A big thank-you

After starting the season off with limited funds and then having to find funds to get some rescue boards repaired, we at the Umina Surf Life Saving Club found ourselves financially strapped.

From July until October last year, we had several break-and-enters to the surf club, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, as well as causing a lot of concern to club members.

Some of the things smashed, damaged or wrecked were two TV sets smashed, one microwave oven smashed, stereo speakers stolen, and the upstairs of the surf club was flooded wrecking the carpet.

But the most devastating thing was the senseless act of ripping up photos of our life members and junior and senior competitors.

With every member feeling down, the surf club spirit within the community grew.

It really showed the Aussie spirit, when the licensed clubs and local businesses, the general community and Gosford Council rallied behind us to help refurbish and secure the club and equipment to a high standard.

With the support we received, we were overwhelmed and this just made us more determined and showed the Umina spirit will not be broken.

Our junior numbers in the nippers grew to over 300 young children in our club which was outstanding.

We came home with a bag of medals from the Masters and Senior Branch Championships, and are sure to bring more medals home in March when they compete at the State and Australian championships.

Our Juniors came home with a bag of medals from the Junior Branch Championships. To put the icing on the cake, Eddie Garret won the ultimate award as Junior Life Saver of the year in New South Wales with Leam Jackson taking out gold in the under-11 board race. Both of these awards were won at the Junior State Titles.

This just goes to show that when we were down the great Aussie surf lifesaving spirit rallied and came up a winner once again.

On behalf of Umina Surf Life Saving Club, all our members would like to say a big thank-you to everyone who supported us, and we hope to have your support for years to come!

Brian Paull, President, Umina Surf Life Saving Club