News article

Diving in to support the future of surf life saving

21/02/2024

Transdev John Holland Buses (TJHB) is thrilled to share that we have welcomed on board Surf Life Saving Sydney (SLSS) as our Community Partner. This financial year, TJHB has invested $25,000 in the SLSS branch’s education programs.

The TJHB sponsorship enables surf life savers to advance their knowledge and leadership skills to protect the community on our region’s beaches. Specifically, the two life saving courses that TJHB supports are the Silver Medallion Aquatic Rescue and the Silver Medallion Patrol Captain Awards.

The Aquatic Rescue course includes night searching, rescues from rock platforms and searching for submerged objects in defined patterns. Recent participants have described it as the “best course so far” and “an excellent course, engaging with the right balance of content, practical exercises and group participation”.

The Patrol Captain course is a new award which equips patrolling members with additional skills and knowledge to take on leadership roles. The training includes a beach scenario, where participants assume the role of Patrol Captain to deal with a range of incidents. SLSS has been preparing facilitators to begin this course shortly.

The organisation, the 2021 Surf Life Saving NSW Branch of the Year, includes 15 surf life saving clubs stretching from North Bondi and the South Head of Sydney Harbour to Burning Palms beach, south of Sydney in the Royal National Park. SLSS has so far been responsible for 861 rescues and 1,673 occasions of first aid in this financial year.

As journey makers we are passionate about serving Eastern Suburbs residents and visitors to our region to complete their journeys safely – as is Surf Life Saving Sydney, which is passionate about keeping people safe on our beaches.

Our Customer Experience Manager, Melissa Field, and Communications Advisor, Emma Brown, represented TJHB at the SLSS 2023 Branch Championships VIP event at Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club earlier this month.

Nothing is more representative of Sydney than its many beautiful beaches and the outdoor lifestyle. And Surf Life Saving Sydney does an incredible job keeping the community safe while we enjoy the plentiful sun, sand and surf that this region offers us all.
Rachel Spencer
Transdev John Holland Buses Managing Director

Speaking about the partnership, TJHB Managing Director Rachel Spencer said: “Nothing is more representative of Sydney than its many beautiful beaches and the outdoor lifestyle. And Surf Life Saving Sydney does an incredible job keeping the community safe while we enjoy the plentiful sun, sand and surf that this region offers us all.

“That’s why we chose Surf Life Saving Sydney as our Community Partner, and are proud to be sponsoring the Advanced Awards Education Program for the 2022/23 season.”

Surf Life Saving Sydney President, Peter Agnew, expressed his thanks to TJHB for its support.

“Transdev John Holland is supporting our frontline patrol captains to grow and develop as leaders. Managing volunteers requires a higher skill set and with this help we’re on the path to achieve this,” he explained.

SLSS Deputy President Elissa Hancock also thanked TJHB for our ongoing support.

“We love our partnership with Transdev John Holland and look forward to building on it for many more years to come,” she said.

Find out more about Surf Life Saving Sydney, including how to join a local surf club, here.

News

Acknowledgement of Country

Acknowledgement of Country

Transdev John Holland acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land and pays respect to Elders past and present. With operations across many locations in Australia, we recognise and respect the cultural heritage, beliefs, and relationship with the land, which continue to be important to the Traditional Custodians living today. With regards to our New Zealand operations, we recognise the Maori people as the Tangata Whenua Aotearoa (people of the land NZ), and the Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi)
Meet our artist, Victoria.