Brunswick SLSC Patrol Captain, Simon Ceglinski has been recognised for more than two decades of passionate and dedicated service to the movement by the Rotary Districts of NSW, taking out the Surf Life Saving NSW category at the annual Rotary Emergency Service Community Awards (RESCA).
The Far North Coast lifesaver leads frontline patrols, coordinates beach operations, and ensures public safety through strong risk management and team leadership. Away from the coastline, he played a significant role during the 2022 floods, coordinating community networks to establish evacuation support.
While all the nominees were worthy winners, Simon was named ahead of South Coast Duty Officer and Branch Director of Education, Josh Douglas, Bondi SBLSC trainer, Mason Kemeny, and fellow Far North Coast lifesaver at the neighbouring club to the south, Byron Bay, in Daniela Berti Carrabs.
Simon follows in the footsteps of some great Central Coast surf lifesavers from recent years – Dean Tetley and Mollie Murphy, both from Umina SLSC, picked up the last two category wins for Surf Life Saving NSW.
Other outstanding lifesavers recognised in recent years include North Bondi SLSC and Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman, Stewart Bailey – the SLSNSW winner two years ago – while Morgan Clarke from Woonona SLSC was both the SLSNSW and Overall winner in 2023.
Meanwhile, a deserving volunteer lifesaver was once again awarded the Dorothy Hennessy OAM Youth Scholarship – Narooma SLSC’s Kane Doull won the prestigious award.
“I got a phone call at the start of June saying I’d been nominated and I wasn’t able to tell anyone until the end of June, but I broke that basically straight away when I told mum,” he said with a laugh.
“It was a great awards night and really good to see that the recognition is there for all age groups and emergency service organisations.”
Kane will receive $1,000 towards further training and educational materials to assist in continuing his lifesaving journey.
Sunday 26 July 2026