Surf Life Saving

Friday, 15th March 2024 at 10:15am

From Piha to California!

With a recent change in our weather, summer swimming may be far from the minds of many at the moment. But for two of our young lifeguards from Green Bay High School, the need for action and awareness never stops!

Leon Schipper (Year 12) and Illinois Cooney (Year 11) will be representing Piha SLSC and heading off on an exchange with Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguards, in the heat of the Californian summer (flying out during the Term 2 break).

Although the exact details of their itinerary haven’t yet been finalised, Leon says he is looking forward to experiencing how surf lifesaving is done by American counterparts, while also being immersed in a different culture.

“It will be interesting to see if they do lifeguarding differently.”

Leon says the two-week programme will probably include training days with the Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard community, working alongside peers in watch towers and at lifeguard stations.

As part of the Huntington Beach exchange, Leon and Illinois will stay with their American hosts, who will arrive in New Zealand in late December, spending time at Piha and learning a few tricks of the trade from NZSLS about keeping people safe at our NZ beaches.

• Illinois is currently in Mount Maunganui competing in the National Surf Lifesaving competition (14 – 17 March), with over 1,300 participants – we will catch up with him upon his return to school next week and see how he went!