At the 100th AGM of the Avalon Beach SLSC Andrew Clark was formally elected a President for the 2025-2026 Season after Bernadette McKay stepped down from the role she has fulfilled since 2021.
Recently he has been among the first cohorts of the SLS SNB Branch to learn about progressions in resuscitation through Surf Life Saving Australia, and led by Branch CEO, Tracey Hare-Boyd, another outstanding leader, role model, mentor, and inspiration in our local surf lifesaving movement.
See: Surf Life Saving Australia Develops Innovative Lifesaving CPR: SLSA will host online Q&A sessions for members this Sept., Oct., Nov.
Andrew, known as 'Clarkie' to fellow clubmates, is a high energy intelligent gentleman, calm under pressure, with an appetite to learn all he can to save lives on our beaches.
He, alongside Karl Attkins, Mike Stanley-Jones, Blaze Roberts, Stuart ('Stretch') Cooper and Lucas Molloy, received an Award Of Excellence Meritorious Award in 2023, at State and National level, for their rescue of Mark Head.
Meritorious Awards are awarded to clubs, members or the public for outstanding deeds of bravery performed through lifesaving actions during and outside of patrol hours.
Mike’s rescue of Mark, unconscious and with serious spinal injuries, and the actions of fellow members, Andrew Clark, Stuart Cooper, Carl Atkins, Blaze Roberts and Lucas Molloy, meant Mark was able to be with the team to celebrate their award.
Mark said the support from his mates in the aftermath of the accident was critical to his survival.
“It’s not just the hour on the beach they spent with me, it’s the 15 months after. They’re the only reason I’m here tonight.”
The Avalon community gets to still see Mark's glorious smile and hear his laugh as a result. In fact, Mark was back to the club by November 25, 2023, still lighting up even overcast days with his inherent joy for Avalon Beach.
This Issue, as the Volunteer Patrol Season opens, a few insights into the 2025-2026 Season Avalon Beach SLSC President.
Your club turned 100 this year so there must be a lot going on?
There is. The highlight of the Club’s 100th year celebrations is the October long weekend. We are hosting a 100 year gala dinner where lots of current and former club members and dignitaries will be attending.
There is also an historical exhibition. The exhibition is being well led by by Geoff Searl, a Life Member and President of the Avalon Beach Historical Society. Everyone should come along to see that.
How did you join Avalon Beach surf club – are you a Nipper parent?
Yes, that is exactly how I became involved, I have children who participate in Nippers. My family moved to Avalon Beach in 2011 and a few years after that, one of my sons joined Nippers at Avalon Beach and I helped out as an Age Manager on a voluntary basis.
When the children get to 9 years of age and start to go into the water amongst the bigger waves a bit more, you need to have Bronze Medallion qualified parents in the water and so the surf club encourages Nipper parents to get their Bronze Medallion Lifesaving award, which is what I did. This also enables you start doing a Lifesaving patrol in addition to helping the Nippers children by being an effective Age Manager and be Water Safety for them.
So that was my pathway in.
Avalon Beach surf club has a BIG Nippers contingent – when do they start?
The enrolment for Nippers this Season has already started and we begin Nippers days from the 19th October and it runs through to mid March.
But you have also taken on a Patrol yourself and become a Patrol Captain?
Yes, I was asked by the former Director of Surf Lifesaving to take on a Patrol. I became a Bronze member in 2019 and then a few years back was asked to take on a Patrol as part of an initiative to get more Patrol Captains and smaller Patrol teams patrolling the beach during Covid so we could help manage the risk of people congregating at the beach. As a consequence of that, I was asked to form a new Patrol team which I did and that’s how I started as a Patrol Captain.
But you take on the BIG Patrol days, such as Australia Day, when we have thousands coming to our beaches. I remember being on the beach when you were directing your team to rescue someone – everyone just jumped to it…. Amazing to watch. Why do you take on the challenging public holidays Patrols?
Yes, I remember that day, it can happen on those busier days. That day was the very first patrol day for a new patrol team member who helped perform a successful rescue by saving a struggling swimmer from the perils of a dangerous rip. You took a great photo of him in action. We are lucky to have strong patrol teams at Avalon Beach. There are periods of the year where it is busier – around Christmas to New Year, Australia Day and Easter. Early in the year over January you get many hundreds more people coming to the beach. You know it is going to be busier than normal and I like to be a part of that action.
You have now taken on the Presidency, which is a lot of work – why did you want to do that?
I’ve been on the Board at the surf club for a couple of Seasons as Director of Lifesaving, so I’ve contributed to the Board, and former President Bernadette McKay had been fulfilling that role for some time and decided that she wanted to step down. We’d had a discussion as part of succession planning about whether I would be interested in doing it and I said ‘yes’. (laughs).
It's a big role but I know you have a great support team and many helpers at the surf club.
We have over 200 years of combined lifesaving experience from all the members of the Board of Management who help run the club. It is a very well-run club and has previously been awarded the “Surf Lifesaving Club of the Year”.
For members of the community who want to get involved in the surf club – the heart of the community – but who are not fit and there’s no way they’d ever get their Bronze, are there roles they can take on to help out?
Yes, there’s tonnes of stuff people can do - the club relies on people to help out to make it a very successful club and you don’t need to be a patrolling member with a Bronze Medallion award. There are all sorts of volunteer and administrative roles that can be done at the club.
You can be what is called an Award Member where you don’t need to do surf rescues or worry about being extremely fit. You can do ‘on beach activities’ that don’t require the same level of fitness. However, if someone is looking to set a goal to become fitter, the club can help you achieve your goal.
A typical Bronze Medallion course runs for 6 to 8 weeks and during that time there’s lots of fitness work involved. Our first Bronze Medallion course of the season starts on the 19th of October and we’d love to see lots of new faces turn up for that. Apart from Lifesaving activities, there are also lots of critical support jobs that need to get done at a surf club. Running the canteen for Nippers, managing the gear, supporting the members, there is a huge list of essential tasks.
If you look at all the beaches up and down Australia, Surf Lifesavers come in all shapes and sizes and are of all ages and backgrounds. It is a very inclusive organisation with great member engagement. There is a role for everyone.
Avalon Beach SLSC has a renowned Youth Program for members who are leaving Nippers but not yet Patrol Members – many getting their Surf Rescue Certificate before they can attain their Bronze Medallion – as well as other activities that evolved through the work of members such as Mike Stanley-Jones. Is that still happening at the club?
It is. That is a very important part of what the surf club does. Kids need to remain active and we love to keep them involved with the club so we put a lot of energy into fun activities for them. From when they finish Nippers in U/13 through to them being able to complete their Bronze Medallion from the age of 15, we implement great programs that are well led by people like Mike Stanley-Jones and Cameron Lane. Attaining a Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC) at the age of 14 is a crucial step to maintaining engagement with the kids and it helps them to complete their Bronze Medallion at age 15. We also find that kids that have never done Nippers also like the programs we run, and many come along just to complete their SRC at the club.
Mike is a pioneer in that area. He was a Nippers Age Manager for kids every year from U/6s to U/13s, then became a Trainer and taught over 50 kids to get their SRC and then a year later formed a patrol team with them with him as Captain. It’s initiatives like that that keep young people engaged in Surf Lifesaving and help bring the next generation of Lifesavers to the organisation.
The SRC and younger Bronze Medallion kids whom you will often see down at the beach, have got amazing water skills. I would be very happy for many of the 14, 15 and 16-year-old kids to come and rescue me - because you just know how capable they are. It also keeps them healthy, it keeps them connected to the community and the surf club family, and keeps them focussed on being able to do something that is positive for themselves and have fun with their mates.
Avalon Beach surf club is also quite famous for excelling in surf sports; IRB’s came out of the club, your surf boat division just keeps winning, and you have some pretty fast Nippers and Masters – on the sand and in the water - …
Yes, we have the current national surf boat champions. Our Boat Captains and Life Members Nathan Wellings and Peter Carter have been doing a tremendous job for years by training and leading the many competitive and award-winning rowing boat teams. We have a lot of competitors at the club across all disciplines and age divisions – beach sprints, rescue board, ocean swimming, IRB racing and ocean swimming. The club has a strong Surf Sports program led by Ashley Cardiff and a very proud tradition of competition. Surf Sports are a very important part of the heritage of all surf clubs, not just for the team building, fitness and competition, but also for the amazing rescue skills the competitors acquire. All the surf clubs up and down the Northern Beaches are littered with tremendous athletes and exceptional Surf Lifesavers.
Of course, Avalon Beach is most proud of its IRBs and their use in surf rescues after they originated at our club in 1969. Their use at beaches is now synonymous with Surf Lifesaving. At Avalon Beach and across all local surf clubs, the IRBs are ready to launch at a moment’s notice and assist in lots of different rescue scenarios. They are an essential component of every Surf Lifesaving patrol. All patrol teams feature an IRB, rescue boards and rescue tubes and are also well equipped with first aid kits and defibrillators or AEDs. You will always find a highly skilled team that is well led by a Patrol Captain which is constantly performing preventative actions and is ‘rescue ready’ as the saying goes.
Andrew achieved his Silver Medallion IRB Driver's award at Curl Curl on March 29 in tricky conditions.
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Patrol set-up at Avalon Beach, 2024-20-25 Season
Andrew on the beach, co-ordinating the Patrol Team as they rescue a gentleman caught in a rip, outside of the flags
Increasingly surf club members are on call year-round to assist in other emergencies – which in turn makes your role as President not just for the Patrol Season but outside of then so you can support the members qualified to help out in that role. Is that something you’ve looked into for ABSLSC?
Yes, it is – and Avalon Beach has supported the broader metro and regional communities by sending IRBs and teams to support other emergency services. As an example, 2 of its club members Nick Sampson and Jason Dale have received national recognition for their bravery and efforts whilst rescuing people from flooded waters. These types of operations are well supported by the leadership and operations of both the Sydney Northern Beaches Branch and Surf Lifesaving NSW organisations and requires co-ordination and management beyond the operations, and management beyond the operations and management of local clubs. In recent times there have been many training and education programs that give people the skills they need, so that if those opportunities arise, the Surf Lifesaving organisation is able to assist.
What has being a member of Avalon Beach SLSC given to you?
There are lots of things that it gives me, including a far greater network of people to be friendly with and know in the community – that’s first and foremost. The amount of smiling faces I know and see around town every day and can talk to has increased massively since I’ve become active in the Surf Lifesaving movement. The camaraderie you get between members in a surf club is excellent.
It's great to be a part of the high-performing patrol teams because you are performing lifesaving activities. You may not have to save a life every patrol, but you never know when you’re going to be called upon to save a life. When you’re rescuing someone, you are certainly operating in a pressured environment, in potentially a stressful situation, and working as a member of a high-performing team. Anyone who likes being a part of teamwork would enjoy that environment. It is very rewarding.
I’ve certainly learnt lots of new skills and am always continuing to learn as there are always new techniques and better ways of doing things. At present we’re seeing a world-leading change in how CPR is administered which is being taught by Surf Lifesaving, called ‘Lifesaving CPR’. This is a big initiative being championed by the Surf Lifesaving movement and is a new technique added to an existing skill that is critical.
It's the fitness and the fun from getting out and enjoying being in the ocean – I try and get down most mornings to go with a swimming group for a swim session in the ocean. Swimming with a group and with other lifesavers helps you learn how to enjoy a beach environment and manage the risks and you learn the skills that help you enjoy being in the water. Once you learn those you can have a lot more fun in the water on a lot more days of the year. Learning what a rip is, learning how to identify it and use it to your advantage should you need to, how and when to avoid it, identifying what dangerous conditions look like before you enter the water, how to navigate different waves, what equipment to use – there’s so many things you can learn that give you great skills and you can have a crazy amount of fun in the water.
What are your favourite places in Pittwater and why?
I have two – the northern end of Pittwater because you have so many options to do outdoor activities in this area and it is relatively unpopulated. If you like to do anything outdoors or that involves water, then I think this is the best place to live on the planet. There's not many people or much traffic and its safe. So, if you want to go for a swim or a surf or you want to go for a bike ride, it’s all here and in one of the most beautiful places on earth. You can exercise up and down Barrenjoey headland, Palm Beach is great – or you can do something different and run around the hills at Whale Beach.
Being a triathlete, I love riding around to West Head – so that’s one of my favourite places as well because it gives you a different perspective looking back at the peninsula from there. At Avalon Beach and around the Northern Beaches, you always have so many different options. Whether it’s any type of water sport or using your own energy to get around on dry land wearing your running shoes or pedalling a bike, there’s tonnes to do for people who like to get outdoors and exercise and be fit.
What is your ‘motto for life’ or a favourite phrase you try to live by?
I like people who are good for their word and reliable and do what they say they’re going to do. I think they are important qualities.
I like people to volunteer to help other people, to want to help, and I like to help other people as well. I think that’s a good thing to do, particularly in our area where it relies on a lot of volunteers for so many things to get done. I think we all need to look after each other and look after our special community.
With the patrol season upon us, what message would you give to people that come to the beach?
Always go to a patrolled beach and swim between the flags. Don’t be afraid to walk up to a Lifeguard or Lifesaver and ask them questions. They all love to help and will happily teach you things and give you great advice.
