SURF LIFE SAVING AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08

SURF SPORTS
OPERATIONS REPORT
OVERVIEW OF THE YEAR
It has been a successful year for the Board of Surf
Sports (BOSS—see page 49) and the SLSA surf sports
team (see page 57) with a number of exciting initiatives
implemented. The sport has experienced continued growth
and exposure. The profi le of the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain
Ironman and Ironwoman Series and nib Coolangatta
Gold has grown signifi cantly (see page 106 for all results).
We once again delivered a world-class Australian Surf Life
Saving Championships in Western Australia. A number
of key surf sports resources were implemented to assist
athletes and coaches at all levels of the organisation.
The number of accredited coaches and offi cials has
continued to grow against trend of like organisations
(see table 17 on page 141).
For a full review of our achievements against our
objectives see Table 2: Report Card.
OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
We conduct surf sports events to support our core
objective of saving lives in the water ‘by promoting
healthy lifestyles, participation, interest, skills and
image through enjoyable and entertaining surf sports’.
Graph 4: Australian Surf Life Saving Championships—entries per state
Competitors per state
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
International
The move of the event to WA has seen an increase in competitors numbers
from the smaller states, which is good for the long-term health of the sport.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
ON PERFORMANCE
• The amount of resources that other national
sporting organisations (NSOs) are investing in
recruitment and development resources.
• The continuing competitiveness of the
sponsorship market with all sports competing
for limited sponsorship opportunities.
• The tightening economic environment within Australia.
• The improvement in competition performance
by other ILS nations.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR 2008–09
• Development of appropriate resources to ensure the
continued growth of athletes, coaches, offi cials and
managers within the organisation.
• Implementation of clear surf sports ‘pathways’
for athletes, coaches and offi cials.
• Ensure that states, territories and SLSA are operating
from an aligned sport development strategy.
• Continue the momentum of the Kellogg’s
Nutri-Grain Ironman and Ironwoman Series and
nib Coolangatta Gold in 2008–09 with increased
media coverage, participant numbers and associated
sponsorship revenue.
David Thompson
SLSA Director of Surf Sports
See also Table 17 on page 141—surf sports coaching and offi ciating.
Matt Freeman (Bulli) won the Open Belt at the 2008 Aussies
at Scarborough. (Image Harpix)
SECTION 02—OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
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