Young, old and returning members were on hand to ensure a "highly enjoyable and successful" Fairy Meadow Surf Life Saving Club open day.
So said Fairy Meadow SLSC's director of member services Kerry Carrington, who added many new families and almost 15 new members signed up to join the club during Sunday's festivities at Fairy Meadow Beach.
'It was a very good day. We had a lot of new families join which was wonderful to see. There were at least 15 new members join as well, which was much appreciated," she said.
"There were 15 to 20 nippers in four or five age groups taking part. I reckon there were about 80 all up.
"We were blessed by the weather too, it really was a great day."
Todd Chapman and his two kids were among one of those new families at the open day.
Chapman signed up his two kids, Koa, 6 and and Zali, 8.
"It was their first time, they had a great time," Chapman said.
"We were keen for them to join and learn considering we live along the coastline. I'm a product of a coal miner's son so I've moved around the interior of the country pretty much my whole life, but I certainly understand the importance of surf safety.
"I was keen for the kids to learn. Zali goes to Fairy Meadow Demonstration School and a lot of her friends are part of the club also, which is good for her.
"It seems like a really good club. The open day was a lot of fun."
Established by locals in 1950, today Fairy Meadow SLSC has a diverse range of members who are all committed to the core beliefs of Surf Lifesaving;.
"The good thing about our club is we are like a family," Carrington said.
"We are a very inclusive and diverse club. We have a lot of younger people, women and uni students joining, which makes for a great vibe and camaraderie within the community.
"Once you become a member, you sort of become part of the family.
"The club's got a lot of history. It was started by members of the community over 70 years ago and we still have some of those members who started it come and patrol. They are just the most incredible people."
Carrington added pleasingly Fairy Meadow SLSC had seen a big growth in both the nippers and in the seniors post COVID.
"We want to have substantial growth because we need to have many more lifesavers on the beach," she said.
"Nowadays we're receiving much bigger numbers of people coming to Fairy Meadow from western parts of Sydney on weekends. Before these people used to go to North Wollongong and other beaches but because they can't find parking they're coming to Fairy Meadow now.
"We are seeing a huge surge in numbers of beach goers,often many of these beach goers don't necessarily have any beach awareness. So it's imperative we have more lifesavers patrolling our beach."
Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
