PORTSEA Surf Life Saving Club has a proud history stretching back to 1949. A true community club, a testament to its success is its over 5000 members, with over 500 active, that patrol the waters of Portsea back beach.
The club isn’t just about protecting those in the water but about fostering leadership and commitment among its members young and old, and building the next generation of lifesavers and leaders. “In the early days, surf lifesaving was a traditionally male-dominated arena,” said Susan Crow, a director of Portsea Surf Lifesaving Club. “We are very proud of our efforts at PSLC to undertake a cultural change and empower our female members to partake in activities on an equal footing with the men.”
Women in sport is something Crow is passionate about. She was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia award in the 2023 Australia Day Honours for significant service to sports administration with her passion being women’s participation in sport. “We were fortunate to be awarded a grant last year from the ‘Change Our Game’ program designed to enable participation, build capability and celebrate the role of women and girls in community sport and recreation,” said Crow. “In December and January, we ran a number of events and programs that I believe resulted in positive and cultural change for our club.”
Although the grant was awarded to Portsea Surf Life Saving Club, the club reached out to its fellow “back beach” clubs at Sorrento and Gunnamatta to create a program that benefitted girls and women across all clubs. “It wasn’t enough for us to just pursue change at our club. The other two clubs were keen to increase female engagement and participation as well, so we were able to broaden the scope of the program.”
PSLC’s program, funded by the grant, included several practical elements, led by the club’s female coaches. “The first part of our program was to work with our female participants to increase their abilities and confidence in our boats,” said Crow.
The inflatable rescue boats that are emblematic of surf lifesaving are the sharp end of lifesaving. Developing high-level skills to enable capable and confident operation in the IRBs is essential as they are often used in real-life situations where lives can be at risk.
“Indicating the success of this program, we even had six girls come from Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club to participate.” “The participants had the ability to really hone those skills that are essential to the operation of the IRBs.”
The next part of the program PSLC ran was board paddling workshops; an area that had been identified as one where women participants sometimes lacked confidence. “This was a great experience,” said Crow. “We had women of all ages wanting to participate. “Some of the women were mums of nippers who might have enjoyed the surf when they were teenagers, but with work and family commitments, it slid away for them. “Now was their opportunity to get back into the water and enjoy it for themselves and learn valuable skills doing so. “We even had an 80-year-old woman hit the surf on a paddleboard, which was great to see.”
The final part of the program was network sessions held by the three clubs allowing women involved in the clubs to come together. “We had guest speakers like Caroline Wilson, Corrie Perkin, Jess Lamb, and Priscilla Barrington speaking to the women about their careers in male dominated spheres, and provided much inspiration to our participants,” said Crow.
The program has now run its course, with Crow believing it made a tangible difference at the club.
“We’re pretty proud of Portsea Surf Life Saving Club,” said Crow. “The last three club captains have been women, and we are very focused on opportunities for women. “We got a lot out of these programs that we didn’t expect, and it has helped us on our journey of cultural change. “Our hope is it has inspired many of our women to get their Bronze Medallion, partake in patrols, and rise into leadership positions at our great club.”
*This piece was produced in collaboration with the Victorian Government’s Office for Women in Sport and Recreation.
First published in the Mornington News – 4 February 2025
