Winner Booklet - 2223 Canterbury Awards of Excellence

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
CANTERBURY 2023
WINNERS

INTRODUCTION
The 2022 Canterbury Awards of Excellence
recognise the contribution of our amazing
members, from the grass-roots of Surf Life
Saving during
the 2022/2023 season.
Nominations are judged against the criteria
outlined for each award by a local Honours
and Awards Committee.
The winners of some categories of the local
Awards of Excellence will automatically
become finalists for the prestigious SLSNZ
National Awards of Excellence
to be held later in 2023.
Congratulations to all of our nominees. We
are incredibly proud and grateful for all
that you do and achieve.

CONTENTS
HONOURS AWARDS
Regional Service Awards
Regional Distinguished Service Awards
Regional Life Membership
SURF SPORT COMPETITION AWARDS
Southern Region Pool Rescue Championships
Top Junior Club
Top Senior Club
Top Overall Club
Canterbury Junior Championships
Top Overall Club
Canterbury Championships
Top Overall Club
Southern Region Junior Championships
Top Overall Club
Southern Region Championships
Top Overall Club

CONTENTS
TOP COMPETITOR AWARDS
Top U14 Pool Competitor
Top U14 Competitor
Top U15 Pool Competitor
Top U15 Competitor
Top U17 Pool Competitor
Top U17 Competitor
Top U19 Pool Competitor
Top U19 Competitor
Top Open Pool Competitor
Top Open Competitor
SURF SPORT AWARDS
Surf Official of the Year
The Shanks Family Event Guard of the Year
Coach of the Year
The Leon 'Flash' Peters Large Craft Team of the
Year
Allan Lee Team of the Year
Te Onepoto Award for Junior Surf - Coaching
Te Onepoto Award for Junior Surf - Service
Sportsman of the Year
Sportswoman of the Year

CONTENTS
LIFESAVING AWARDS
Regional Lifeguard of the Year
Beach Education Instructor of the Year
Instructor/Examiner of the Year
Rescue of the Year
Freemasons Rookie Challenge Top Team
Rookie Lifeguard of the Year
Emerging Lifeguard of the Year
Patrol Support of the Year
Lifeguard of the Year
SUPREME AWARDS
Volunteer of the Year
Patrol Club of the Year
Club of the Year

REGIONAL SERVICE
AWARDS
The Service Awards acknowledge members who have
given outstanding service to Surf Lifesaving
over a period of years.

AARON HARRIS
WAIKUKU BEACH SLSC
AOGAN MCGUINESS
WAIMAIRI SLSC
DAVID BROOKS
WAIKUKU BEACH SLSC
DUNCAN CAMPBELL
WAIKUKU BEACH SLSC

LANCE CLEEVE
WAIMAIRI SLSC
LUKE SMITH
TAYLORS MISTAKE SLSC
ROCHELLE CREIGHTON
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC
RUSTY MACKAY
WAIKUKU BEACH SLSC

STU BRYCE
NEW BRIGHTON SLSC
TIM HARRIS
NORTH BEACH SLSC
TONI CHARLES
NELSON SLSC

REGIONAL
DISTINGUISHED
SERVICE AWARDS
Distinguished Service Awards recognise those who have
continued to give outstanding service.

IAN RAE
TAYLORS MISTAKE SLSC
MIKE LITTEN
WAIMAIRI SLSC
ROHAN MCNAUGHTON
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC
STU BRYCE
NEW BRIGHTON SLSC

REGIONAL LIFE
MEMBERSHIP
Regional Life Membership recognise those displayed
outstanding service to surf life saving in the Southern
Region.

MIKE SMITH
TAYLORS MISTAKE SLSC
STU EDENS
NELSON SLSC

SURF
SPORT
AWARDS

Southern Region Pool
Rescue Championships
The Southern Region Pool Rescue Championships is
a key event for all Surf Lifesaving members to test
their skills and fitness in the pool against fellow
Southern Region Clubs.
TOP JUNIOR CLUB
SUMNER SLSC
TOP SENIOR CLUB
WAIMAIRI SLSC
TOP OVERALL CLUB
SUMNER SLSC

CANTERBURY
JUNIOR
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Canterbury Junior Championships is a key event
for all Surf Lifesaving junior surf members to test
their skills and fitness against fellow Canterbury
Clubs.
TOP OVERALL CLUB
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC

CANTERBURY
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Canterbury Championships is a key event for all
Surf Lifesaving members to test their skills and
fitness against fellow Canterbury Clubs.
TOP OVERALL CLUB
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC

SOUTHERN REGION
JUNIOR
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Southern Region Junior Championships
showcases the up and coming junior competitors
and future lifeguards in the Southern Region.
TOP OVERALL CLUB
SUMNER SLSC

SOUTHERN REGION
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Southern Region Championships showcases
the best athletes in the Southern Region and tests
our local lifeguards ability in a variety of events.
TOP OVERALL CLUB
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC

Top Competitor
Awards
TOP U14 POOL COMPETITOR
TOP U14 COMPETITOR
TOP U15 POOL COMPETITOR
TOP U15 COMPETITOR
TOP U17 POOL COMPETITOR
TOP U17 COMPETITOR
Alex Gibson
Sumner SLSC
Chloe Jorgensen
South Brighton SLSC
Joshua Exon
Waimairi SLSC
Carl Tresfield
Sumner SLSC
Skye Trist
South Brighton SLSC
Rosie Falcous
South Brighton SLSC

Top Competitor
Awards
TOP U19 POOL COMPETITOR
TOP U19 COMPETITOR
TOP OPEN POOL COMPETITOR
TOP OPEN COMPETITOR
Hugo Wrathall
Waimairi SLSC
Kiera Hall
Sumner SLSC
Matt Nash
New Brighton SLSC
Louis Clark
Taylors Mistake SLSC

Surf Official of
the Year
Andrea contributed a significant amount of hours as
a surf official this season.
Volunteering her time, she was involved with almost
every single local Pool Rescue, Junior and Senior
event this season. She also stepped up as a results
recorder for both the 2023 Southern Region Junior
Championships, and Southern Region Championships.
Andrea leads by example, is always putting her hand
up to help out and does a great job on the beach.
WINNER
ANDREA SUMMERFIELD,
WAIKUKU BEACH SLSC

The Shanks Family
Event Guard of the
Year
Tim was involved in numerous events this season on
the water as an event guard. Tim was always
available when last minute assistance was required
and applied his skills on both an RWC and in the IRB.
He was great at encouraging new lifeguards also get
involved in Event Guarding. Tim's positive attitude
wears off on the other event guards to make sure
everyone has an enjoyable day at events.
WINNER
TIM HARRIS, NORTH BEACH SLSC

Coach of the
Year
Malcolm MacDonald from South Brighton SLSC was
awarded Coach of the Year for his exceptional work
in developing a highly talented group of beach
athletes. Under his guidance, the South Brighton
beach programme achieved outstanding results
during the season. The team’s remarkable
performance included securing three gold, four silver
and three bronze medals at the TSB New Zealand Surf
Lifesaving Championships. Notably, the club’s Open
Male and Open Female Beach Relay teams claimed
victory, marking the first time a club has achieved
this double feat since the early 1990s.
WINNER
MALCOLM MACDONALD,
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC

The Leon "Flash"
Peters Team of the
Year - Large Craft
The Waimairi Open Male Canoe Crew has a proud
history in the large craft space. At the 2023 TSB New
Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships, Mark
Cresswell, Carl Righton, Greg Shea & Josh Edmonds
won gold in both the Long Course and Short Course
canoe events.
WINNER
WAIMAIRI OPEN MALE CANOE CREW

Allan Lee
Team of the Year
This season was a phenomenal season in team events
for Canterbury Clubs. This year was a three way tie.
The South Brighton Open Male & Open Female Beach
Relay teams both won gold, the first time a club has
done the double since the early 1990s.
The Taylors Mistake Open Male Board Relay won gold
in a hotly contested field, and was the first time in
club history the club has won this.
WINNER
SOUTH BRIGHTON OPEN MALE BEACH RELAY
SOUTH BRIGHTON OPEN FEMALE BEACH RELAY
TAYLORS MISTAKE OPEN MALE BOARD RELAY

Te Onepoto Award
for Junior Surf -
Coaching
Sjaan leads both the Junior Pool Rescue, and Oceans
squads at Sumner SLSC.
Sjaan volunteers countless hours every week, running
both mid week trainings, and Sunday sessions for
plenty of junior surf members.
The Sumner SLSC Pool Rescue team won the junior
section, and top overall club at the 2023 Southern
Region Pool Rescue Championships, as well as having
some members attend 2022 Pool Rescue Nationals
and achieve some great results.
Sumner was Top Overall Club at the 2023 Southern
Region Junior Championships, with many Top Overall
Competitors.
WINNER
SJAAN BOWIE, SUMNER SLSC

Te Onepoto Award
for Junior Surf -
Service
Both Dean and Julie do a huge amount of work in the
Junior Surf space, both at a club level, and local
level.
Dean is the Junior Surf Coordinator at North Beach,
Surf Official on the U13/U14 Boys Arena, and
inspiring role model for our future lifeguards coming
through.
Julie is the Junior Surf Coordinator at South Brighton,
Surf Official on the U11/U12 Girls Arena, and sits on
the Canterbury Local Sport Committee. Julie played a
huge part in the development and implementation of
the Canterbury Junior Development Day this season.
WINNER
DEAN LE WARNE, NORTH BEACH SLSC
JULIE JORGENSEN, SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC

Sportsman
of the Year
This season, Taylor Chamberlain (Taylors Mistake
SLSC) once again had an incredibly consistent season.
Taylor was Top Overall Open Male at both the 2023
Canterbury Championships, and Southern Region
Championships. At both of these events, Taylor won
every single individual water event in the Open Male
category.
Taylor went on to have a very impressive 2023 TSB
New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships where
he picked up Gold in the Open Male Board Relay,
Silver in the Open Male Double Ski, Bronze in the
Open Male Taplin Relay, and to top it all off, won
Bronze in the Open Male Ironman Final, being the
only non-professional on the podium, and someone
who resides in New Zealand and trains in Canterbury
all year long. For his first year in opens, this is
extremely impressive.
Taylor is a role model for all local competitors
coming through the sport, and his professionalism,
work ethic and attitude at trainings is second to
none.

WINNER
TAYLOR CHAMBERLAIN,
TAYLORS MISTAKE SLSC

Sportswoman
of the Year
Rosie Falcous (South Brighton SLSC) had a season to
remember this 2022/2023 season.
Rosie was part of the New Zealand Junior Black Fins
(U19) who competed at the 2022 Lifesaving World
Championships in Riccione, Italy. At this event Rosie
won Bronze in the Oceanwoman Relay, was 6th in
Beach Flags, and 7th in both the Beach Sprint, and
Mixed Beach Relay.
Domestically, Rosie was the national champion in the
U17 Beach Flags, and part of the bronze medalist U17
Female Beach Relay team at the 2023 TSB New
Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships.
At the 2023 Southern Region Championships, Rosie
won 4 Individual Gold, and 4 Relay Gold across the
beach, including Gold in every Beach Relay possible.
Whilst residing in Dunedin, Rosie is already giving
back to the sport, and mentoring the next generation
of Beach competitors coming through.

WINNER
ROSIE FALCOUS,
SOUTH BRIGHTON SLSC

LIFESAVING
AWARDS

Regional Lifeguard
of the Year
William showed outstanding leadership and attitude towards this
regional guard season. Taking his 5 previous years of regional
guard experience, and knowledge learnt at National Guard
School where he achieved Top Candidate and applied it a way
that was well received by his peers and management staff.
Will had some very busy days with some interesting conditions to
deal with, he took his leadership role as head guard seriously, for
those who saw his flag placements each day at Waimairi you will
understand how true that is.
WINNER
WILLIAM SIMMONS, SUMNER SLSC

Beach Education
Instructor of the Year
Grace has made an incredible contribution to our Beach Ed
programme here in Ōtautahi. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi.
Engari he toa takitini. My strength is not that of a single warrior
but that of many. This so accurately describes Grace with her
natural ability to constantly put people at ease – from helping
those on their first day through to those learning to be a Head
Instructors. She is always professional, kind, thoughtful and
engaging. Her positivity radiates and helps everyone feel
included and valued. As many of her colleagues commented,
Grace you are an all-round good sort and they love being
rostered on to work with you.
WINNER
GRACE ROWLAND,
TAYLORS MISTAKE SLSC

Instructor/Examiner
of the Year
Dean is North Beach’s Chief instructor both for lifeguard and IRB,
he has put through multiple people from both disciplines for his
club during this season. Dean has been present and examined at
7 exams (IRB and lifeguard) this season along with making
himself available for catch up sessions for other clubs. Dean has a
knack of being able to do this all very last minute, making the
most out other peoples volunteer time and fickle surf conditions.
Dean really does wear the district cap and this region is
expanding due to his contribution.
WINNER
DEAN LE WARNE, NORTH BEACH SLSC

Rescue of the Year
On Saturday 13th November a Surf Lifeguard on duty noticed
a man in distress. After radioing the base, the Surf Lifeguard
swam towards the patient with a rescue tube, braving very
tough conditions. An IRB was also launched. Despite their
collective strength, three Surf Lifeguards were unable to pull
the man into the IRB due to his extremely large-size.
After several attempts the Surf Lifeguards put two tubes
around the man and swam him safely to shore.
Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated upon reaching the
beach, and the man lost consciousness, and later died. The
challenging nature of the rescue shows the remarkable skills
and bravery of the Surf Lifeguards involved.
Reflecting on the incident, Poulsen said, “There was a large
number of Surf Lifeguards involved and one on her very first
patrol. This day, and the weeks and months that followed was
challenging in supporting those who had not been involved in
anything like this before. I remain in admiration for the way
in which they conducted themselves and the way in which
they dealt with it.”
WINNER
SPENCER PARK SLSC,
SATURDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2022

Rookie Lifeguard
of the Year
Ruby attends as many Rarangi patrols as she can, accumulating a
total of 75 patrol hours for the season. Ruby is always interested
in upskilling, sharing her knowledge with her peers and
encouraging others to have a go. Ruby assists with all aspects of
patrolling, is reliable and can identify tasks that need doing such
as head counts, moving the flags and talking to members of the
public. Ruby also helps out with her clubs Junior Surf Programme
twice a week.
Ruby leads Rarangi’s juniors and her Rookie peers with patience
and empathy. Ruby is a great mentor for Rookies and juniors who
are new to the club and the surf lifesaving community.
She is an extremely valuable Rookie patrol member and will be a
fantastic lifeguard.
WINNER
RUBY MARSHALL. RARANGI SLSC

Emerging Lifeguard
of the Year
Lochie enjoys helping people and is a natural leader. He seems
wise beyond his years and always willing to get involved. He is
proactive in wanting to gain more knowledge and experience,
gaining his Advanced Surf First aid award, his Lifeguard
Instructors award, and joining his clubs SAR squad.
He is always keen to help out instructing at his club, assisting
with instructing on Crew Modules, Board Rescue Modules and in
instructing Lifeguard award candidates. He also played a huge
role in the coordination of his clubs Rookie Lifeguards and their
training.
On top of this, he further develops his skills through IRB racing
and the Paid Lifeguard Programme.
On patrol, Lachie always uses initiative, is keen to mentor
younger guards, and completed a total of 62 hours this season.
WINNER
LOCHIE ELLISON, SUMNER SLSC

Patrol Support
of the Year
Riki is the first person to put their hand up to patrol and happy to
jump in on those extra busy days. Always leading by example by
being the first at patrol and usually last to leave. He has a huge
influence on the new and junior lifeguards in the club with an
outstanding work ethic.
The energy Riki has put into the community, especially with
youth, really shines through with the respect he receive around
the club. Riki will be spending the winter months training hard
for the 400m swim and hopefully achieve his Lifeguard award at
the start of next season.
WINNER
RIKI FAHEY, NORTH BEACH SLSC

Lifeguard
of the Year
Riley Stewart from Spencer Park Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) took
home the esteemed Lifeguard of the Year Award.
Stewart, who is a Patrol Captain, Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB)
Driver and co-ordinator for the Search and Rescue Squad at
Spencer Park SLSC, has exhibited exemplary dedication and
expertise. His commitment to personal growth was evident
through the completion of numerous awards during the 2022/23
season. His mentorship at the Canterbury Intermediate Lifeguard
School was also invaluable to aspiring Surf Lifeguards.
Linda Poulsen, Lifeguard Manager at Spencer Park SLSC, said, “If
only we could clone a few more Riley’s into our teams, then we
could all take a back seat. He is definitely a very valued member
of the whole Spencer Park community, and we hope to keep him
on forever. He has already offered to join the committee, so the
future is bright for our club with guys like Riley.”
Stewart also played a pivotal role in a challenging rescue, which
resulted in one fatality. The leadership and care Stewart showed
during this ordeal was exemplary.

WINNER
RILEY STEWART,
SPENCER PARK SLSC

SUPREME
AWARDS

Volunteer
of the Year
Noah has been involved with Nelson Surf Life Saving for 30
years this year, with 27 years of these also as a valued
member of the Search and Rescue squad.
Noah was first introduced to SLS by his brother back in 1993
as a 13 year old. In 1994 fellow clubbie Marcus took him out
in an IRB, scared the heck out of him and he was hooked! He
became a fully qualified Surf Lifeguard and completed his
crew in 95, and became a driver and part of the SAR team the
following year (age 16).
Noah has since held a variety of roles on the committee and
this 2022/23 season he has stepped up into the role of Club
President with the clear goal of growing the Club in every
area. With this goal and a clear vision for what our Club could
be he started last year shoulder tapping a few of us and
encouraging us to step up and join the Club Committee. He
has been instrumental in encouraging and developing many
young clubbies into leadership roles with the aim of future
proofing the Club front of mind.
Noah's passion for surf and seeing the Nelson Club not just
grow but thrive is inspiring. He is all about building all
members skills and future proofing our Club. He has a
natural ability to uplift all those around him, bringing the best
out in others.

WINNER
NOAH HOSIE,
NELSON SLSC

Patrol Club
of the Year
WINNER
NELSON SLSC

Club
of the Year
WINNER
NORTH BEACH SLSC