Ash Bolt
The region’s volunteer lifesavers put their skills on show at the weekend, taking to the surf and sand at Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club to compete in the Champion Lifesaver event as part of the 2022 Victorian Lifesaving Championships.
The Champion Lifesaver event is unique in that it combines the physical, practical and theory elements of lifesaving in a competitive setting.
Competitors are assessed and scored on their knowledge and demonstration of CPR, a theory paper and physical competition.
Competitors from Jan Juc SLSC, Lorne SLSC and Ocean Grove SLSC put their skills to the test on Sunday, March 6.
The competitors had some strong results on the day, led by Jan Juc’s Steve Iannazzo, who placed second in the open male competition and first in the over-40 males, and Jan Juc’s Amelia Reyntjes and Ocean Groves’ Stephanie Reade, who finished second and third in the open female respectively.
Reyntjes also took out the title in the under-19 female competition, while Reade took out the under-17 female competition.
The quality of the region’s junior lifesavers was also on show, with Bellarine and Surf Coast lifesavers taking out the top three in both under-15 competitions.
On the males side, Jan Juc’s Campbell Batchelor took out the win over Lorne’s Jack McKerron and Ocean Grove’s Jonathon Punchard.
For the females, Jan Juc’s Chloe Reyntjes was crowned the winner over Ocean Grove’s Niamh Partridge and Lorne’s Evie Briese.
Life Saving Victoria education, sport and club development general manager Kate Simpson said the Champions Lifesaver competition showed how lifesaving sports prepared Victorian lifesavers with the skills they needed when patrolling waterways across the state.
“Champion Lifesaver is a fantastic example of our lifesavers’ dedication to not only their sport, but to constantly develop their skills to bring back to their clubs and communities on patrol, that someday, they might use to save someone’s life,” Simpson said.
“The winners in each category of the Champion Lifesaver event will also receive an invitation to compete at the Australian Championships on the Gold Coast in April, putting their skills to the test against lifesavers from across the nation.
“We thank Jan Juc SLSC for playing host to the Champion Lifesaver competition, which kicked off our senior Victorian Lifesaving Championships for 2022, that will be continuing at Warrnambool SLSC from March 11-13.”
