What it looks like to be SLSWA Administrator of the Year

Lyn Brosens (Mullaloo SLSC) isn’t your average admin worker. When she isn’t busy in the surf office, you’ll find her on the beach, hail or shine, coaching athletes, training members and saving lives.

We asked Lyn to share some of her favourite surf lifesaving moments with us, as well as some things most people wouldn’t know about her… check out her answers below.

When and where did your surf lifesaving journey begin? I was 12 years old when my swimming coach invited me to attend a training session with a life saving club in Durban, South Africa. I ended up joining and competing for several years, touring all over South Africa’s coastal cities.

What is the most memorable moment you’ve had during your time with surf lifesaving? The funniest moment was when our bronze group trained for two months in the most perfect weather then, at the assessment, it hailed.

The happiest times have been watching all “my boys” (the age group I coached for five years) get places in their competitions and sharing the excitement with them.

The most exciting moment was my very first rescue. Priceless.

Tell us a bit more about your rescue? I remember being at the patrol shelter when a large wave came in, dragging a lot of people out to sea past where they could stand. Those unable to swim waved for help and were helped stay afloat by the public until the competent youth lifesavers grabbed boards and rushed in… but there was too many needing help, so another member and I took tubes and rescued an adult each. What a rush!

I have trained bronze and SRC’s who tell me the stories of their rescues and you can see the excitement and proudness in their face and voice. That’s what volunteering is all about, is there any better way for the youth to be spending their weekends?

There is obviously more to being a surf lifesaver than just performing a rescue, right? I think that we have a lot more first aid cases than rescues, and that is probably a good thing.

When I am training a bronze or SRC group, I put a lot of emphasis on the first aid that is relevant to our beach at Mullaloo. For instance, we have a lot of snakes around, a fair number of cobbler stings, tons of stingers and blue bottle stings, sunburn, dehydrated youth, the odd cut, dislocation and spinal, and even the odd heart failure now and again. It is important to know how to recognise these and know how to treat them.

What is your favourite date on the SLSWA calendar? The best date on the SLSWA calendar is undoubtedly the first day of the season, on the beach. Chaos reigns, but all the children are so excited and happy to be there. There is so much energy!

What’s something most people don’t know about you? I am shy, but getting involved in all different areas of surf life saving and dealing with both adults and children has helped me to overcome my natural shyness.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in joining Surf Life Saving? Don’t think about it – just join. The beach is the best place to spend your weekends and you cannot do any better than giving your children the gift of an education at the beach.

Now for the serious stuff…

Dogs or cats? I have one big dog.  His name is Koda and he is a Rhodesian ridgeback. He is fiercely loyal and thinks every child is his playmate.

Does pineapple belong on pizza? My very first pizza was a hawaiian pizza – I love pineapple on pizza

What is your spirit animal and why? My spirit animal is a bear. Bears are devoted to those they consider family, they are very protective, gentle and powerful.