Pittwater Life November 2017 Issue

the Vice Captains as well as a radio and
jet ski operator for the branch. They all
train and assess, including the youngest
family member, Brendan.
“If there’s an assessment there’s
a pretty good chance that you’ll get
somewhere between two and five of us,”
says Sandy.
Despite having been the first woman
president in the club’s history, and at
the AGM in July this year being made
the club’s second female Life Member,
Sandy is quick to say she isn’t a
feminist.
“I just think people should do what
their comfortable with, and if we can
keep up with the men, then fantastic.”
The presidency was a role which took up
a lot of time, and involved a fair amount
of negotiation and conflict resolution,
she admits. This was particularly
demanding with her job, as there would
be phone calls regarding the club most
days, and she wasn’t always contactable
during work hours. When asked if she
would take on the position again, she
gazes through the window at a surfer
paddling out beyond the break, before
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: Sandy
Menzies on the balcony of her beloved
Newport Beach Surf Life Saving Club;
heading to her high school formal with
now-husband Doug who she married
at 21; receiving her Life Member cap –
only the second awarded to a female at
Newport; with her friend Leanne Budd
– Sandy‘s daughter Jess and Leanne’s
daughter Lauren recently travelled to
Soibada to teach CPR training at its
schools and hospitals.
replying, “Not while I’m working fulltime,
but maybe one day.”
A project that Sandy has held close to
her heart since Doug and she initiated
it at the Newport SLSC in 2002 is an
inclusion and access program called
Marlins and Dolphins. They had a friend
whose child had a disability, so initially
they organised a program for six weeks,
twice a year, for him and several other
participants.
After a few years they decided to run
the program on Sunday mornings, the
same time as the other Nipper groups.
The integration of these children with
disabilities has not only made them
feel more included, but also raised
awareness in the other children at
Nippers.
“I think it’s shown them there’s
another side, and I would hope when
they see these guys on the street they
would say, ‘hello’.”
There are usually between 15 and 20
participants in Marlins and Dolphins,
ranging in age from 6 to their late 20s.
‘They enjoy it so much they keep
coming back year after year. A couple of
the fellows in the program who are both
in their mid-20s also do patrol support.
They wear a white shirt with Patrol
Support on it, and help the patrol set
up and pack up, and move the flags
around.”
Sandy tells me that they thought
Newport was the first club to establish
this inclusion and access program, but
later found out that Pambula SLSC had
set up something similar at the same
time. Currently, four of the Northern
Beaches’ 21 clubs operate this program,
the other three clubs being Mona Vale,
South Curl Curl and North Steyne.
Sandy is on the Surf Life Saving
Australia Learning and Development
Advisory Council, and is eager to convey
to many more clubs that this program
doesn’t require a lot of funding, special
equipment or people with particular
qualifications.
“You just need a bit of patience.”
With Sandy Menzies’ quiet, caring
pragmatism and determination, not to
mention patience, there is no doubt that
we’re going to see a few more Marlins
and Dolphins at our local surf clubs.
Life Stories
The Local Voice Since 1991
NOVEMBER 2017 29