PORTSEA Surf Life Saving Club won the Beaurepaire Shield and was named 2020 Marsh Club of the Year at Life Saving Victoria’s Awards of Excellence evening last week.
Now in their 17th year, the awards celebrate the achievements and contributions by lifesaving volunteers as part of LSV’s mission to prevent drowning deaths and aquatic injury in Victoria.
The Portsea club also took home Youth Team of the Year and Masters Team of the Year.
Rhys Cole, of Point Leo Surf Life Saving Club, was awarded the John Wishart Memorial Medal as the Microflite Lifesaver of the Year for his contribution to lifesaving. Over the past year he also won the Gary Tierney Foundation Award and Club Captains Award.
Cole is also the first member of his club to be qualified as a crewman on the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter.
Life Saving Victoria president Paul James ASM praised all nominees and winners for their efforts, acknowledging their willingness to help in a year that had brought unique challenges. “In these extraordinary times, it is so important to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of all our volunteers, staff and members of the broader aquatic community,” he said.
“It is their ongoing commitment that keeps Victoria’s many beaches, pools and waterways safe.”
First published in the Western Port News – 5 August 2020
