An unusual summer

Ōrewa Surf Life Saving Club has been an integral part of the Hibiscus Coast community for over 70 years, providing vital surf lifesaving services to the community. This year we have had a summer like no other experienced in a very long time.

The season started with the club coaching 200 primary school students on how to be savvy in the surf and has lately seen the club Search and Rescue (SAR) teams on standby due to extreme cyclonic weather conditions, ready to assist those suffering flood damage.

Club President, John Chapman says ‘When the call comes, we have trained and capable teams of life guards ready to immediately respond to any emergency situation, at any time of the day or night.’

Unfortunately, Orewa Beach has been closed by Council on a number of occasions through the summer because of poor water quality. This is frustrating for all beach users, including life guards.

John says ‘Often life guards cop flak from beach users because of the restrictions. I’d like to say that the life guards do not make these decisions. Our job is only to explain the dangers and risks. It is up to individuals how they treat the advice they receive from life guards.’

Beach closures also impact on our ability to run our youth training and development programmes, which is very frustrating for those involved.

‘Surf life saving competitions throughout the season have been disrupted or cancelled altogether due to adverse weather conditions. These competitions provide opportunities for surf lifeguards to develop important surf lifesaving skills that are used in real life rescue emergencies.’

Questions have been asked about the planned surf lifesaving community hub and the coastal erosion currently being experienced at the beach. John would like to assure the public that the proposed building location is set to address the impacts of coastal erosion and tidal inundation over time. That includes the life guard operations building, which is designed to be relocatable.