In the event of an emergency on the beach, phone “000” and ask for NSW Police

Lifesaving Leaders

This article originally appeared in the Illawarra Flame, February 28th 2022

March 8 is International Women’s Day and Scarborough Wombarra has a great reason to celebrate – this summer, the surf club is fielding its first all-female patrol!

As a teenager, Rachelle Balez was the only girl on her patrol. Today, the 35-year-old scientist captains a patrol made up entirely of women at Scarborough Wombarra Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC.

Rachelle is the daughter of sculptor Didier Balez (the artist behind Comradeship, the beautiful steel sailboat memorial overlooking the ocean at Coledale). Rachelle grew up in Wombarra in a quieter time, when artist Ian Gentle had his studio at Clifton, before Sea Cliff Bridge, weekend crowds and standstill traffic. She remembers days at the beach when her dad was the only life saver on duty. The surf club was small; its female quota was tiny.

“I was the only girl who did my Bronze Medallion when I was 16, and I was probably the youngest by 10 to 15 years,” Rachelle says.

“Most of the guys that were doing it were young dads and their kids had just started Nippers.

“It probably wasn’t until over 10 years after I did my Bronze Medallion that I had my first patrol with another girl.”

Read the full article in the Illawarra Flame – Lifesaving Leaders

Send us an email

I acknowledge that the information I am providing in this form is for the proper management of Scarborough-Wombarra Surf Lifesaving Club Inc. (The Club) and for the administration of Surf Life Saving related activities in Australia. The information is collected in accordance with the SLSA Privacy Policy (available at www.sls.com.au). The Club may share my information with SLS affiliates in accordance with its Privacy Policy and it may also be used to notify me of other events, news, and to offer the provision of services, including by third-party providers, to me. I understand that The Club’s Privacy Policy contains information about how I may access and request correction of my personal information held by The Club, or make a complaint about the handling of my personal information, and provides information about how a complaint will be dealt with by The Club. If the information is not provided, my application may be rejected or services may be unable to be provided to me. I acknowledge that if I do not wish to receive promotional material from SLS sponsors and third parties I may advise in writing or via the opt-out process provided in the relevant communication. Privacy complaints should be directed to The Club in the first instance or to Surf Life Saving Australia.