Congratulations on your new Club Surf Sports Officer role! You are the glue that will hold your club coaches, officials and special event volunteers together. As such, a little bit of knowledge will go a long way to ensuring your success.
What To Expect In Your Role of Surf Sports Officer
Role Description
Click here to view a role description that your club may customise to meet local surf sport requirements.
Please note that your role may have a different role title at your local SLSC.
What Do You Need To Do And When?
Timeline of Priorities
Download the Timeline of Priorities for a list of considerations for each calendar month that includes some of the key tasks we see as crucial for the smooth running of your club. You can add or subtract from this timeline as necessary.
Below is a high-level summary of what tasks you need to perform.
| During patrol season (September – April) | Off- Patrol Season (May – August) |
| Collate and submit surf sports team and event paperwork to branch as required. | Attend and lead surf sports pre-season meetings. |
| Coordinate junior competition skills evaluations. | Monitor club financials. |
| Ensure competitors are compliant with patrol hour requirements. | Participate in professional development. |
| Monitor club financials. | Review and schedule the sports year. |
| Submit entries for major surf sport competitions. | Submit special event applications – aim to submit at least 1 month prior. |
| Support your Coaches and Officials and say thank you to all surf sport team members and participants. | Succession plan and submit feedback to branch. |
| Support your Coaches and Officials with reaccreditation and say thank you to all surf sport team members and participants. |
Who Can Help You?
The below table summarises the key people that can assist you at every level of the SLS organisation.
These key people may be current or previous holders of the role as noted in SLS annual reports.
Club Level |
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| Club Board Members | Club Board members are available to assist with advice and support.
Refer to your Surf Life Saving Club website or annual report for names. Refer to SurfGuard for contact details. |
| Club Life Members | Life Members have a wealth of information to assist you to make informed decisions.
Refer to your Surf Life Saving Club website or annual report for names. Refer to SurfGuard for contact details. |
| Club Management Team Members | Work with your existing Club Management Team members. They can answer enquiries, assist with projects or point you in the right direction of where to find information.
For example, the Club President, Surf Sports Officer, Chief Training Officer, Club Director of Lifesaving, Administrator. Refer to your Surf Life Saving Club website or annual report for names. Refer to SurfGuard for contact details. |
| Other Surf Sports Officers in Your Region | You can also reach out to local club Surf Sport Officers to share some key learnings.
Refer to the SLSNSW Club Directory for club contact details. |
Branch Level |
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| Branch Director of Surf Sports | The Branch Director of Surf Sports can assist you in understanding your role and provide information and updates from SLSNSW and SLSA. These may include changes to policies and procedure or operations. They can answer enquiries, assist with projects or point you in the right direction of where to find information.
Refer to the SLSNSW Branch Directory for branch contact details. |
SLSNSW |
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| SLSNSW Director of Surf Sports | They collate feedback from surf sports positions at branch and club levels to lead and champion change within NSW. They represent SLSNSW branches and clubs at a national level and assist with surf sport matters within NSW.
Visit the Surf Life Saving NSW website to find your local contact in the Development Team. |
| SLSNSW Surf Sports Manager | They collate feedback from surf sport positions at lower organisational levels and monitor changing industry requirements to lead organisational change at a state level, e.g., policy and procedure changes.
Contact details are available on the SLSNSW website. |
| SLSNSW Surf Sports Team | They can answer enquiries, assist with projects or point you in the right direction of where to find information.
This team includes:
Contact details are available on the SLSNSW website. |
SLSA |
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| SLSA IT Helpdesk | The SLSA IT Helpdesk is available to support you with using SLS applications and systems, such as SurfGuard, SEMS and Carnival Manager.
Log a support ticket or provide feedback at: http://support.sls.com.au |
What Platforms Do You Need To Be Familiar With?
There are several different platforms you need to be familiar with in your role at your Surf Life Saving Club.
Click the links below to note the key ones to be aware of and what they are used for.
There is also the SLSA Online Payment Gateway that administrators may use to accept payments for goods and services and help your club avoid the need for the purchasing an EFTPOS machine.
What Resources Do You Need To Be Familiar With?
The SLSNSW Club Guide is the key document that you need to familiarise yourself with as it can assist you with completing some of the day to day tasks in your role.
SLSNSW has created a dynamic list of resources that are useful for club management team members to be aware of. The list is in an excel sheet with tabs organised into document categories and contains links to the resources it references such as:
- Circulars
- Memorandums
- Bulletins
- Guides
- Publications
- Toolkits and information packs
- Templates
- Forms and checklists
- Online Training
- External organisation resources
Note: This list is reviewed annually by SLSNSW so be sure to note the date is was last updated.