Aussies 2026 are officially over with 137 Coogee athletes competed for 9 hard days of competition between Saturday 21st to Sunday 29th March over North Kirra, Bilinga and Tugun beaches on the Gold Coast. 

​316 Surf Clubs come together to compete, providing more than 7000 competitors in more than 550 beach and ocean events, that saw Coogee walk away with a sensational 33 medals – 14 Gold, 9 Silver & 10 Bronze.
Our competitors were presented with every type of conditions with heat, wind, cold, rain and surf that was constantly changing to levels that saw events moved beaches and/or held over for 2 days due to safety concerns.
Highlights would have to be:

• Coogee R&R Team taking out 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze medals, 2 x 4th places and crowned no. 1 Club in Australia (again) enabling us to retain the Ron Sandstrom Trophy
• Coogee Surfing Team won 6 medals and crowned no. 3 Club in Australia
• Beach team won 4 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze medals – 3 individual and 5 team finalists
• Youth Water Team coached by Cam Habler won 1 gold and 2 silver medals and competed in 20 finals across all disciplines - amazingly every member made a final!
• The Boats took away 9 x Crews (entered into 10 events), won a Bronze in Masters women and made it out of rounds for 7 of the other crews including 2 x u23 Female, U19 Female, Open Female and Reserve Men all making it to the Semi finals

 
Thank you to the Management & Competition committees, officials, sponsors, water safety, trailer towers, parents, supporters and especially the passionate coaches who made this the success it was for the Two Blues!
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The "Dads and Mums Army" of Coogee SLSC held an amazing 25 Year Reunion last Saturday night at the Club, and what a night of celebration it was.

205 DMA Members had a "Party for the Ages" with many people catching up after many seasons of their DMA squad going through. From members of the original BM Squad in 2001-2002, to DMA XXX who graduated that morning, the event was certainly an impressive celebration. The night had some great presentations of members sharing their own personal stories, and the life changing event that was their DMA journey. 
The event was supported by our Sponsors Vital Dental and CA-CIB, and the LOCOS certainly made the dance floor jump with some amazing sets.

All in all a great celebration of 25 Seasons, 720+ Lifesavers trained, and so many friendships and years of service to Coogee Minnows and Coogee SLSC.

Well done DMA 👏  👏  👏 

Before diving into the 3 days of competition we just want to thank all the officials, IRB crews, water safety, coaches and patients who covered roles to fulfill our quota components across the 3 weeks for the Lifesaving, Age, Masters, Open and Boat championship carnivals. Without your efforts our competitors wouldn’t be able to shine for the Two Blues.​

After 11 days of competition and more than 250 athletes from Coogee pulled on the Two Blues, some for the first time at a State Champs, the 2026 SLSNSW State Championships are complete. In total, Coogee accumulated 421 points across all carnivals that included a total of 64 medals…21 being gold.
 
For our Open competitors, last week, across the beach, water, R&R and boats were able to finally hit the beach up at Swansea Belmont between Friday 27th February to Sunday 1st March. We had just over 70 athletes, including 8 boat crews, pulled on the Two Blues across the 3 days that saw Coogee come 12th overall on 113 points (just 4 points from a Top 10 finish) with 14 medals including 6 gold.
 
This year saw us field a large team in the water and boat areas but all the team across all disciplines represented Coogee with the skill, tenacity and professionalism that we is the normal for the Two Blues.
 
Just a couple of special call outs across the carnival:

• Our first time competitors in the Open champs in our U15 in both the water and beach with
  • Roman Szabo making the final for all his individual events (Ironman, Board and Surf Race) – where he was joined by Ashton Habler in the Surf Race final
  • The whole beach team that won gold in 3 of the 7 events available, plus 1 silver, including individual gold in the U15 female beach sprint to win a total of 30 points for the club. Some of this team then stepped up to race in the U17 relays.
• Ava Szabo, our Board and Ski Captain, making the Open Female Surf Race final
• Drew Hayes winning and coaching for multiple medals on his birthday on the Saturday in the R&R area
• Our youngest female boat crew, Commandos, dealing with their events constantly being pushed back due to safety concerns to be our on boat crew to make through to a final on the Sunday and take out a Silver in their first State Champs.

With this event being one of the key focus points for a season all our competitors can’t take the foot of the pedal as some, in our U13 to U15 athletes, are only just over 2 weeks away from the Aussie Titles at Kirra Beach and in between our Boaties head up to Ocean Beach to contest the Metropolitan Championships. That weekend will also see the DMGs, Sons and Havachats represent Sydney Branch at the InterBranch Champs.

So congratulations to all our teams, thank you to all for their efforts and for those still with carnivals left we are behind you for these last couple of weeks.

#gothetwoblues

We were a depleted bunch with many plagued with injuries, sickness and work commitments but 3 men and 8 women, plus a male and female boat crews, made the trip to Swansea Belmont for beach and water events Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th February with the boats on Friday 27th. Unfortunately, due to lightning and a difficult edge, the Men’s Boat crew (M&Ms) weren’t able to complete their rowing as the whole carnival, including the open events, was cancelled in the middle of their rounds.
 
Incredible racing, camaraderie and lots of bling all round for these Two Blue legends.
 
Our small but determined team came 12th overall with 5 Gold, 12 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. All 12 women managed to get at least one medal. We are so grateful to the whole team, Raul (Flores) would love some men to keep him company, CB (Craig Bennet) was our star handler on the beach and well done Marty (Jucker) for your first state champs. ​

​Below is a breakdown of all our medallists:

Linda Walsh: 7 Medals
Gold: iron & board rescue
Silver: board race, taplin, board relay, & beach relay
Bronze: surf team

Nicola Logan: 6 Medals
Gold: surf race & board rescue
Silver: taplin, board relay, & beach relay
Bronze: surf teams 

Michelle Donoghoe: 2 Medals
Gold: board rescue
Silver: board relay 

Julie Thornton: 3 Medals (first-ever state!)
Gold: board rescue
Silver: beach relay
Bronze: surf teams

Rona Macniven: 2 Medals
Gold: 2km Beach Run
Silver: beach relay

Helen Deas: 3 Medals
Silver: beach sprint, beach relay, & flags

Donna Cox: 3 Medals
Silver: 1km beach run & beach relay
Bronze: beach sprint

Allison Roberts: 2 Medals
Silver:  taplin & board relay 

Martin Jucker: 2 Medals
Silver: beach sprint
Bronze: beach flags 

180 yrs Female Boat Crew: Silver
Coogee Overwavers: Terrena Kolster, Gemma Lumley, Tracey-Lee McCarthy, Katie Vesper, and Rod Colman (sweep).

200 yrs Male Surf Boat Crew: Silver
Coogee M&Ms: Matthew Leary, Gregory Pollard, David Smith, Michael Terry, and Rod Colman (sweep).

​Our brand new Manta Rays program has got off to a smooth start over the last two weekends.

Champion Lifesaver is no small feat; it requires athletes to master a lengthly manual for a theory exam, nail two resuscitation scenarios, and compete in four grueling physical components.
Our team of 10 competitors showed the depth of our Club with Caitlyn Lee taking home gold in the U17 Female division (and a weekend-best score of 36/40) and Ben Heenan securing silver, both qualifying for the upcoming Australian Championships. Events like these don't happen without our volunteers. Thank you to Briony Lee, Vaughn Keena, Tracey Bloxsom, and Andrew Bloxsom who officiated and the parents who handled the logistics. Special thanks to our Club Captain, Alex Scott, who balanced coaching duties while acting as a patient for the scenarios. 

​Coogee SLSC is pleased to announce a sporting partnership with Coogee Board Riders Club (CBRC).

CBRC was established in 1963 by Coogee SLSC Members, who surfed all of our local breaks. Even today, the majority of CBRC hail from our Club. Coogee SLSC surfers have won the Aussies point score for the past 2 seasons, and we have several extremely talented athletes.

​CBRC will give Club surfers the opportunity for year-round skills development, mentoring by experienced surfers, social activities & exposure to high-level board riding club competitions into the future.