Congratulations to Year 13 student Sam Salter who was awarded the UI9 Lifeguard trophy at the SLS Capital Coast 2024 awards evening held on Saturday.
Alec Mackay, Chair of the Palmerston North Surf Life Saving Club has provided us with this information about Sam's service to the club:
In 2023/24 Sam was the vice Club Captain, transitioning to Club Captain in 2024/25. He is a committee member and with the Club Captain is responsible for delivering the volunteer service at Himatangi Beach which even on a good day is challenging. Sam is someone who would be best described as a quiet overachiever. In the last year he has qualified as a patrol captain, IRB driver, advanced first aid, SLA instructor and on the side completed the IRB 90 mile, Tangi cup and BOP long-haul. He was a mentor at the recent intermediate guard school at Castlepoint.
Sam was the Patrol Captain on the day of our club’s annual fundraiser ‘The Big Dig’. With at least 1500 on the beach with 100’s inside the flagged area, he was notified of a multi-patient trauma incident on the beach north of the patrolled area. Working alongside Rob Bigwood they identified and swiftly sent the most appropriate lifeguards and resources to the scene, while ensuring there were sufficient capabilities to continue the patrol between the flags. They frequently updated Surfcom and responders with the latest information and requested paramedics and a rescue helicopter.
We are a Club with a small number of active lifeguards at the moment, so most lifeguards find themselves taking on multiple roles and accumulating plenty of hours. Sam did 110 volunteer patrol hours.
Sam is a standout in the Club on multiple fronts, ranging from his athleticism, rapidly expanding surf lifesaving skill set, and involvement in training, instruction, and mentoring to administration and planning as a member of the Club's committee. As a committee member, he is involved in all the decisions the Club makes. Our challenge is to be able to keep challenging him. He is a great role model for the movement.
