Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club

The Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club’s core purpose is to prevent injury and drowning on Papamoa Beach through delivering excellence in lifeguarding, surf sports and leadership programmes via strong membership and community engagement. We do this without any government funding. A new Surf Lifesaving Club is an urgent need which will serve not just the Club but the wider Bay of Plenty community.

Papamoa is recognised as one of the fastest growing urban localities in New Zealand and the current facility is unable to support current needs or any future growth. This growth is bringing new people into our community, a large number of which have low levels of beach awareness and water skills and who also require a place for community activities to take place. Statistics collated by Surf Lifesaving New Zealand confirm the Papamoa club sits within the top ten busiest nationally. (for patrol hours, rescues, first aids, preventative actions and other on-beach activity to keep beach visitors safe). The wider Bay of Plenty community will benefit greatly from the delivery of this project.

The current facility was constructed in 1990 with the materials of the day, which have deteriorated beyond repair. The facility was for built for a peak membership of 150 and with the current membership of over 750 (and growing) it lacks space, is not functional, is of a poor layout and does not adequately support surf lifesaving and rescue activities. These shortcomings all result in the Club being constrained in its abilities to carry out its essential activities along the Bay of Plenty coastline.

The dedicated (unpaid) lifeguards of PSLSC devote over 4000 volunteer hours each summer to ensure the safety of the community. Thousands of hours are spent training through our Surf Sports Program to ensure that our lifeguarding ability is delivered in the most effective and reliable way. Papamoa SLSC volunteers also provide an on-call 24/7 rescue service all year round and support local emergency services when necessary. Our Junior Surf program is about developing tomorrow's lifeguards and opening up a whole new world to children. The national Junior Surf program is designed for 7-14 year olds but at Papamoa we have extended this to include 5 and 6 year olds as well. By encouraging our kids to have fun and to participate safely in the Surf Life Saving spirit of fair play, it is an ideal way for children to develop and improve their surf lifesaving knowledge and skills for themselves, and one day possibly for others.

Papamoa Surf Life Saving Club's purpose is to prevent injury and drowning on Papamoa Beach. We do this by developing lifeguards in an environment that is safe, fun, goal focused and disciplined, enabling our members to achieve their full potential.

Although one of the youngest clubs in New Zealand, the membership of PSLSC has grown rapidly and substantially to become one of the largest with nearly 700 members aged from 5 years through to 80. Papamoa is one of the fastest growing communities in New Zealand and over 20,000 people visit the 14km of white sandy beach here each summer. This beautiful coastline is bordered by an ever lengthening residential strip of housing making it the longest stretch of beach actively patrolled by any club in the country. In addition to our lifeguard service, Papamoa SLSC offers a comprehensive Junior Surf program for 5 - 13 year olds, a Rookie Lifeguard program for 12-13 year olds and a competitive Surf Sports program for those 10 years and up.