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History
Surf Life Saving originated in Australia in the early 1900s with the growth of seaside towns and the interest in swimming. Surf Life Saving was then introduced into Great Britain in 1955 in Bude, St Agnes in Cornwall and Brighton in Sussex.
Clubs were formed in Wales during the mid 1960s at Aberavon, Atlantic College , Barry, St Johns , Llantwit Major, Pen-y-bont, Porthmawr & Rhoose. .
Throughout 1967, leading into the winter of 1968, discussions took place between Charles Thomson, Leader of the Extramural Department at Atlantic College, John David and a number of other people, notably Reg Whittle, Frank Clark and Alf Thomas, in creating the Surf Life Saving Association of Wales. In the spring of 1968, John David was elected as the first Chairman, Reg Whittle as Secretary and Margaret Whittle as Treasurer.
About Surf Lifesaving
Surf Life Saving Association WALES is a not-for-profit Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Number ~ 1157762. Thirty-one voluntary lifeguard clubs currently affiliate to SLSA Wales from Jacksons Bay , Barry in the east to Aberystwyth in the west and Rhosneigr on Anglesey in the north. Covering every Local Authority from the Vale of Glamorgan to Gwynedd and Anglesey in north Wales. The majority of our lifesavers complete patrols on the weekend and in their own free time.
The primary aims & objectives are to save lives, to develop and improve National and International standards of life saving whilst co-operating with all organisations with similar aims. We also aim to provide the facilities for young people to participate in organised life saving activities and sports competitions.
We are governed by a management board of trustees who are supported by four commissions representing Lifesaving, Powercraft, Sport and Youth. The Commissions are responsible for delivering the annual management plan to support the Board's strategies that will see the organisation fulfil its purpose.
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Surf Lifesaving in Wales, would not exist without its army of volunteers and it is almost impossible to overstate our gratitude to the many thousands of community focused members who have contributed to this. Below are some of these volunteers, who we have recognised in some small way of the years:
LIFE MEMBERS
Michael Allen Gerald Bassett Lyle Bluck Glenn Clatworthy
Gerald Cooper John David Martin John Chris Parry
Peter Lake. MBE. James Marks Dr George Middleton.MBE. Colin Morris
Andrea Pennell Philip Rees Tony Rees Paul Scarborough
Dallas Robinson Elizabeth Thomas Patrick Thomas Reg Whittle
DECEASED LIFE MEMBERS
Essex Havard Frank Smith Charles Thomson. MBE. O.St.J.
Douglas Williams Alf Thomas Peter Derbyshire
David Lewis
LIFESAVER OF THE YEAR
1996 Aled Rees Poppit Sands 1997 Gerald & Gloria Davies Rest Bay
1998 Peter Lake Penybont 1999 Glen Clatworthy Sker
2000 Karen O'Donoghue-Harris Rhoose 2001 James Marks Sker
2002 Tony Rees Aberavon 2003 Peter Morgan Penybont
2004 Lisa Pritchard-Evans Aberporth 2005 Chris Parry Porthmawr
2006 Nigel Martlew Rhoose 2007 Martin John Aberavon
2008 Craig Robinson Penybont 2009 Gary Pyke Llantwit Major
2010 Andrea Pennell Llantwit Major 2011 David Murphy Penybont
2012 Craig Robinson Penybont 2013 Phil Rees Rhondda
2014 Lyle Bluck Kenfig Sands 2015 Steve Chambers Aberavon
2016 Julie Wisden Penybont 2017 David Allen Penybont
2018 Jennie Pitt Llantwit Major 2019 Shan Parry Porthmawr
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IN THE NEWS..
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Fee reduction
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| Due to the unprecedented times and circumstances we find ourselves in, the Board of Trustees have decided with immediate effect, to reduce all age gro... |
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Resuscitation update April 2020
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Below is the link from the UK Resuscitation Council with the latest guidelines for resuscitation.
Link will need to be copied and pasted in... |
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RNLI Lifeguard service to pause immediately
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| Following the Government’s instruction as of 23 March for people to stay at home and avoid gathering outdoors, the RNLI has made the decision to... |
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Corvid 19 update 2 March 2020
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| Over the recent weeks SLSA Wales has been regularly monitoring the developments regarding COVID 19,, and has been discussing how we as a governing bod... |
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2020 Lifesaving world championships postponed
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The ILS has considered the worsening position in Italy, Europe and around the world which has deepened considerably in recent days.
In th... |
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