FAR NORTH COAST SURF LIFE SAVING RAISES THE FLAGS FOR ANOTHER SEASON

With record numbers expected to fock to beaches as temperatures soar this summer, Far North Coast Surf Life Saving (SLS) is marking the beginning of the season with its annual Raising of the Flags event at 8:30am this Saturday 23 September at Ballina Surf Life Saving Club.

An iconic part of the community, Far North Coast SLS has been supported by Newcastle

Permanent for more than 15 years.

Newcastle Permanent Branch and Lending Manager, David Parker, said the customer-owned organisation is proud to see the fags fy once again this season.

“Far North Coast SLS play an important role in our community, and I look forward to seeing our local volunteers down on the sand each summer,” Mr Parker said.

“Last year there were nearly 3,000 members on duty, together dedicating close to 450,000 hours to keeping our beaches safe.

“We are extremely proud of our partnership with Far North Coast SLS, which provides equipment and resources required to ensure our region’s beachgoers are in safe hands.

“It’s fantastic to see the iconic fags raised for another summer!”

Far North Coast Director of Life Saving, David Rope, said safety is more important than ever this year, as evidenced by how busy his volunteers were last summer.

“Our volunteers rescued 105 people last year, provided frst aid 210 times, and took 7,500 preventative actions to keep the community safe,” David Rope said.

“We had close to

300,000 visitors to our beaches last summer, and we expect that number to increase with reports of a hot, dry summer on the way. The simple message is swim on a patrolled beach between the fags.

“We are grateful for Newcastle Permanent’s support, which assists with the recruitment, training and retention of our life savers.”

Every year, Newcastle Permanent invests almost $1.5 million into local communities through its partnerships, employee donations, volunteering and fundraising programs.

Far North Coast branch has ten clubs, from Yamba to Fingal Heads. People interested in joining the Surf Life Saving movement can fnd their local club at www.slsfnc.com.au