Club believes it has the secret sauce for national success

FROM a 15-year-old preparing for her first national championships to former Australian champions chasing more success, 13th Beach Barwon Heads Surf Life Saving Club will send a powerhouse squad to next month’s Australian and Interstate Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) Championships.

More than 30 club members will head to South West Rocks in New South Wales, from 15–19 July.

For Clem Chettle, the event marks her national debut.

The 15-year-old earned her Bronze Medallion in surf rescue only this year but quickly developed a passion for IRB racing after watching her teammates compete.

“It gave me a twinkle in my eye just watching videos of some of my teammates in the boat,” she said.

“Before then I had no knowledge of the sport, but I knew I loved racing.

 

 

 

“I’ve really got a drive for it and with Aussies coming up, it feels so exciting to be coming together and putting our months of hard work to good use.”

At the other end of the experience scale is Jake Pownall, who completed his Bronze Medallion at Ocean Grove in 1997 and has been competing in surf life saving ever since.

Pownall and club president Matt Burke began racing IRBs for Ocean Grove in the late 1990s before joining 13th Beach in 2015.

These days, Pownall is focused on helping develop the club’s next generation.

“I’ve missed three Australian titles since 1999, but age is now not on my side,” he said.

“I’ve spent many, many years in the boat, and now it’s about putting in to help our next brigade of clubbies.

“It’s a tough cookie to crack to get a win at Aussies, but we feel we’ve got the secret sauce this year. You’ve got to be tough and quick, and I know we have that.”

Burke said the IRB program was vital to the club’s patrol operations.

“We wouldn’t be able to put a patrol on the beach, truly,” he said.

 

 

 

“We’ve really worked at the culture of this team and it’s a credit to them for sticking at it and embracing our club.

“We’ve got the future right here in front of us, like Clem. These guys are the future board members, ones doing the patrols, and it’s so exciting.”

The club will also have 21 members representing Victoria in the teams discipline, underlining the club’s remarkable rise in recent years.

“It’s huge for us,” Pownall said. “There’s 30 or so heading up, and to have two-thirds of them also wearing the big V is incredible.

“Three years ago, we had a team of 16 people, and we were lucky to make a relay team. Three seasons later, we win the Victorian title for the under-23 division.

“We hope to finish in the top three this year. We think that’s a reachable goal. A win in the next few years is what we are working toward.”