Surf life saving: Pacific quartet rewarded for voluntary input

Danielle Stephenson (left), Charlotte Welsh, Lydia Wilkins (representing sister Morgan Wilkins) and Magnus Larkin are this year's recipients. Photo/Warren Buckland

Napier Girls High School year 11 student Charlotte Welsh has always enjoyed helping out in the community.

So she didn't have to be asked twice by a friend who was hoping Welsh would join her as a member of Napier's Pacific Surf Life Saving Club.

"I thought it would not only provide an opportunity to train and get fit but it also gives one the chance to help save people," Welsh explained.

The second year lifeguard has another reason to stay with the club for the long haul.

Welsh and three other club members, Danielle Stephenson, Morgan Wilkins and Magnus Larkin, this week became the latest recipients of Rob Guildford Charitable Trust Scholarships.

They each received a custom-made paddle and a bag containing a variety of sports gear from Rebel Sport in Napier.

"It was neat to be one of the four as ski events are my main ones ... the paddle will get plenty of use. This makes you want to train harder with the aim of qualifying for the nationals," Welsh, who is also into board and beach sprint events, said.

She has experienced a successful rescue mission when she was attending a training camp with a group of clubmates at Waipatiki Beach in December.

"A group of people got caught in a rip but by working together we got them back to the beach," Welsh recalled.

Taradale High School year 12 student Stephenson, 16, is a third year member of the Pacific club.

"It was an awesome opportunity to get one of the paddles because I consider the ski to be my No 1 surf event. It's so cool because all four of us really enjoy the ski and the new paddle really helps," Stephenson said.

She pointed out she finished seventh with her old paddle at the Hawke's Bay champs earlier this month and in the same event with her new paddle at a Hawke's Bay carnival at Ocean Beach last weekend Stephenson was second.

"I'm hoping to compete at nationals in the future but not next month's as they are on the same time as the national secondary schools canoe polo tournament and I'm hoping to be selected for those. This weekend's Art Deco tournament in the Bay doubles as trials for our school teams," Stephenson explained.

Like Welsh, Stephenson, plans to be a long-serving member of the Pacific club.

"Even if I go to university [Stephenson is considering studying pathology at Otago University] I will come back to the club during holidays."

Club spokeswoman Anne Cooper said all four recipients give the club a huge amount of voluntary hours.

They regularly fill in for others during lifeguarding sessions, they are leaders for the club's nippers during Sunday morning training sessions and at junior carnivals and they provide leadership during mid-week trainings.

This week's function at the club was the sixth time scholarships have been presented in memory of Rob Guildford, the father of former All Blacks and Magpies winger Zac Guildford.

He died of a heart attack shortly after watching his son score two tries as New Zealand beat England 44-28 in the final of the 2009 Under-20 World Cup in Tokyo.

Rob Guildford's brother Daren said the Pacific club was chose because of it's association with the old Napier Cosmopolitan Club which the trust had a strong link with.

He pointed out the club benefited from sponsorship from Specialized Construction Products and Rebel Sport Napier this year.

Donations to the trust can be sent to: The Rob Guildford Trust, Private Bay 6018, Hawke's Bay Mail Centre, Napier 4142.