2018 Awards of Excellence Winner Profile: Jackson Symonds

Winner Name: Jackson Symonds
Club: Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club
Category: Open Athlete of the Year
What Year Did You Join Surf Life Saving: 2003/2004
Achievements (can be personal, professional or Surf related): 4x Australian Open Beach Sprint titles, Australian Life Saving Team Representative, Qualified Plumber

2017/18 Season Highlights:

• 2018 Aussies: Gold, Open Beach Sprint
• 2018 Aussies: 4^th, Open Beach Flags
• 2018 SunSmart WA Senior Surf Life Saving Championships: Gold, Open Beach Flags
• 2018 SunSmart WA Senior Surf Life Saving Championships: Silver, Open Beach Sprint
• 2018 Western Suns Ocean/Beach Interstate Team representative
• 2018 Western Suns Open Elite Surf Team representative
• Australian Life Saving Team representative

Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club beachie Jackson Symonds has taken out the SLSWA Open Athlete of the Year title for three years running.

This year, Jackson charged into Surf Life Saving’s history books, becoming the first runner in over 50 years to win a fourth Australian title, after he took out first place in the Open Male Beach Sprint.

Jackson recently returned to Perth after a trip to Japan as part of the Australian Life Saving Team, who competed at the Sanyo Cup (June 23-24). You can read about the trip here.

Read more about Jackson below:

1. Tell us something interesting about yourself!
   Other than having many pre-race superstitions, the left side of my body weighs 6kg more than the right…which apparently isn’t a good thing
2. Did you grow up with the beach? If so, where was your home beach?
   I grew up around Sorrento beach
3. When you’re not down at the beach, what keeps you busy? (Study, work, other hobbies?)
   Work usually takes up a lot of my time/week, but other then that I like catching up with friends, coffee, food
4. What does Surf Life Saving mean to you?
   To me, Surf Life Saving is about giving back to the community, and making friendships with people all across Australia and the world. What better place is there to compete or train everyday than the beach?
5. What is the best thing about your Surf Life Saving Club?
   One of the best things about Sorrento is that it is a big family club, where everyone helps out everyone.
6. What is your most memorable – whether it be funny, happy, tear-jerking or exciting – moment you’ve had during your time with surf life saving?
   I think it’s hard to just have one memorable moment… Getting my first Australian Life Saving Team blazer and first Open gold medal are pretty memorable moments.
   I also like seeing the younger ones (Charlie Rigby, Sydney Rafferty, Charley Rafferty and Tyson Cook) from our beach squad do well and achieve some special results.
7. What advice would you give to someone who is interested in joining Surf Life Saving?
   The best advice I have would to be give it a go. It’s a great sport where you can learn a lot of important life skills, from CPR to surf awareness. Plus, you get to spend every Sunday down at the beach during summer which is pretty good.