Marcus Agnew: Big thanks to the surf lifesavers

Marcus Agnew

It was great getting along to Westshore in Napier last Sunday morning, and seeing the next crop of surf lifesavers mixing it up and getting among it at the local carnival.

All the local clubs fronting up to make for a great day for all the juniors, pitching their skills and competing for their clubs on the sand and in the surf.

Unless you happen to be a part of it, it is one of those unseen yet crucial community activities going on, where we have a great bunch of community volunteers, hidden away from the limelight, but doing so much to develop knowledge and confidence in the surf for our young people.

These volunteers give up so much time during the weekends, and for trainings during the week, and make sure there is a steady stream of fit young people coming through, who can serve as our lifesavers out at our favourite beaches all around the country.

Although they are passionate about it, and love it, they could still take the easy route in life and not do it, and it is pretty easy for the rest of us to take them for granted. Always running on the smell of an oily rag, it's certainly a great sport and a great cause for sponsors to get in behind and put their name to.

There's something for everyone – everything from some good water safety beach experiences, through to a great weekend of competition at the annual national event at the Mount in Tauranga.

Thanks to the volunteers passing on all their skills and ensuring the next generation of lifeguards are there to patrol our beaches in the future. Surf is a great sport for kids to get involved in, with so many transferrable skills to help them in sport and life.

Swimming in a pool is one thing (and hard enough) but ocean swimming is a whole different kettle of fish. Aside from the obvious benefits of being safe and having fun in the surf, people with those skills can be real heroes and become perform that vital volunteer lifeguard role for our community.

And if so inclined they can make surf lifesaving their competitive passion, and represent their club at some beautiful spots around the country, and who knows, maybe even go on to represent the Black Fins and take up some overseas travel opportunities.

If you or the kids have been inspired by all the action on the TV show Bondi Rescue, and are thinking of giving it a go, the clubs are welcoming and great at introducing beginners.

Far from a loose recreational activity, it is a very well organised sport, with well-established to stage people through the different levels to keep them safe, and to progress them through to more advanced levels as they get confident and competitive.

They work on slowly building up a range of skills, from fun beach sprint and the agility of diving for the beach flags, gently and progressively introducing the kids into the surf, even if it is just knee-deep for the nippers, before they earn the right to progress up through the levels, and earn their next 'cap' colour.

Surf is one of those sports that offers a great base of development for confidence and skills they can transfer into enjoying other sports too. It certainly isn't easy at times, if the breeze picks up and the water's a bit cold, it can be absolute gold for learning to get outside the comfort zone, and learning some toughness to push through challenging situations.

And even if they don't get into it full-on, surf is a great option if you are looking to give your youngster a bit of variety, challenging them in a new sport, or just getting them off the couch and away from that device.

At the very least they will have a bit more knowledge and respect for the ocean, be a bit safer out there, and who knows they may kick on to be able to help out and look after other people's lives in the future.

Through the off-seasons many of the clubs offer training right through the winter, which is an affordable and good option if the full commitment of a swimming club is not what you are after. And then during the summer months, some clubs offer training sessions during the week with a mix of swimming and running as a good fun way to keep up some base fitness.

So as the summer heat starts to really kick in, and with the beaches being busier than ever, make sure you spare a thought for the surf lifesaving crews, respect them at the beach, and give them your support in any way you can.

Marcus Agnew: Community Development | International Rugby | Lecturer, researcher & initiator of Hawke's Bay's Institute of Sport & Health.