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The Life Saving Victoria Senior State Championships, hosted by the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club, has been named the 2026 Warrnambool Community Event of the Year.
The 2025 championships brought more than 1000 people to Warrnambool across the three-day carnival, with competitors travelling from across Victoria to take part in beach, sand and boat events.
Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club Director Membership and Leadership Development Jacinta Roache said the club has highly-skilled members with a strong volunteer culture.
“We’re all really proud of our club. Every year, the commitment from our members is mind boggling, in hours, in knowledge and enthusiasm,” she said.
“We have so many members putting their hand up prepared to jump on board.”
She said the benefits extended well beyond the club, with visitors returning year after year.
“It’s not just about what it brings to our club, it’s what it brings to the broader Warrnambool community, because it brings so many people here to our beautiful coastline.” she said.
“We get constant feedback from so many members of other clubs that they just love coming down here.
“This year is coming up to our 14th year running a state event, and that’s pretty unprecedented.”
Ms Roache said the club’s ability to run a major event had been built up over time, with members ready to pitch in whenever needed.
“Our capacity to mobilise the workforce needed to run an event like this as well as we do has been developed over the years and we’re really proud.
“There were upwards of 1000 hours of volunteer time put into the event.
“There are so many aspects to it and our club members know their stuff.
“It’s like a well-oiled machine.”
She said surf sport played an important role in helping develop skilled, community-minded lifesavers.
“Surf sport is a pathway for us to ensure that we have fit, trained members and we’ve built a sense of volunteerism into our club so that we’re able to have those people mobilised and ready to patrol our beach over the summer months,” she said.
“It plays an important role as a sporting club, but also ensuring that we have those skilled people ready to look after our holiday makers and our locals in an aquatic environment.”
Warrnambool Mayor Ben Blain thanked the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club for their enormous contribution to Warrnambool.
“To host a major state championship is a big achievement. To do it every year for over a decade is unheard of for a regional city,” he said.
“It’s only made possible through the dedication and professionalism of so many people at the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club who continue to put their hands up year after year to help make is a success.
“As a coastal city, we’re very proud of our beach, and this event is a real showcase of that. We’ve got beautiful Lady Bay where events can be moved to different sections depending on the conditions. And many of the competitors stay at our foreshore caravan parks and just really enjoy the precinct. When you’ve got the beach to one side, Lake Pertobe on the other and the city centre just up the hill, it makes for a pretty good place to spend a long weekend.
“Congratulations to everyone involved, and I’m looking forward to another successful event in March with the Junior State Championships to be hosted in Warrnambool.”
The Warrnambool Citizen of the Year Awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday January 23 at 6pm.
The event will be held at the Warrnambool Stadium, 71-77 Caramut Road, with all welcome to attend.
Other award winners include Warrnambool Citizen of the Year Dr Barry Morphett, Young Citizen of the Year Meekah Merriman and Local Achiever Bruce Morton.
The event will also include an Australian Citizenship ceremony, with 47 people to take the pledge and officially become Australian Citizens.