There have been informal lifesaving services at various parts of the  stretch of Seven Mile Beach from Gerroa to the Shoalhaven River mouth  for close to  100 years  but it is 50 years since it came under the red and yellow flags of Surf Life Saving Australia to  provide a community volunteer  lifesaving service from the beach head  at Mackintosh Street, Shoalhaven Heads.

Many still living in the village were founding members and contributed to the building of the current clubhouse as a community effort in the early years before government and council building grants were available.

This has been the strength of the history of the Shoalhaven Heads community where locals responded to a need and then got on with the build or contributed to fund-raising. Anyone who has visited the beach in recent months will have noted the recent repainting of the clubhouse which includes a mural of the shore birds that frequent the estuary and new club signs.

This season  we will be running the Bronze Medallion (16 yrs up) and Surf Rescue certificate (14 yrs up) training courses for new members who want to become volunteer lifesavers. The courses start on Sunday, October 2, 9am-12pm and will run for five weeks. Please contact us by email: secretary@headssurf.com.au or ring Karl on 0401 824 335 for information.

We welcome all ages and a range of fitness abilities and you will be surprised how your fitness improves through the course training.

Many of our patrol members are also parents of our junior Nippers members who came into lifesaving after watching their families enjoy learning about surf and beach safety through fun activities managed by our Junior activities co-ordinator (JAC) Anna and parent age managers.

Shoalhaven Heads Nippers starts with registration and compulsory proficiency swim sessions this weekend at Bomaderry Pool, Saturday, September 24 and Saturday, October 1 11am-1pm. Our club registrar and JAC will be on hand for registrations for kids aged 5-13. Only U8s-U14s need to do the swim test.

The first session at the beach is October 16 at 9-11.30am. Please contact Anna on 0499 293 549 or email: jac@headssurf.com.au. You can also enrol or renew memberships online via information on our club website www.headssurf.com.au or www.sls.com.au/join. The club is taking part in the Surf life Saving Australia Club Open Day on October 16 from 9.30-12. Info via website or club facebook page.