UPDATE: EVENT POSTPONED
Gastro outbreak, pollution cancels Manly lifesaving comp
Previously:
The 2022 NSW Age and Youth Surf Life Saving Championships kicked off at Queenscliff today, Thursday 24 February, with thousands of the State’s best young lifesavers battling it out in the surf and on the sand over the coming four days.
These are the first four days of a 12-day NSW Surf Life Saving Championships comp running over three weeks in Freshwater and North Steyne.
More than 1km of crowd control barriers have been installed, running along the Manly beach strip, signalling the beginning of the three week event, the pinnacle of the Surf Life Saving NSW sport calendar.
This does make a large part of Manly off limits for beachgoers and surfers for stints over the next three weeks and parking will be at a premium. We have viewed private correspondence showing some dissatisfaction from the local surfing community.
But nabbing the competition from Lake Macquarie after five years is expected to bring economic benefits of over $10 million thought accommodation, hospitality and associated local visitor spend, it was declared at the original announcement in November 2021.
“We are so proud to host the NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, showcasing Surf Life Saving at its very best,” Mayor Michael Regan said at the time. “This major event will drive our local economy and support local businesses as they recover from the Covid-19 pandemic – especially our hospitality and accommodation providers.
“Supporting events like this is all part of our broader plan to grow our visitor economy, while protecting our environment and serving the best interests of our community.”
Conditions have not been ideal for the launch, however.
We have enquired with Surf Life Saving NSW whether any competitions will be postponed due to Beach Watch declaring much of the lower Northern Beaches likely too polluted to swim in but have not received a reply. Their website however does state that “significant storm water run-off from the lagoon at Queenscliff” may necessitate changes to the program on Friday.
“The Championships Safety Committee in liaison with the Northern Beaches Council continues to monitor conditions.”
The 2022 NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, supported by Your local club, runs from 24 Feb – 13 March at Queenscliff, North Steyne and Freshwater beaches. For full event info and results go to the official Event Web Page.
https://www.surflifesaving.com.au/event/2022-nsw-surf-life-saving-championships/
