km of beachfront on Botany Bay since the construction of the third runway at Sydney Airport. "The shifting sand has worsened since the expansion of Port Botany and the construction of the desalination plant and its associated pipelines that run across the bed of the bay," the statement said.
Kingscliff trial lifeguards keeping busy Seaside fun has been a safer this summer at Kingscliff, NSW, with a lifeguard trial keeping an eye out for locals and tourists alike. Northern NSW ALS lifeguard coordinator Scott McCartney said they've seen strong crowds every day since the trial commenced. Mr McCartney said the lifeguard service is much-needed in North Kingscliff, especially over summer when neighbouring holiday parks are full to the brim with holiday makers. Mr McCartney said he hopes the trial — a joint venture between the ALS NSW and Tweed Shire Council — could evolve into a more permanent agreement, at least for the Christmas period. "The council does a great job of keeping the Tweed Coast patrolled," Mr McCartney said. "But there's always limited funding." Mr McCartney said they would be taking the statistics to council when the trial finishes in a week and a half.
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Eco-friendly shark nets to be installed at Coogee Beach
W
estern Australia has announced that its first shark net will be installed at Coogee Beach after the City of Cockburn approved a trial recently. But this isn’t just any shark net, these are eco-friendly Shark Exclusion Nets.
The council which has debated two other shark net proposals in previous years, granted approval to the plan put forward by WA company Eco-Barriers Pty Ltd. It is understood the nets consist of tens of thousands small floating modules made of nylon, with 13,000 interlocking pieces creating an underwater plastic wall. A combination of pylons, anchors, ropes and floats would be used to secure the formed plastic barrier in place. Coogee Beach has been selected as the preferred site for the trial despite there being no attacks at the beach since records began in the 1800s.