“Insane”: Lorne lifesaver reflects on national award

LORNE Surf Life Saving Club’s Sophie Carne took home one of lifesaving’s biggest individual awards over the weekend and the 20-year-old medical student couldn’t believe her luck.

Carne, who studies out of Melbourne’s Monash University and spends her summers at Lorne SLSC, was invited to Surf Life Saving Australia’s Awards of Excellence in New South Wales last Saturday, where she took out the Youth Lifesaver of the Year Award.

“It’s an insane thing to have happened and I think it’s really given me an opportunity to reflect on what happened over the past season, how lucky I am to be a part of the Lorne SLSC, and to have the mentors that I have,” Carne told this newspaper.

Carne received the smaller-scale yet similar Youth Lifesaver of the Year Award earlier this year at the Life Saving Victoria awards night.

Originally from Ocean Grove, a family connection to Lorne and yearly summers to the coastal Surf Coast town were the reasons for Ms Carne joining the local lifesaving club.

Ms Carne said the highlight of the year was spending time with her fellow lifesavers in Lorne, where she leads the club as patrol vice-captain and co-first aid officer.

“There is people organising all different kinds of things throughout the season from social events to courses,” Ms Carne said.

“It’s just a brilliant, dynamic environment to be a part of, full of ideas, energy and people coming up with new things all over the place.

“I’m really interested in healthcare which is why I decided to take on the first aid officer role, a lot of that feeds back into my degree as well.

“The Silver Camp co-ordinator role at Lorne is also something I really wanted to do as well, so I applied.”

Lorne SLSC’s Silver Camp allows anyone with a Bronze Medallion to complete a series of advanced courses to become further involved in the club.

Ms Carne has also contributed to Lorne’s Pink Patrol and Green Patrol, patrols respectively highlighting awareness around inclusivity and eco-friendly practices.

Sophie’s next goal in lifesaving is to get Silver Camp participants qualified in first aid so they can assist at next year’s Pier to Pub in a medical capacity on January 13.

The Pier to Pub, which is organised by the Lorne SLSC each year, brought in an estimated 40,000 visitors earlier this year.