Australian Surf Rowers League

Ghost Who Surfs wrote:


Scott

Has there been some special dispensation. A reading of Policy 5.4 suggests that we need hours as well as proficiency.

SURF LIFE SAVING AUSTRALIA
POLICY STATEMENT
PROFICIENCY AND PATROL HOUR REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITION ELIGIBILITY
POLICY NUMBER
5.4
SEPTEMBER 2008
GENERAL
SLSA Competition is for registered, qualified and proficient Surf Lifesavers who have fulfilled their club, patrol, financial and other membership obligations.
To be eligible to compete in any SLSA competition or to receive endorsement to enter ILS or ILS member competition a SLSA member must:
• Be the holder of the appropriate SLSA Award relevant to the age category as detailed in the Surf Sports Manual or hold the equivalent overseas ILS member country award.
• Be SLSA proficient as prescribed for the relevant SLSA Award required for competition eligibility and as detailed in this policy.
• Be eligible under the necessary age category.
• Have met their patrol commitments as detailed in this policy and met all their Club, Branch, and State Centre requirements.
• Not be in default with their Club, Branch, State Centre or SLSA (or overseas ILS member associations) in relation to their service, financial or discipline obligations.
• Have met any other competition eligibility qualification requirements for specific events e.g. IRB, Surf Boat (sweep), Patrol Competition.
PROFICIENCY OF ALL COMPETITORS
All continuing members from the U15 up to and including Masters age categories who wish to compete at any SLSA Championship competitions are required to undertake the SLSA Proficiency Test relative to their Award by 31 December each year (31st July in the Northern Territory – this date or similar may also apply to areas of Northern Australia outside of NT with the approval of SLSA).
Any member completing their proficiency after 31 December each season shall be eligible to patrol but shall not be permitted to participate in any SLSA Championship competition until 1 October later in that year.
Those members gaining their Surf Rescue Certificate or Bronze Medallion in the period from 1 June of the preceding year will be considered as satisfying the proficiency requirements for entry to competition. Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 1
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 2
Note: 1 A member may apply to SLSA in extenuating circumstances (e.g.; illness, injury, special military deployment, approved leave of absence or employment) for an extension to the 31 December proficiency date for competition eligibility purposes. An extension application must be submitted and, if approved, the Proficiency shall be successfully completed prior to the close of entries for that competition the member wishes to enter. In no circumstances shall such an extension be granted beyond the advertised closing entry date for that competition (i.e. no late entry into that competition is permitted). An application directed to the State Director of Lifesaving as detailed in this note shall be considered and approved or declined by the respective State Director of Lifesaving after consultation (as appropriate) with the relevant state centre, branch or club and/or the local State Director of Surf Sports. A right of appeal to the SLSA Director of Lifesaving exists in the event the competitor feels that the decision of the State Director of Lifesaving is inconsistent with the intent of this policy, in this instance the SLSA Director of Surf Sports will be consulted by the SLSA Director of Life Saving prior to a decision being made. The decision by SLSA shall be final.
New members who gain their respective award after the 1st of January, (or proficiency in the case of recognition of an ILS overseas equivalent member country award), and after the closing date of entries, are not permitted late entry to that competition.
Proficient age group Members, who gain their Surf Rescue Certificate or proficient Surf Rescue Certificate Members who gain their Bronze Medallion after the close of entries, are considered as continuing Members, not new Members, and therefore may be entered as a late entry into competition.
Note 2: In other SLSA competitions, additional entry eligibility requirements may apply. For example:
• IRB Drivers, Crew, Patients are required to undertake additional awards/proficiency/licensing;
• Participation in the Patrol Competition requires Advanced Resuscitation Certificate awards;
• From October 1st 2008 to be eligible to sweep surf boats in all SLSA competitions sweeps shall have demonstrated competence in boat sweeping (checklist on SLSA website) to the satisfaction of a nominated accredited boat sweep and also hold a Level 1 Surf Coach Certificate as a minimum requirement to sweep in competition. Note: State Centres are required to maintain a list of qualified sweeps for reference by clubs, branches, and officials conducting surfboat competitions.
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 3
AWARDS AND ENTRY CLOSING DATES
New members joining after 1st January (i.e. those who were not members of SLSA in the season previous to which the competition takes place) gaining their award after the closing date of entries are not permitted late entry to a competition.
Note: A season is defined as the period from 1st October to 30th September in the following year.
Proficient age group Members who gain their Surf Rescue Certificate or their Bronze Medallion after the close of entries, are considered continuing Members, not new Members, and therefore may be entered as a late entry into competitions as detailed in this policy.
U/8 to U/14 members who wish to compete at any SLSA U/8 to U/14 competitions must have an age award. The proficiency of continuing U/8 to U/13 members remains current until 31 December each year i.e. members with an age award gained in the previous season may compete in competition up to 31 December in the following season without the need to complete their next level Age Award.
Note: Under 8 Members shall not be permitted to compete in water events other than the Wade Relay (because the timed pool swim and run swim run does not form part of the Under 8 Age Award/Proficiency.
After 31 December all U/8 to U/14 members who wish to compete at any SLSA U/9 to U/14 competition must have their relevant age award as at the close of entries (i.e.: No late entries are allowed for such members)
MARCH PAST
To compete in the Open Age category March Past event members must have fulfilled SLSA requirements in regards to membership status as decided by SLSA from time to time and be a minimum of 13 years of age and comply with one of the following requirements:
a) Be a proficient SLSA Bronze Medallion or Surf Rescue Certificate awardees.
b) Hold as a minimum a SLSA Resuscitation Award.
c) Have fulfilled the resuscitation requirements of the SLSA Bronze Medallion proficiency.
Further to this, members wishing to compete in the Open March Past event must fulfill their Patrol Hour obligations relevant to their membership status and the award to which they are qualified. (For example, an active Life Saving Certificate or Active Bronze Medallion holder must do patrols whereas a Club Life Member Bronze Medallion holder or an Associate member holding a Resuscitation Certificate does not need to do patrols).
To compete in the U/23 March Past competitors may be U/15, U/17, U/19 and U/23 year age category members who are proficient award holding members relative to their age category (i.e. SLSA Surf Rescue Certificate or SLSA Bronze Medallion) and who have fulfilled SLSA patrol requirements.
The U/17 March Past event may be contested by U/15 and U/17 year age category members. Who are proficient award holding members relative to their age category (i.e. SLSA Surf Rescue Certificate or SLSA Bronze Medallion) and who have fulfilled SLSA patrol requirements.
ENTRIES
It is essential that all Club Officers completing competition entries ensure the correctness of the current proficiency details included, and where required by entry bulletin, submit proficiency and/or assessment documentation with their entries.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, SLSA reserves the right to conduct a random or detailed proficiency check of entries and, under such circumstances, selected clubs will be required to submit appropriate documentation to substantiate the current award, proficiency and patrol hour status of those members entered.
The Proficiency and Assessment documents shall also be marked clearly to highlight the competitors names listed on the entry forms.
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 4
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 5
PATROL REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITORS
All members from 13 years of age (as at 30 September) are bound by the SLSA Patrol Exemption/Obligation Policy which is set out in the SLSA Regulations. Under no circumstance shall any competitor be granted Patrol or Club duty exemptions solely upon or for competition reasons.
Note: The patrol hour requirement also applies to Surf Rescue Certificate members wishing to compete in Under 14 events.
Further, to be eligible to participate in competition, members must also adhere to any additional obligations as required by their club (as per the club’s constitution, regulations and/or rules).
In addition, all members who wish to compete at any SLSA competition must be registered, proficient and carry out required patrol duties, in accordance with the patrol hour requirements detailed in this section.
For all active and under 15 members and any other categories of membership not mentioned, the minimum number of personal patrol hours required for the period of 1 January to 31 December of the preceding year of any SLSA Championship shall be:
a) NSW and QLD 25 hours
b) All other States/Territories 16 hours
For Reserve Active members, the minimum number of personal patrol hours required for the period of 1st January to 31st December of the preceding year of any SLSA Championship shall be:
a) NSW and QLD 12 hours
b) All other States/Territories 8 hours
Any shortfall in these hours will not be allowed for any SLSA Championship competition eligibility purposes.
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 6
A club may give special consideration for full or partial exemption from patrol obligations to members who fall into any of the following categories:
• Principal Club Office Bearers e.g. President, Club Captain, Vice Captain, Lifesaving Director, Chief Instructor, and Secretary.
• Life Members (automatic full exemption is provided under SLSA Regulations).
• Long Service Members (automatic full exemption is provided under SLSA Regulations).
• Reserve Active Members. (Automatic partial exemption is provided under SLSA Rules and Regulations).
• Members carrying out duties in other areas such as offshore rescue boat, aerial services, support services and similar areas of active surf life saving.
• Members holding office in the Association at Branch, State or National level.
• Members on special SLSA assignment e.g. members of representative and instructional teams.
• Special deployment on Military Service.
Any non-automatic exemptions listed above must be constituted by the member’s club, and the individuals who meet criteria should be noted in club minutes and endorsed by the respective Branch/State centre by 31 December each year.
When applying for exemptions, which are not automatic under SLSA Rules and Regulations, copies of all relevant documents, e.g., extracts from Constitutions and/or Minutes of Club General Meeting should be attached.Only Long Service and Life Members shall be automatically exempt from patrol obligations.
Patrol hour requirements for March Past competitors shall be in accordance with their respective membership categories.
Hours shall only be calculated on the personal patrol hours completed by the competitor:
a) Rostered;
b) Substitute for other members (These hours will be credited to the member who is actually doing the patrol - NOT the member for whom the substitution is being done);
c) Voluntary patrols;
d) Water Safety for Junior Activities;
e) Specialist Services e.g. Helicopter, Offshore Rescue Boats, Radio Commands.
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 7
Note 1: Penalty patrol hours shall not be used as credit for a competitor’s patrol hour total.
Note 2: Patrol hours must be recorded in the Patrol or service logbook and uploaded to SLSA in either SurfGuard or SurfMate as appropriate.
Note 3: Members who are employed lifeguards, helicopter crew or beach inspectors are not exempt from patrol hours.
Note 4: A member will be credited with and recognized for all Beach patrol hours completed irrespective of where those hours were completed. The practical aspect of this is that a member may patrol for one SLSA club and compete for another SLSA club providing their competitive rights are maintained, and they are not in breach of their financial, club obligations or patrol hour requirements at either the club for whom they are competing or the club for whom they are patrolling.
Note 5: Any competing Member who is a Member of more than one SLSA Club shall be entitled to compete in club events of all such Clubs of which they are a member.
Note 6: New members joining a SLSA club on or after 1 January, and prior to the closing date of entries in that year must fulfill new members requirements (patrol hours) which have been set at a minimum of four (4) hours. In addition, new members must also adhere to any additional obligations as required by their Club.
The personal patrol hour obligations of new members joining after January 1 and before December 31 of the preceding year or for continuing U/13 or U/14 members shall require completion of their hours on a reduced basis (refer table below) from that calendar year from when they have obtained their award/become proficient (as applicable) provided that a minimum of four (4) hours is undertaken prior to the close of entries.
The following table sets out the minimum personal patrol hour obligation for members joining after January 1 and before December 31 of the preceding year:
Note 7: The minimum patrol hour requirement for new members, members rejoining a club (was not a member of SLSA during previous season (1st October to 30th September), or members returning after a leave of absence must not be less than 4 hours before the close of entries for that competition the members wishes to enter.
Award Gained/Returning member proficiency date
Min. Patrol Hour requirement Active and Under 15 QLD/NSW
Min. Patrol Hour requirement Active Reserve QLD/NSW
Min. Patrol Hour requirement Active and Under 15 Other States & NT
Min. Patrol Hour requirement Active Reserve Other States
& NT
January
25
12
16
8
February
24
12
15
8
March
20
12
12
8
April – September
16
8
8
4
October
12
8
8
4
November
8
4
8
4
December
4
4
4
4
Note 8: Surf Life Saving Australia reserves the right to identify members from some, or all entries, and to ask the respective State Centre to examine the eligibility of these members.
Note 9: Where clubs consider they are disadvantaged by the listed patrol requirement, they may make an application for a reduction of the patrol hour requirement through their respective Branch and/or State Centre on an annual basis.
Note 10: If Clubs have in their respective Constitutions a regulation that members who are in default of a specific number of patrol hours are suspended from Club privileges and activities, then that club regulation must be applied to members being entered into any competitions.
Alternatively, clubs must observe the SLSA Constitution, which provides for a maximum of 10 hours patrol default whereupon members must not be entered for any competitions.
Note 11: The national requirement of 10 hours default is the maximum default hours permissible but any lesser hours provided in the Club regulation must be applied.
Note 12: Penalties including forfeiture of entry fees may apply to Clubs entering members who are in personal patrol hour default.
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 8
Policy 5.4 (revised September 2008) 9
Summary:
The SLSA Director of Life Saving jointly with the SLSA Director of Surf Sports will be responsible for all matters, of which final settlement is not covered in this policy.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information or enquiries, please contact SLSA on (02) 9300 4000 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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