Surf’s up for Queensland secondary students

A future world champion ironman or ironwoman could be uncovered this week, thanks to a surf competition being rolled out by The University of Queensland and Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ).

The two organisations have partnered to deliver the UQ Secondary School Surf League, with the championship to be held at North Burleigh on Thursday 10 March.

Almost 150 high school students will test their abilities in activities including ocean swimming, beach sprints, board paddling and surf rescue, with the winning school taking out the inaugural UQ Cup.

The program introduced high school students to surf sports in a fun and safe environment.

A UQ spokesperson said the partnership with Surf Life Saving Queensland opened up many opportunities to improve beach safety education and allowed more people to enjoy Queensland’s wonderful beaches.

“This program is a great example of the success of the partnership so far, and we look forward to continuing this relationship with SLSQ to create positive change for Queenslanders.”

SLSQ chief executive officer John Brennan OAM said the event was a great way to engage with school-aged children from across the State.

“We’re really proud and pleased to be partnering with The University of Queensland to roll out this competition,” he said.

“It’s a great opportunity to promote an active and healthy lifestyle for school children while, at the same time, creating a pathway for them to get involved in the surf lifesaving movement in the years to come,” he said.

The UQ Secondary School Surf League is based on a successful competition that has operated in regional areas across the State for the past 10 years.

UQ and SLSQ entered a formal partnership in October last year, covering a range of areas including surf safety education and awareness, collaborative research and best practices in lifesaving.

2016 UQ Secondary School Surf League from The University of Queensland on Vimeo.

Media: UQ Communications, Caroline Bird, c.bird1@uq.edu.au, 07 3365 1130; Surf Life Saving Queensland, Cameron Ward, cward@lifesaving.com.au, 07 3846 8035, 0419 201 246.