Darren Chester MP

LIFESAVING TITLES A HUGE SUCCESS

March 9, 2010

A mix of good weather, testing surf conditions and a well-organised event made the Victorian Junior and Senior Surf Lifesaving Championships a huge success in Lakes Entrance.

Lakes Entrance Surf Lifesaving Club hosted the titles and organisers have congratulated local volunteers, businesses, East Gippsland Shire Council and the entire community for supporting the event.

Several Lakes Entrance competitors won medals, pitted against the best lifesavers in Victoria.

Leading the way for Lakes Entrance was under 15 competitor Chrissy James who dominated beach events to win gold in the flags and sprint. Chrissy teamed with Teagan Hack to also win gold in the belt and reel race and was part of the bronze medal-winning beach relay team.

Among the other individual medallists for Lakes Entrance were Young Citizen of the Year Cameron King who won bronze in the open men’s two kilometre run.

Devon Cooper took out bronze in the under 17 mens flags, while Lachlan Buck won bronze in the under 14 beach sprint; Corey Timms won silver in the under 11 beach sprint and Joshua Buck won bronze in the same event.

Joshua also won bronze in the beach flags and was part of the strong boys team which won gold in the beach relay and wade relay. The other team members were Corey Timms, Liam Carroll and Tom Terjesen.

Event Co-ordinator and Club Secretary Kris Cordery has extended her thanks to the  community for support the event.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without the strong support from our many sponsors along with East Gippsland Shire Council, Surf Lifesaving Victoria officials, various community groups and individuals who all made a contribution,” Mrs Cordery said.

“It’s the first time that the senior and junior titles have been held on the same beach on the same weekend and it was an extraordinary event for our town and the wider East Gippsland region.

“Our club can be very proud of its achievements.”

Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester, who is also a club member, has also paid tribute to all competitors and the lifesaving club for hosting the titles.

“In addition to the medal winners, we had many athletes qualify for finals and achieve outstanding results. We are proud of our young competitors and the way they represented our town to the best of their ability on the weekend,” Mr Chester said.

“All credit must go to the hundreds of volunteers from the lifesaving club who gave up their weekend to organise the event, support the competitors, undertake water safety, cater for officials and generally ensure that everything ran as smoothly as possible.

“It’s impossible to recognise all of the individuals who made a contribution but event coordinator Kris Cordery and her organising committee deserve special recognition.

“The event has continued to build on Lakes Entrance’s reputation as the surf lifesaving club of the year in 2009 and I’ve no doubt that our tourism industry will benefit in the future as families return to visit.

“The feedback that we received from competitors across the weekend is that they enjoyed the championships and appreciated all the effort that local volunteers had made.”