Piha Surf Life Saving Club
Encyclopedia
Piha Surf Life Saving Club (sometimes called Piha Lifeguard Service) is a surf lifesaving club for the southern section of Piha
, on the west coast of Auckland
, New Zealand
, some 45 km from Auckland City centre. The patrol is featured on the TVNZ
reality show
Piha Rescue
, and is ordinarily broadcast Mondays at 7:30 PM on the channel TV ONE when a season is running.
The club is the best-known of 17 surf lifesaving clubs in the Northern Region
of New Zealand, and possibly the best-known club in the entire country. Its high profile is partly being due to its participation in the television series and partly through its location on one of the country's most-popular surfing beaches. The beach is also a regular venue for national surfing championships and the annual "big wave challenge", part of the national surf life saving championships.
The club was founded in 1934, and as such is the oldest club on Auckland's west coast. It pioneered the use of surf rescue boats in New Zealand, with the country's first surf boat, launched in 1936. The club was the inaugural winner of the national surf boat championship series, held at Wellington's Lyall Bay
in 1940 .
Piha has been the home club of several national champions in surf life saving and other sports, among them former Commonwealth Games
swimming gold medallist Dave Gerrard, national boxing champion Jackie Jenkins, and the champion swimmer Buddy Lucas
.
Piha
Piha is a northern New Zealand coastal settlement with a population of about 600. It is one of the most popular beaches in the area and a major day-trip destination for Aucklanders throughout the year, although especially so in summer.-Location:...
, on the west coast of Auckland
Auckland Region
The Auckland Region was one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the country's largest urban area. With one third of the nation's residents, it was by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.On 1...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, some 45 km from Auckland City centre. The patrol is featured on the TVNZ
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
reality show
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
Piha Rescue
Piha Rescue
Piha Rescue is a New Zealand reality series following the daily actions of the Piha Surf Life Saving Club lifeguards on the famous Piha beach. Piha is one of the most rugged West Coast beaches near Auckland...
, and is ordinarily broadcast Mondays at 7:30 PM on the channel TV ONE when a season is running.
The club is the best-known of 17 surf lifesaving clubs in the Northern Region
Surf Life Saving Northern Region
Surf Life Saving Northern Region is the organisation responsible for controlling the surf lifesaving activities around the Auckland region of New Zealand. It is responsible for surf beaches from Far North Rescue to Raglan Surf Lfe Saving Club. It is a district organization of Surf Life Saving New...
of New Zealand, and possibly the best-known club in the entire country. Its high profile is partly being due to its participation in the television series and partly through its location on one of the country's most-popular surfing beaches. The beach is also a regular venue for national surfing championships and the annual "big wave challenge", part of the national surf life saving championships.
The club was founded in 1934, and as such is the oldest club on Auckland's west coast. It pioneered the use of surf rescue boats in New Zealand, with the country's first surf boat, launched in 1936. The club was the inaugural winner of the national surf boat championship series, held at Wellington's Lyall Bay
Lyall Bay
Lyall Bay is a bay and a suburb on the south side of the Rongotai isthmus in Wellington, New Zealand.The bay is a popular surf beach, featuring a breakwater at the eastern end. It has also been the site of surf lifesaving championships, and is home to two surf lifesaving clubs. Lyall Bay is a very...
in 1940 .
Piha has been the home club of several national champions in surf life saving and other sports, among them former Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
swimming gold medallist Dave Gerrard, national boxing champion Jackie Jenkins, and the champion swimmer Buddy Lucas
Buddy Lucas
Frederick Ross "Buddy" Lucas is a former swimming representative from New Zealand.At the 1950 British Empire Games he won a gold medal as part of the men's 880 yards Freestyle Relay and two bronze medals in the 440 and 1650 yards freestyle races...
.
National championships
Piha SLSC has won various awards at the New Zealand national surf lifesaving championships- 1940 - Open surf boat championship
- 1947 - D. Wright, men's open surf ski race
- 1949 - D. Wright, men's open surf ski race
- 1950 - D. Wright, men's open surf ski race
- 1953 - D. Wright, men's open surf ski race
- 1958 - F. Lucas, men's open individual surf race
- 1962 - Men's open beach relay
- 1969 - D. GerrardDavid GerrardDavid Gerrard OBE, CNZM , is a sports administrator and sports medicine specialist, and former Olympic Games swimming representative from New Zealand....
, men's open individual surf race - 1969 - Men's open surf teams race
- 1973 - P. Collis, men's open beach flags
- 1974 - P. Collis, men's open beach flags
- 1974 - Men's open beach relay
- 1978 - A. Collis, men's open beach flags
- 1982 - Men's open boat rescue
- 1983 - Men's open boat rescue
- 1984 - Men's open boat rescue
- 1987 - Men's open boat rescue
- 1987 - Men's open surf boat race
- 1989 - D. Nicholls, women's open beach flags
- 1997 - M. Miller, women's open beach sprint
- 2007 - Piha Pistols, U19 Mens long course surfboats, U19 Mens short course surfboats
- 2007 - C. McCarthy, U16 Mens beach sprint