Welcome to the Far North Coast Branch


Date	Description	Location	Notes



16	Surf Guard Training	Alstonville Public School	Education
22	Far North Coast Branch Education Day	Contact : Brian Lewis	Education
29	Patrol Equipment Scrutineering	Clubs advised of time	Life Saving
30	Patrol Equipment Scrutineering	Clubs advised of time	Life Saving



5^{th &}6^th	SARX Search & Rescue Exercise	Ballina	Jet Boat Service
5^th	Patrol Equipment Scrutineering	Clubs advised of time	Life Saving
6^th	Patrol Equipment Scrutineering	Clubs advised of time	Life Saving
6^th	Silver Medallion / Emergency Care Course	Byron Bay	Education
7^th (Mon)	Ballina Jet Boat General Meeting	Ballina RSL Club 6pm	Jet Boat Service
14th (Sun)	RWC Proficiency	Contact Brian Dell / Garry Meredith	Jet Boat Service
15^th	Branch General Meeting	Lennox Head
19^th (Sat)	RWC Proficiency	Contact Brian Dell / Garry Meredith	Jet Boat Service
19^th.	N.S.W Endurance Championships	Cronulla
19^th	Craft Carnival	Yamba



3^rd.	Raising the Flags	Lennox Head
3^rd.	Patrol Season Commences	All Clubs	Life Saving
3^rd.	Dolphin Classic	Northcliffe
4^th.	Silver Medallion Beach Management	Byron Bay
10^th.	JAC Youth Meeting	Lennox Head
12^th (Mon)	Ballina Jet Boat General Meeting	Ballina RSL Club 6pm
17^th.	North Coast Boat Series (rd1)	Cudgen
18^th.	Coolangatta Gold	Gold Coast
20^th.	Branch General Meeting	Lennox Head
24^th.	U/10-U/17 Endurance Carnival	Lennox Head	Surf Sports
25^th.	U/12-U/17 Youth Carnival	Lennox Head	Surf Sports
31^st.	North Coast Boat Series (rd2)	Red Rock
31^st.	Cudgen Classic	Cudgen	Surf Sports



1^st.	North Coast Boat Series (rd3)	Red Rock
2^nd (Mon)	Ballina Jet Boat General Meeting	Ballina RSL Club 6pm	Jet Boat Service
8^th.	JAC Youth Carnival	Yamba
15^th.	Senior Carnival	Evans Head
17^th.	Branch General Meeting	Lennox Head
21^st/22^nd.	North Coast Boat Series (rd4)	Scotts Head
22^nd.	Senior Carnival	Cudgen
28^th/29^th.	Coffs Craft Carnival	Coffs Harbour
28^th.	Level 1 Competition Officials Course	Evans Head	Education
29^th.	JAC Youth Carnival	Evans Head



5^th.	Level 1 Competition Officials Course	Byron Bay
6^th.	JAC Youth Carnival	Byron Bay.
7^th (Mon)	Ballina Jet Boat General Meeting	Ballina RSL Club 6pm	Jet Boat Service
12^th.	JAC Youth Meeting	Lennox Head
12^th/13^th.	N.S.W State Inter Branch Championships	Cape Hawke
19^th	North Coast Boat Series (rd5)	Coffs Harbour
27^th.	Ocean Swim	Yamba



9^th.	Brunswick Masters	Brunswick Heads	Surf Sports
9^th/10^th.	North Coast Boat Series (rd6)	Urunga
10^th.	JAC Youth Carnival	Fingal
15/16/17	Country Championships	South West Rocks
19^th.	Branch General Meeting	Lennox Head
30^th.	North Coast Boat Series (rd7)	Wauchope BH
30^th/31^st	F.N.C.Youth Championships	Lennox Head



7^th.	Branch Masters / Inter Club Championships	Lennox Head.	Surf Sports
13^th	JAC Youth Meeting	Lennox Head
13^th.	North Coast Boat Series (rd8)	Woolgoolga
16^th.	Branch General Meeting	Lennox Head
19^th/20^th/21^st	N.S.W.State Age Championships	Swansea Belmont
25^th	N.S.W.State Masters Championships	Swansea Belmont
26^th/27^th/28^th	N.S.W State Inter Club Championships	Swansea Belmont



06	North Coast Boat Series (final)	Yamba.
05 / 06 / 07	Queensland State Championships	Kurrawa
16 / 17	Australian Masters	Kurrawa
18 - 21	Australian Inter Club Championships	Kurrawa



17^th/18^th.	Australian IRB Championships	Penguin (Tasmania)
20^th.	Branch General Meeting	Lennox Head.

“Why do Lifesavers compete in Surf Carnivals?

Apart from the renowned camaraderie of surf lifesaving and surf lifesaving competition, there are many reasons lifesavers compete (and officiate) at carnivals. For a start, to compete at any level, lifesavers must train. That makes them fitter and stronger, making them better lifesavers Most lifesaving patrols on the beach consist of members with various skills and skill levels.

The Patrol Captain uses people with the skills most fitted to the situation - such as the best swimmer being called on to swim out to someone in trouble. You wouldn’t be surprised to find the best swimmer is usually the person who competes in surf swimming events at carnivals. Similarly, the best board paddler is often the person who competes in board and ski events.

You might ask what skills a boat rower can bring to a surf patrol now that boats have been almost entirely replaced by powered inshore rescue boats. Once again, the boat rowers must be physically very fit and train for many hours a week to achieve their strength and endurance levels. So in patrols on the beach those fitness levels and strength can be very valuable in a rescue situation.

Competition at carnivals has another major benefit for the patrol on the beach; to be eligible to compete at carnivals, every lifesaver has to complete a minimum number of patrol hours. Most lifesavers do far in excess of the minimum requirements as part of their normal patrol rosters but they all know that they have to be on the beach, as part of a patrol if they wish to compete.

This makes the Patrol Captain’s job that much easier, knowing that he or she has the required resources to protect the public on the beach. Even when there is a major carnival on, every club is required to keep a full strength patrol on the beach – again, to ensure that the public is protected. In fact, if for some reason a club does not maintain their patrol numbers on the beach, the competitors can be withdrawn by the referee and sent back to their own beach. The obligation to provide patrols is much more important to surf lifesaving than competing.”