Posted on

Vale – Dennis Patison

Vale – William Dennis Patison (Patto)

It is with deep regret that we record the loss of one of our life members Dennis Patison who passed away on the 14 November 2020.

Dennis originally joined the club during the 1959/60 season and was awarded Life Membership of the club on 29th July 1984. Dennis held numerous positions during his long tenure with the club among them being President, Vice President, Club Captain, Boat Captain and Branch Delegate. Dennis was also a member of the club’s building committee for the construction of the new clubhouse at the southern end of the beach and was a joint recipient for the award of Best Senior Member for the 1991/92 season as a result of the building works.

Dennis will be best remembered for his tireless activities as the club’s boat sweep. There are literally hundreds of archived members of Austinmer SLSC who were recruited and taught the skills of surfboat competition by Dennis. Dennis was well-known Australia wide and highly regarded within the surfboat rowing community for his success in SLSA Surf Boat Racing competition. Dennis first commenced rowing during the mid-1960’s under the legendary sweep – Keith (Spas) Hurst. When Keith left Austinmer in 1966 and transferred to Bilgoa SLSC Dennis took over as sweep of the Austinmer SLSC boat crews. During Dennis’s competition career he has gained 35 Illawarra Branch medals, 4 medals at NSW State Championship level and 6 medals at Australian Championship level. Dennis also gained numerous medals at both NSW Stillwater Championship and marathon boat race events.

In recognition of Dennis’s achievements in Australian Surfboat Rowing he was inducted into the NSW Australian Surf Rowers League Hall of Fame on 17 June 2006 and this was followed up with his induction into the Australian Surf Rowers League Hall of Fame on 26 March 2007. 

Our sincere condolences to Dennis’s family and friends.

Ian Foreman 

Registrar – Austinmer SLSC

Posted on

Austi Nipper Reps lead the way for the club!

A big congratulations to 3 Austi Nippers that represented the club at the Sydney Water Surf Series. The club is hoping to increase the opportunities for interested Nippers to compete against other surf clubs. The Club thanks Christian King for organising and managing the Austi Nipper Reps at this event. Well Done: Audrey King (competing in the U9 girls surf race and board race): Ashton Mekisic (competing in the U10 boys surf race and board race): Chloe Mekisic (competing in the U11 girls surf race).

Posted on

We Need You!

Austinmer Surf Life Saving club has a long and proud history; however we now need more patrolling members to join the club to help with keeping our beautiful beach safe. Patrols occur on Sundays, and public holidays, from late September to April. Patrols normally go for 4 to 4 ½ hours, either morning or afternoon. The number of patrols a season for an individual is usually between 10 and 16. If a patrolling member cannot make his or her patrol a reserve can normally be found.

To help increase patrolling numbers Austinmer Surf life Saving Club is running a Bronze Medallion course over the weekend of the 25th to 27 October. This is the entry level qualification to become a patrolling member at any surf lifesaving club. The course will run on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. It will involve both taught and practical elements, including undertaking rescues in both the pools and on the beach. More information on the Bronze Medallion is provided below. This course will be run at the Austinmer Surf lifesaving clubhouse, there is no cost for this course plus we will feed you. On completion of this course and when you start patrolling you will be provided with the ‘very dapper’ lifesaving uniform.

Before candidates can undertake any of the ocean activities they will need to complete an unaided swim of 400 m in nine minutes or less. That is approximately eight lengths of the pools at the beach. Both Corrimal public pool and the University of Wollongong public pool are heated and good locations to practice before the swim assessment. This is a great way to increase your fitness and strength. Also, before the course starts candidates will need to join the Austinmer Surf Life Saving club and complete online modules.

We would love to have you as part of the team. If you are interested in becoming a patrolling member and undertaking your Bronze Medallion could you please email troyh@uow.edu.au and he can provide more information and register you for the course.

We look forward to seeing you

Austinmer Lifesaving Club Committee.