CLUB DEVELOPMENT & LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Surf Life Saving South Australia has 23 clubs with a total membership in excess of 8500, which continues to grow each year. In order to keep our clubs and members motivated and to ensure the future viability of the organisation, it is important that we provide opportunities to develop their skills and abilities, and that clubs pursue development opportunities that are made available by Government and other sources.
Club Executive and Office Holder Training Calendar 2025/2026
Below is a full list of webinars and workshops to assist different portfolio officers within your club. Ensure that you register for your chosen sessions to receive the recording post-webinar. Each webinar is 1.5 hours long unless stated otherwise.
Contact member development@surflifesavingsa.com.au for more information.
| Date | Webinar | Content | Audience | Host Organisation | Presenter | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | ||||||
| Tuesday 30.09.2025 8:30am ACDT | Autism Awareness and Understanding Training Online | The South Australian State Autism Inclusion Charter commits the State Government to providing training to improve the understanding and awareness of autism and autistic individuals in the workplace. The one-hour in online training provided is cost free to attendees, delivered by the autistic Director Training and Strategic Engagement. This training is aligned with the aims of the State Autism Strategy 2024-2029. | Club management and Child-Safe Cooridinators | Department of the Premier and Cabinet | TBC | REGISTER |
| October 2025 | ||||||
| Thursday 9.10.2025 7:00pm ACDT | MPIO | For Brand new Member Protection Information Officers (MPIOs) this session assists you to use the SLSA Complaints Policy from the perspective of an MPIO, helps you to understand your role in the complaints process and provides guidance on how to support club members. | Club management and Child-Safe Cooridinators | Surf Life Saving Australia | Morgan Lander | REGISTER |
| Tuesday 14.10.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Optimising Board Performance | Practical Strategies for success: This webinar offers insights and strategies to help club and branch boards improve their functioning and effectiveness. Learn about communication, decision-making, conflict resolution, and strategic planning. Led by governance experts, gain actionable tips to enhance board performance and drive organizational success. Join us to foster better collaboration, increase efficiency, and maximize board impact |
All Club Board Members | Surf Life Saving NSW | TBC | REGISTER |
| Wednesday 15.10.2025 7:00pm ACDT | Lifesaving CPR Q&A session | These Q&A session are an opportunity for Surf Life Saving members who have completed both the online theory and practical session to ask any remaining questions of the project team. The focus is on helping members understand the reasons behind recent changes and providing clarity where needed. Open to all active Surf Life Savers and SLS members who have completed both components. | Active Patrolling members | Surf Life Saving Australia | TBC | REGISTER |
| Tuesday 21.10.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Managing Capital work projects and finances |
If your club is currently doing or thinking of a major renovation or capital work project, this is a key session for you. A dive into understanding how to manage project cash flow to completion and acquital, advice on the do's and don'ts of capital works projects and some insight into how to avoid common pitfalls. |
Club Presidents/Club Boards | Surf Life Saving NSW | Phil Ayres SLSNSW Chief Operating Officer Susan Ahmelman – GSU Manager SLSA |
REGISTER |
| Thursday 23.10.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Child Safe Implementation | Understanding best practice in clubs A deeper dive into how to create a child safe culture at your club. This session will share information and resources available to clubs when delivering child safe engagement and will explore case studies and best practice from clubs from across NSW. |
Presidents / MPIO / Child Safe Officers | Surf Life Saving NSW | Jeannette Mangan - SLSNSW Child Safe Officer |
REGISTER |
| Tuesday 28.10.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Marketing, Media and Promotions |
We can help you to better promote your club’s activities and attract support and sponsorship by exploring marketing and media concepts, approaches, and tools that will assist your club in developing a marketing plan. |
Publicity Officers / Club Promotion / Marketing / Member Services | Surf Life Saving NSW | SLSNSW Media Team | REGISTER |
| November 2025 | ||||||
| Tuesday 4.11.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Social Media for Clubs | We’ll explore how you can produce social content to leverage and promote your club’s activities. Get some tips on how to inform, celebrate and educate using social media. We’ll show you some content that works, guidelines for current trends in social media and some inexpensive equipment to add to your club kit. |
Presidents / Administration, Publicity Officers / Member Services |
Surf Life Saving NSW | SLSNSW Media Team | REGISTER |
| Thursday 06.11.2025 5:30pm-7:30pm ACDT | Sponsorship and Funding Webinar |
Sponsor engagement and funding source from SLS foundations & SLSNSW partnerships. One of our most popular webinars, find out all you need to know about sponsor engagement and getting the most out of the SLSA Grant Seeking Unit (GSU), delivered by specialists in the field from SLS Foundation and SLSNSW partnerships. |
Finance / President | Surf Life Saving NSW | Various | REGISTER |
| Wednesday 12.11.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Online Safety 101 for Community Sport Clubs | These sessions are for community sport leaders and volunteers who want tips to create safer online spaces and learn how to respond to online abuse. | Junior and Nipper Leaders | Department of the Premier and Cabinet | Various | REGISTER |
| Thursday 13.11.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Member Engagement | This interactive workshop aims to discover ways to increase member participation, by bringing together clubs from different regions to share ideas on engaging members. Join us to explore strategies for encouraging members to take on club roles, ways to improve communication, foster inclusivity, and generate involvement. |
Club Management / Member Services |
Surf Life Saving NSW | Jenni Darwin – Club Services Manager SLSNSW |
REGISTER |
| Monday 17.11.2025 7:00pm ACDT | Lifesaving CPR Q&A session | These Q&A session are an opportunity for Surf Life Saving members who have completed both the online theory and practical session to ask any remaining questions of the project team. The focus is on helping members understand the reasons behind recent changes and providing clarity where needed. Open to all active Surf Life Savers and SLS members who have completed both components. | Active Patrolling members | Surf Life Saving Australia | TBC | REGISTER |
| Thursday 20.11.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Complaints Management Implementation |
A guide to handling complaints well in clubs Guided by experienced complaints managers, this hands-on workshop looks at real life case studies and identifies how to work through processes, understanding steps in the policy, levels of complaints and how to manage difficult conversations. |
Complaints Managers, MPIOs | Surf Life Saving NSW | Phil Ayres – SLSNSW Chief Operating Officer Kerry Downes - SLSNSW Complaints Manage |
REGISTER |
| December 2025 | ||||||
| Tuesday 02.12.2025 5:30pm ACDT | Lifesavers with Pride | The ocean is for everyone. Lifesaving is too Lifesavers with Pride lead national targetted inclusion and outreach programs to recruit and retain surf lifesavers on our beaches. They showcase lifesaving as welcoming, progressive and inclusive for the LGBTQIA+ community. This session with give insight into the national programs, such as Rainbow Beaches, and will share how their engagement model can be applied to any surf club and the community they serve. |
Member Services / Adminstration, President |
Surf Life Saving NSW | Lifesavers with Pride | REGISTER |
| February 2026 | ||||||
| Thursday 12.02.2026 5:30pm ACDT | Finance Webinar 2 | Financial compliance and reporting as a NFP An overview of ACNC requirements for your financial reports, reporting thresholds, audit requirements and EOFY |
Finance / President | Surf Life Saving NSW | Finance Team - SLSNSW | REGISTER |
| March 2026 | ||||||
| Tuesday 17.03.2026 5:30pm ACDT | Administration Workshop Season End | End of season administration A session focusing on end of season tasks including Surfguard administration, annual reports, Awards of Excellence and AGMs |
Administration | Surf Life Saving NSW | Jenni Darwin – Club Services Manager SLSNSW |
REGISTER |
| April 2026 | ||||||
| Tuesday 21.04.2026 ACDT | Annual Reports – content, design and delivery |
Creating a great annual report An overview of reporting requirements, inclusions and content recommendations together with some design guidance from our media team |
Administration | Surf Life Saving NSW | Jenni Darwin –SLSNSW Club Services Manager SLSNSW Media Team |
REGISTER |
A number of websites provide documents, resources and online tools to assist clubs:
Sport SA resource page
Clubs SA - Licensed Clubs' Association of South Australia
Australian Sports Commission Club Development
Surf Life Saving Australia Member and Club Development (via members' portal)
Australian Drug Foundation Good Sports
Australian Tax Office Not-for-profit
Sports Community (fundraising, grants)
Our Community (guide for not-for-profits)
Office of Sport (NSW) Running your club
Department of Sport and Recreation (WA) Clubs
Sport New Zealand Managing Sport
State Leadership Opportunities
Lifesaving Development Camp (16 - 17 years old)
The Lifesaving Development Camp is a five day / four night camp based at Chiton Rocks SLSC and the south coast beaches/pool to develop lifesaving, leadership and aquatic search and rescue skills for 16 and 17 year olds. It is an ideal opportunity for those who are looking to push their lifesaving skills and build a knowledge of emergency operations. The week is equally challenging and rewarding as participants undertake a number of advanced SLS awards (culminating in the Cert III in Public Safety (Aquatic Search and Rescue)), lifesaving and emergency operations activities and scenarios.
The 2025 camp will be held from Sunday 14th December - Friday 19th December 2025 at Chiton Rocks SLSC. Details can be found here on our Calendar which will be updated as more details are released, including application process/timeline.
2025 will see the introduction of Camp Mentors and Camp Assistant Mentors.
Youth Development Camp (Under 14/15)
The aim of the U14/15 Youth Development Camp is to allow participants to explore the different pathways open to them as they transition to Senior patrolling members of their club. Activities may include lifesaving skills and personal development, leadership and teamwork as well as fun activities. Participation is via club nomination.
The camp is held in the April school holidays over three days / two nights at Adare campsite at Victor Harbor. Clubs are expected to provide volunteer adults/leaders to assist with the activities and chaperoning duties.
Dates for 2024 camp are 16 - 18 April 2024. Details can be found here on our Calendar.
National Leadership Opportunities
National Leadership College (20 - 30 year olds)
The National Leadership College is the accumulation of year on year development of the nationally delivered leadership program. The college philosophy is 'interactive shared learning' and relates SLSA's leadership competencies to grass roots surf life saving. This is achieved through key note speakers and a focus on facilitator lead workshops.
The college assumes participants come into it with some previous exposure to leadership training, preferably from within the surf life saving leadership pathway, but it could also come from their careers outside of surf. Potential participants can come from a range of different backgrounds, interests and areas of focus within the club environment - although it is preferable that they have been involved in previous state leadership training. These future leaders are most likely patrol captains, chief instructors, club captains, age managers etc.
CIRCULAR for 2024 intake - APPLICATION FORM to be completed & returned to SLSSA via development@surflifesavingsa.com.au by no later than 13 November 2023
SLSA Leaders Masterclass
The aim of the SLSA Leaders' Masterclass (formerly SLSA Leaders' Conference) is to provide an opportunity for existing leaders within SLSA (at all levels) to participate in a high-level leadership development program. The target audience for this masterclass includes committee members i.e. President, Deputy President, Lifesaving, Surf Sports and Junior/Youth roles. They should aspire to club/branch/state leadership roles into the future (next 3 years). The conference will provide participants with an environment that will enable them to refresh and extend their leadership capabilities. Details of next intake will be updated here when available.
SLSA Women’s Mentoring Program
SLSA embraces the importance of a diverse and inclusive organisation, including gender equality, and seeks to increase the number of women who hold leadership roles within SLS nationally. The Women’s Mentoring Program supports and encourages confident, strong and skilled women within SLS, to strengthen leadership skills, and identify, and develop the next generation of leaders to position SLS for the future.
Next intake commences November. CIRCULAR (including online application links for both Mentor and Mentee roles).
Leadership Alumni Network
A Leadership Alumni Network is currently being established to provide an ongoing support network for those members who participate in national leadership programs such as the Leaders Masterclass, Sir Adrian Curlewis Scholarship and National Leadership College.
The Leadership Alumni Network is still in design, but we anticipate it will offer an opportunity for members to share experiences, knowledge and ideas in a likeminded environment. The network will be chiefly an e-forum that communicates the latest thinking in leadership, management and areas directly related to surf life saving. If you have previously been a part of a SLSA leadership program and would like to join the alumni and network please contact us at development@surflifesavingsa.com.au