Life saving championships were 'launched'

A ceremony to "launch" the 2013 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships was held at Ocean Beach and Umina on Wednesday, February 6.

The championships themselves will be held from March 1 to March 10.

More than 8000 competitors from all over the state will take part with around 600 officials needed to stage the Championships and up to 15,000 family and spectators expected to attend over the 10 days.

Gosford Council won the bid to stage the event for the next two years.

Gosford mayor Cr Lawrie McKinna described the event as a tremendous boost to sports tourism in the region and congratulated the Ocean Beach and Umina surf clubs, for staging the championships for the next two years.

"An event of this size takes an enormous commitment at all levels, but the more we can showcase and boost the competitive arm of surf lifesaving in our region, the better," mayor Cr McKinna said.

"We hope it will also highlight the other important aspects to surf lifesaving, the great work done by our volunteer lifesavers to help keep the public safe each summer."

Surf Life Saving NSW president Mr Tony Haven outlined the massive logistical undertaking the event involved, but said the clubs and their members were more than up to the challenge.

"It's a huge effort to coordinate an event of this size but these clubs have the experience and the expertise to pull off what could be one of the most successful state championships we've had in many years," said Mr Haven.

"Surf Life Saving competition is extremely strong here and the Central Coast boasts some of the country's best surf sports athletes.

"The locals will no doubt be looking forward to asserting their dominance on home turf," he said.

It's hoped that this year's championships will be successful from an environmental perspective too, with carnival organisers trialling new recycling efforts, along with initiatives such as using bio-fuels to run generators, light towers and some event vehicles.

The state's finest junior surf lifesavers will kick-start a bumper eight days of competition from March 1 to 3, while the Masters and Opens competitors will hit the stage from March 6 to 10.

Media Release, 6 Feb 2013

Donna Wishart, Surf Life Saving NSW Media