Austi local Adam Turner is chief training officer at Austinmer Surf Club. (Ironically, while these articles are supposed to be about individuals or families, during my conversation with Adam whenever I said ‘you’ (meaning Adam), he would correct me and say ‘we’ (meaning him and the dedicated team of volunteers that has helped Austi surf club numbers to balloon in recent years).
Adam and the whole Turner family are heavily involved at Austi Surf Club.
Like many smaller surf clubs along our coast, Austi has been struggling for volunteers for patrols and nippers’ coaches. The focus of their five-year plan (and who doesn’t love a five-year plan) was going to be on recruitment and running their own courses and training.
Well, they’re doing something right because Austi won the Patrolling Club and Club of the Year Illawarra in 2024, and when I sat down with Adam to have a chat over a coffee, he told me that another 20 people had qualified for their Bronze Medallion.
The club now has more than 300 registered nippers and on a Sunday morning the beach is awash with nippers. Nippers is all about the kids having fun while learning about how to read the surf, keep themselves safe, and help others.
The club’s families include locals, but also some from south-west Sydney, including Campbelltown and Liverpool. Feedback from the parents is that they love the Austi club’s practical training and the quality of people running the programs.
The emphasis is on training as many people as possible and now 12-year-old children have the opportunity to qualify for their Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC). Once this is achieved, they are able to do patrols.
Austi now has a full roster of volunteers to keep our beach safe. A great joy for Adam and his team is now seeing parents patrolling with their kids.
This season Austi life savers have performed more than 50 rescues. Even though the beach is only about 250m long, it has a handful of pumping rips. Surf club volunteers try to educate beach-goers on those hazards and more.
Many people who come from out of the area are not familiar with the ocean and its potential dangers. Trying to get people to swim between the flags is the No.1 priority – and also ensuring they are wearing appropriate swimwear. (Adam is still amazed by the number of people who go into the water in jeans and T-shirts!)
Apart from the potential drownings, Adam and his team have to deal with lost kids, people stung by blue bottles, medical events (some extremely serious), and people who have been injured when they’ve washed onto the rocks. Blood and dislocations are common.
But danger is still present after the flags have been packed away and the lifesavers have gone home. On January 18, 2021, Adam, along with Adrian and Will Kors, saved seven people who were caught in a rip at Austinmer Beach. In 2024, the trio was awarded a Group Bravery Citation for their actions.
In many ways we take people like Adam – and his club, and all clubs that donate hundreds of hours to keep our beaches safe – for granted. We know they’ll always be there and we never take into account the amount of work and training they do to ensure we all get to go home.
So to these unsung heroes, we thank you!
