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WHAT’S INSIDE
Membership Sign-up / Renewal
SLSNZ | Eastern Region Patrol Stats 2025/26
2026 Bay of Plenty & Coromandel Award Finalists & Recipients
Polar Plunge - Saturday 11 July 12.30pm
Calling All Bay of Plenty Artists
Lifeguarding Latest
- Public Rescue Equipment Session
- Wāhine on Water Wrap
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Waihī Beach Represented at Northern Region Leadership Camp
- Support Christiaan's Big Swim
Board Buzz
- National Volunteer Week - Thank You
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...to renew your club membership!
By joining or renewing, you directly support the work of our lifeguards and volunteers, helping to fund frontline patrols, Search & Rescue, training and development, equipment, and our ongoing work with the Waihī Beach community.
Plus, you receive reciprocal rights to Bowentown Boating & Sport Fishing Club and the Waihī RSA!
Just click the button 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
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Eastern Region Patrols: Summer Impact
Preliminary stats for the Surf Life Saving Eastern Region’s 2025/26 season show the incredible impact lifeguards have across our coastline. Covering 19 clubs from the top of the Coromandel Peninsula to Uawa in Gisborne, Eastern Region lifeguards helped keep thousands of beachgoers safer between Labour Weekend and Easter.
Across the season, Eastern Region lifeguards completed 257 rescues and 283 assists to safety, meaning 540 people got to head home safely to their families.
They also responded to 63 searches, provided 528 first aid treatments, and carried out 11,084 preventative actions, the proactive conversations and early interventions that help stop incidents before they happen.
Behind these numbers are dedicated people. Volunteers contributed more than 47,000 patrol hours, supported by a further 25,000 regional paid patrol hours during the busiest summer months.
Altogether, that’s around 77,300 patrol hours spent watching over our beaches.
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Our 2026 Award Finalists and Service Award Recipients
Waihī Beach Lifeguard Services has plenty to celebrate, with nine individual nominees named finalists for this year’s SLSNZ Coromandel and Bay of Plenty Awards to be held on 25 July.
This year’s Waihī Beach nominees are:
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[Top row L-R] Andrew Cochrane for Volunteer of the Year, Nicholas Wagstaff for Powercraft Contribution of the Year, Max Morley for Emerging Coach of the Year.
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[Mid row L-R] Connor Miller for the Coaches’ Commitment Award, Max Page, Athlete of the Year age group finalist, Maddie Scown for Examiner of the Year.
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[Bottom row L-R] Luke Butler for U19 Lifeguard of the Year, Sharlene Manukau for Patrol Support of the Year, Fiona Swain for Official of the Year.
Waihī Beach Lifeguard Services is also a finalist for Overall Club of the Year, recognising the collective effort behind the club’s season.
We wish all the finalists the best of luck and we'll share the results next newsletter!
Also being recognised with service awards are:
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Regional Service Awards: Lifeguards Rian Butler and Aron May, Lifeguard and Director of Sport Madeleine Schnackenberg and retired lifeguard Dennis Butler.
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Regional Distinguished Service Award: long-standing Board Member Natalie Lloyd.
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Regional Life Membership: Senior Lifeguard and Independent Board Member Christiaan Maarhuis.
We are incredibly proud to see these members recognised for their outstanding service, commitment, and contribution to surf lifesaving.
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Costumes Ready? Waihī Beach Polar Plunge Returns - Saturday 11 July, 12.30pm
Bring your whānau, friends, workplaces, sports teams, and community groups for a chilly but cheerful afternoon, all for a gold coin donation to support our lifeguard services.
This year, prizes will be awarded for best dressed across Individual, Under 12, Group, and Corporate categories, thanks to local support from The Sauna Project, Bachcare, and The Surf Shack.
Waihī Beach volunteer surf lifeguards will support the event, so plungers can take part knowing safety is front of mind. Afterwards, everyone can head to The Deck Kitchen & Bar to warm up with traditional favourites including mulled wine, hot chocolate, coffee and hot food.
In the meantime, support our wonderful Polar Plunge sponsors: 👇👇👇👇
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Calling All Bay of Plenty Artists
Live Well Waihī Beach is inviting local artists to help transform the Accessible Changing Facility at Waihī Beach, located within the club, into a calm and uplifting space through a community mural competition.
Thanks to funding from the Creative Communities Scheme, coordinated by Creative Bay of Plenty - Te Waka Auaha Toi, Live Well is able to bring this special project to life.
Artists living in the Bay of Plenty region are invited to submit beach-inspired concepts that reflect the spirit of Waihī Beach. Themes such as Tūhua / Mayor Island are encouraged, with designs also considering neurodiverse users through calming colours and accessible imagery.
Key dates:
- Submissions close: mid-July
- Top 3 shortlist selected: mid-August
- Public voting: after the shortlist is announced
- Winning artist announced: around the end of August
- Mural unveiled: ahead of summer 2026
For more information, email Cindy Clare at hello@livewellwaihibeach.co.nz
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Public Rescue Equipment - should I stay or should I go?
Our lifeguards recently hosted a community education session at the club to help locals and visitors better understand the new Public Rescue Equipment (PRE) installed along the coastline.
The session included an introduction to PRE, a surf safety briefing on rips, hazards, and emergency response, and a practical activity for stronger swimmers.
Attendee Carola Ferronato tested the buoy with one of our lifeguards acting as the patient. After practising floating support with the rescue buoy and attempting a tow, Carola said, “I am exhausted. I thought I’d have a couple of goes, but once is enough!”
Senior Lifeguard Lucy Scown who ran the session said, "PRE education is as much about knowing when NOT to enter the water, as about going in. For many people, the safest response is to stay on shore, call 111, advise the police of the nearest beach access number if known, and keep eyes on the person in trouble until help arrives."
Keep an eye out for the signs next time you're at the beach and check out this video to see the rescue buoys in action 👇
https://youtu.be/iuFnjhGad_E?si=c29IbjPkkl8FW30h
Our lifeguards are planning more sessions over summer — watch this space!
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Wāhine on Water — what a weekend!
#NoOffSwitch: staying rescue ready
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On 20 June, 48 wāhine from across the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty came together at our club for Wāhine on Water, a regional development day run by SLSNZ | Eastern Region.
Participants of all skill levels got hands-on time in the IRBs, covering everything from crewing and driving to patient pick-ups and navigating surf.
Our Waihī Beach team then extended the weekend with a sunset coastal run, fish and chips, a club sleepover and a waffles-and-Pilates Sunday morning.
Watch the beach this summer — our young wāhine lifeguards are raring to nail their IRB Crew and Driver modules!
A huge thank you to SLSNZ | Eastern Region for a brilliant event, to our water safety team for holding it down on the water, and to everyone who came along to lend a hand with set-up, pack-down and all the jobs inbetween.
Photos featuring: top Isabel Shaw, middle Emma Page, bottom Georgie Brown (credits - Christian Richardson) and below 'the Waihī Wāhine' on their sunset mish.
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Waihī Lifeguard represents at Northern Region Youth Development Camp
#NoOffSwitch: training through the off season
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Byron McIntyre, lifeguard, athlete, and all-round good sort, earned a place at the Northern Region Youth Development Camp on Motutapu Island near Auckland. The annual leadership and personal growth programme is for young surf lifeguards and patrol supporters aged 15–17.
As the only candidate from our region, Byron battled traffic to make the ferry, then joined 60 other young lifeguards from across the upper North Island for a long weekend of challenge, teamwork, and adventure.
The camp wasted no time turning up the intensity. After a rainy 3km walk to the dorms, participants tackled snorkelling, kayaking, a ropes course, and group problem-solving activities, all designed to build leadership skills. Byron said the surprises kept coming too, with a 1am wake-up and more overnight challenges testing how everyone handled pressure.
Byron said he had a blast, even when some activities pushed him out of his comfort zone. He came away with new skills, more confidence, and a real appreciation for working as part of a team. Best of all, he said the camp leaders were so awesome and inspiring that he’d love to return one day as a leader himself.
| | | Update on Christiaan's Big Swim | | |
Last issue we shared that Christiaan Maarhuis, Senior Lifeguard and member of the Board, is taking on a huge challenge this June, swimming 100km in 30 days as part of The Big Swim to raise funds for Coastguard.
Well, after a huge effort he's there. He's raised an incredible $780 so far. Let's help him reach his target of $1,000 for this amazing cause.
Click or tap the image to donate 👉👉👉
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National Volunteer Week: Thank You
Some volunteer hours are easy to see: the red and yellow flags, the patrol shirts, the rescue gear on the beach. But so many happen quietly - the “I’ll just pop down and help” moments that turn into a full afternoon!
National Volunteer Week is a chance for our Board to recognise all of the hard work that goes on front and back of ‘house’. To our whole volunteer whānau, the Board would like to say a heartfelt thank you.
| | Polar Plunge, Sat 11th July, 12.30pm, Waihi Beach | | And thanks as always to our key donors and sponsors for all of their ongoing support to deliver lifesaving and search and rescue services. | | | | |
