A relatively young club with a firm eye on the future, Towradgi Surf Life Saving Club has a strong focus on family and fostering their healthy contingent of junior members.

The club was formed in 1947 as a breakaway of Corrimal SLSC by members Jack Wilson, Jim Edwards, Eric Blain and Joe Nubley, Towradgi publicity officer Val Zanotto said.

‘‘They saw there was a need out there for patrolling the beach around the point, it’s a pretty big area and up to that time Corrimal had been looking after it,’’ he said. 

Over the years the club had had some very successful surf boat and IRB crews, and at championship time Towradgi could be a bit of a dark horse, Mr Zanotto said.

‘‘Towradgi probably flies a bit under the radar, it’s a quiet achiever,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re not as big as other clubs but we do have a few competitors out there that perform very, very well against a lot stiffer competition.’’

At the club’s core is a strong focus on the younger generations and with just over 200 nippers and around 30 cadets, Mr Zanotto sees a bright future for the club’s membership.

‘‘There is a focus on the younger members and as much as possible we want to keep them there,’’ he said.

‘‘It is hard to retain younger members, that’s a challenge for every club, but I think we’ve got a good base, a good foundation of young people that I think the club will be able to build on – basically they’re going to be our lifesavers of the future.’’

Mr Zanotto said a strong nucleus of hard-working members kept the club running smoothly, and overall a sense of pride permeated throughout the ranks. 

‘‘There are a lot of proud members of Towradgi and they’re proud because it’s a smaller club with a very big heart, a very big community spirit,’’ he said.