Surf Sports
Surf Sports consists of many events or disciplines such swimming, board paddling, surf ski paddling, flags, sprinting and surf boat rowing.
SLSA Surf Sports begins in the U9s with the Junior Activities Program with the number and distance of events increasing as they progress through the Junior program until the U14s season is completed. Junior athletes must gain a relevant award every year and pass a competition skills evaluation test in order to compete every season.
Once an athlete has turned 15 and attained their Bronze Medallion Award they can then compete as an Open competitor with many more events available to them including ski and surfboat competition.
Surf Sports provides an opportunity for participants to further develop whether it be as an athlete, official, manager or coach. There are many courses and seminars offered throughout the season to enhance the skills of all our lifesavers.
Surf Sports is there for our lifesavers to have fun, develop better surf skills, keep them active and serve as a major recruitment tool in attracting new members.Â
Surf Sports Eligibility
Competition Requirements
For Junior competitors, please refer to the details on the Competition Criteria for Junior Competitors page. For all other competitors, please review below.
SLS members who wish to compete, must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Policy 5.04. The core criteria is that members must
- Be a financial member of a Surf Life Saving Club
- Be proficient in their Bronze Medallion (proficiency to be completed by 31st December)
- Meet the minimum patrol hour requirement for their membership category
- Meet the SLSNSW criteria as outlined in the Competition Eligibility Guidelines document linked below
Some events have different award criteria (such as Lifesaving events and March Past) and the current edition of the SLSA Surf Sports Manual should be consulted for those details.
SLSNSW has a state-specific provision in relation to service hours that can be utilised in conjunction with patrol hours to be eligible for Championship events (Branch, State & Aussies). Details of this provision are outlined in the SLSNSW Memorandum that is linked at the bottom of this page.
There are also provisions for members who have not met the minimum patrol hour requirement due to reasons including those outlined below. It is important that Clubs and Competitors are familiar with all the requirements, and the exemption application process should they be needed.
- Are new to Surf Life Saving and only recently gained their Bronze Medallion
- Have rejoined SLS after a period of absence
- Have had an injury or illness which prevented them from patrolling
- Have been on military deployment
- Have been travelling overseas
The exemption application is contained in the SLSNSW Memorandum document linked below. Clubs and Members should include all relevant details when lodging an exemption application.
These documents are current as of February 2024. Click on the link to view or download them.
- Policy 5.04 – Competition Eligibility
- Policy 5.04 Competition Eligibility – Guidelines[85]
- Memorandum-revised-SLSNSW-5.04-provisions-reg – Changes to SLSNSW Regulations regarding NSW variation to SLSA Policy 5.04
- Memo 202402-01 Patrol Hour Exemptions
