2011_SLSNZ_SurfRescueMag

32
FEATURE:
Christchurch update
Spirits still high for
Sumner clubbies
It’s been a year of upheaval across New Zealand and
no-one felt it more than the residents of Christchurch. The
Garden City’s surf clubs have been hit particularly hard
but, as Jamie Nilsson discovers, generosity and support
from fellow clubbies is already helping heal the scars.
THEIR BUILDING MAY be cracked and broken and
their city ravaged but their spirits are unbroken.
Sumner surf lifeguards, after more than eight months
of horrible upheaval following the February 22
earthquake in Christchurch, are more determined
than ever to celebrate their centenary in style.
Though nearly 80 percent of the clubhouse remains
unusable and lies squarely in the ‘white zone’ -
meaning members are not allowed to fully rebuild or
repair their base until they get into the ‘green zone’ -
the usable chunk of the building has been converted
into a patrol operation base and first aid room, ready
for the season.
And with the help of a monumental fundraising drive
from the good folk of Gisborne, there’s more hope on
the horizon.
“We bought a tent with some of the money raised
in Gisborne and we don’t have any showers but the
council will put up portaloos for us.,” Sumner funding
manager Alastair Malcolm explains. “Things are
starting to look really positive.”
Sumner, one of the first surf life saving clubs in New
Zealand, kick-started their centenary season with
a formal dinner, march past display and junior surf
display. The celebrations could not have come at a
better time, giving Sumner surf lifeguards something
to look forward to and looking back with pride on 100
years of service.
The club has been blown away by the amount of
support they have been receiving, not only from the
wider surf life saving family but the outstandingly
generous members of the public as well.
“We are overwhelmed with the kindness from
Gisborne, Surf Life Saving New Zealand, PALMS
Shopping mall, ASB, the Lion Foundation and
members of the public,” Sumner club secretary Pip
Ives says. “We are so very humbled and thankful.”
The Gisborne earthquake fund has made a huge
difference, with over $38,500 raised already. Money
has been donated from the Gisborne Mayoral
account and Gisborne Chinese Association - “the
whole area has really got in behind the fund”,
Gisborne Herald editor Jeremy Muir points out.
Gisborne’s own love for surf lifesaving and the beach
was motivation for sponsoring a damaged community
facility in Sumner but the inspiration to help Sumner
came from Gisborne Salvation Army major Graham
Medland.
“It was what we in the Army call a ‘God moment’,”
Medland recalls. “I was standing outside the club
(after the quake), taking photos when this guy ran
past and said ‘mess isn’t it?’. Turns out, that man
was Alistair and on the club’s committee. He stopped
to chat and told with me about every hurdle they now
faced. We exchanged names and contact details
and it went from there.” The club is a worthy focus
for Gisborne’s fundraising efforts, says Mr Medland,
who has been to Christchurch twice since the 6.3
earthquake.
“I think the fund for the club is brilliant. Human nature
says we like to have something solid to invest in, so
it is great. Just to be able to give a group of people a
bit of encouragement, to show them that the rest of
country hasn’t forgotten about them, is so important.
We see the devastation on TV and we can turn it off
when we have had enough.
“But the people of Christchurch can’t walk away.
They are going to live with this for an entire
generation, that’s how big it is.”
Sonic Surf Craft, the Gisborne-based surf life saving
equipment manufacturer, also came on board by
supporting the Christchurch clubs at this year’s
Oceans 11, where they donated a blank canvas
paddle board for all the under-14 athletes to write
their messages of support on.
“We are all thinking of you” and “hope you can use
your beach soon” were reoccuring themes.
At the end of Oceans 11, all the Christchurch club
names were put in to a hat and Sumner’s name was
pulled out.
“Giving away the board was really special,” Sonic
owner Matt Sutton says. “In the grand scheme of
things, it was nothing after what they had all been
through, but knowing that we played a part in making
Sumner’s event memorable was awesome. We
have always had the attitude of really trying to help
the smaller clubs throughout New Zealand as much
as we can, so for Sumner to win the board was
amazing. SLSNZ is a tight-knit organisation - it was
awesome to see the whole movement rally around
particular clubs when they need help.”
AFTER OCEANS 11, organisers had the huge task
of sadly shifting the State New Zealand Surf Life
Saving Championships, originally planned for New
Brighton beach as part of the centenary celebrations.
And it wasn’t just the event that needed moving -
SLSNZ also wanted to help all South Island clubs
with the unplanned costs of transport to the new
Mount Maunganui venue.
Offers of help came flooding in. A message on the
SLSNZ Facebook page saw more than 25 people
offering billet accommodation to South Island
clubbies and numerous offers of gear were also
received.
The earthquake rumbles are fading in Christchurch
while the rebuilding of homes and lives ramps up.
Although they face a lot of work, Sumner members
are excited by the possibilities for the club and the
community.
They’re keen for an open-minded approach from club
supporters, especially for the management of the
club and future economy.
Christchurch-based club development officer Scott
Roberts says the resilience of surf club members is
now shining through, long after the dust has settled.
“It has been incredible over these months, watching
people rally together and look after their wider surf life
saving family,” Roberts says. “I still struggle to look
at town and think of what has gone and the amount
of people that were lost that day but it makes a lot
of the smaller things seem insignificant now and it
makes you appreciate your friends even more.”