IRB
REPORT
The IRB section is a big part of lifesaving at Bondi – we touch nearly
every aspect of operations from Patrolling to Nippers, supporting our
competitors and Club fundraising events like the Bondi Bluewater.
To support this activity, we welcomed 36 new crew and 10 new drivers
to the section, which has to be a record for the Club. A big thanks to our
awesome lead IRB Trainer, Ronny Krite, for coordinating all this activity, as
well as our committed band of IRB trainers for spending a lot of their winter
mornings, typically quite cold and wet, to ensure our drivers at Bondi have
the skills they need to save lives on the world’s most famous beach.
This year, we were also really proud to have three new IRB trainers
qualified. This represents the pinnacle of our training program at Bondi
– first, you need a crew, who then become highly qualified drivers and
then you need to convince a few of those drivers to spend a lot more
time on the beach to train others. Congratulations to Dan Rosado,
Sarah Chard and Julie Pritchard on this achievement. You are all
amazing drivers with a lot of great skills and responsible driving habits
to pass on to our future drivers and crew candidates – we are very
happy to have you as part of the training team.
Looking forward, the Bondi IRB racing team is excited to be once again
competing in the Sharkskin NSW IRB Premiership. The team has been
training hard under race coach, Nixy Krite, to hit the line every two
weeks between May and July over winter and the IRB section is hoping
to see the team bring home some more bling come the NSW State
Championships and the Australian Championships!
Finally, thank you to all the drivers and crew – who it would take up my
word count to list individually, who have contributed so much to patrols
and additional water safety this season, particularly those who put their
hand up for even one extra water safety shift outside regular patrols or
who have helped with fuel runs, engine maintenance, packing up ducks
for competition and other thankless tasks. I see you doing that, and I
certainly thank you.
After five years, this season was my last as IRB Captain but I look
forward to supporting my successor and continuing to support the IRB
section and the broader Club as a regular old IRB driver once more.
Alex Ayscough
IRB Captain
27
117TH ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2023/24