SLSNZ

Hi everyone,

Welcome to nearly the shortest day of the year (next Wednesday) as we start the downhill run back to summer! I can’t say any of the mid-winter dips are that appealing; even with the water temperature not that much colder than our so-called summer, but I am looking forward to some more daylight at the end of the day!

It’s great to see the Awards of Excellence evenings going on around the country. These are rare occasions where we get the chance to come together to recognise our peers, both young and old, for their achievements and dedication and they are humbling events to attend. It always makes me wonder how people can fit in so much to their lives.

But as always, there is no real down time, with lots of activity going on. I am always excited to see the BP Leaders for Life programme kicking off again. The revised programme with a 12 month time frame will be something new this year and it will allow a greater level of involvement for the participants- with benefits all round for them and the Surf Life Saving movement.

There is also a lot going on in the High Performance sport area too - with the teams’ preparation underway for the Sanyo Cup in Japan in June, the World Games in Poland in July and the International Surf Rescue Challenge here in NZ at the end of November. Winter is never an easy time to be training for Surf Sport- so a big thanks to all those working hard behind the scenes to get the teams in peak condition for their competitions.

A big thanks also to all the Club Chairs who have taken part in the end of season Regional Club Chairs meetings. Your commitment of time is much appreciated. In less than a week, we will also see the opening of nominations for the four SLSNZ Board member roles that become vacant by rotation this year. Applications have to be in by July 24 and it’s important we get the best possible candidates for the Board Appointments Panel to review. It’s a rewarding role and a critical one for our movement. And you get to tell the CEO what to do!

From a SLSNZ perspective, we are rapidly closing in on June 30, which signals the end of our financial year and the start of 2018/19. For those that are interested, the Strategic Plan for the organisation for 2018/19 and the following two years is now up on our website for any feedback or comment. In the meantime we now preparing for the auditors to arrive to kick-off the annual reporting process and preparation for the AGM.

And that’s it from me- until next month stay warm!

Cheers,
Paul Dalton