Surf Life Saving NSW is pleased to advise that the 2022 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, proudly supported by Your local club, is set to be held on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
With the exact locations yet to be confirmed, in-principle agreements have been reached with the Northern Beaches Council and a number of SLSCs in the Branch. Queenscliff SLSC has led on preparing a proposal to host, with support from other clubs in the area and SLSNSW met with the Council this week to discuss the submission. The Northern Beaches Council will meet next week to consider the proposal and pending a final agreement, work will begin almost immediately on planning and logistics for next year’s event.
The NSW Championships is the largest surf event of its kind in the state and in many years it attracts more competitors than the Aussies. The event delivers a massive economic boost to the host region, in the order of $10M each year.
For the last five years, the Championships has been successfully held at Swansea Belmont with fantastic support from the Lake Macquarie City Council and major sponsor, Your local club.
“The NSW Surf Life Saving Championships celebrate volunteer surf lifesavers and the fantastic work they do in keeping our beaches and waterways safe,” said CEO of ClubsNSW, Josh Landis.
“We are thrilled to hear that the Northern Beaches will host the 2022 championships and look forward to seeing all the action unfold. Registered clubs have been supporting Surf Life Saving for over 100 years and that support will be on full display right throughout the competition.”
With the move to a metropolitan area, the number of competitors could increase beyond the usual 6,500 and the contribution of hundreds of officials and volunteer workforce will be more important than ever. Covid restrictions this year forced the Championships to be conducted over four separate weekends and split locations. It is yet to be determined if this will be the case in 2022, or if the event will return to a 10-day block.
President of Surf Life Saving NSW, George Shales OAM, thanked the Northern Beaches Council, Sydney Northern Beaches Branch and SNB clubs for offering their support to host the Championships in 2022.
“An event on this scale just doesn’t happen overnight and it takes an army of volunteers to ensure we deliver the very best competition experience for our members,” said George Shales.
“I want to congratulate the Northern Beaches Council for having the foresight to see that hosting events like these delivers uplifts in terms of tourism, boosts opportunities for local businesses and is something the whole community can feel part of.”
Further details on dates and locations for various competition events will be available soon.
It is expected the host agreement will be for a multi-year period.
Thursday 18 March 2021