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A national review of Surfing Australia’s surf school network, which last year delivered more than 150,000 surfing lessons, will be conducted by a sport management research team from Southern Cross University

The network, comprising 74 surf schools affiliated with Surfing Australia, also delivers the Safe Surfing Program.

“The surf school Industry in Australia has probably quadrupled in size over the past decade. We (Surfing Australia) need to examine our approach and the role we play in this area, as it is such a key component in the development pathway for our sport,” said Surfing Australia chief executive officer Mr Mark Lane.

“This review is part of a process aimed at strengthening the network and ensuring that it maintains its high standards of safety and quality surf lesson delivery.”

The surf school network was born out of the need to establish standards for the operation and delivery of surfing lessons on Australian beaches.

It boasts an exemplary safety record with no major injury or accident reported since its establishment in 1990.

Mr Jak Carroll, the co-ordinator of Southern Cross University’s Diploma of Sport Management (Surfing Studies), will lead the review team which also includes Dr David Arthur and Mr Ray Booker from the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management.

“With their expertise in sport management and their knowledge of the surfing industry, we feel that Southern Cross University is well-placed to provide an independent evaluation of the network,” Mr Lane said.

The review team will be conducting surf school forums around Australia in August and September prior to making formal recommendations to Surfing Australia in November.

Photo opportunity: Mark Lane and Jak Carroll will be available for interview at Surfing Australia’s Casuarina headquarters, Barclay Drive, Casuarina Beach, on Wednesday (August 8) between 9.30am and 10.30am. A surf coaching lesson will also be taking place at the nearby beach.

Media contact: Brigid Veale, Southern Cross University communications manager, 02 66593006 or 0439 680748.


For further information, please contact:

Marketing and Media
Southern Cross University
PO Box 157 • Lismore NSW 2480 • Australia

T +61 2 6659 3006 or +61 2 6620 3144 • e scumedia@scu.edu.au • w www.scu.edu.au/scunews
Southern Cross University Sydney Hotel School student Sally Potocki always knew she wanted to be a champion basketball player.

The talented 20-year-old Women’s National Basketball League and Sydney Flames player has just been selected for the 2009 Australian University Sport women’s basketball team. She is flying to Belgrade in Serbia this week to compete in the World University Summer Games – the Summer Universiade Belgrade 2009.

Sally, who is studying for her Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management, also works part-time at front desk reception at The Westin, Sydney. Not only that, but she somehow also manages to squeeze in training for European handball – a game she describes as a cross between soccer and basketball.

“Mum played the game as a girl in Poland and introduced me to it. She still plays it and we often go to training together. She is a great support,” Sally said.

“I was in Serbia last year competing in the Junior World European Handball Championships and had great fun. The game uses many similar skills to those used in basketball, only you also get to use your feet to save a goal.

“I started playing basketball around the age of seven and I just loved it. My passion for the sport grew from there.

“I can spend ridiculous amounts of time practising. Usually I do eight or nine training sessions a week – a combination of working out with weights, doing an individual fitness program or playing with the whole Sydney Flames team.

“I learnt in high school how to manage my time really well between study, work and sport, so I don’t find it too hard to fit everything in – but there is certainly no room for anything else, especially not a relationship.

“It’s just as well I love the sport so much. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.

“When I eventually need to retire from the sport I will need a new career path and that is why I am studying at The Hotel School. I love the travel industry and working with people. One day I want to manage my own hotel.

“The course has delivered everything I ever wanted and the support and flexibility shown to me has been outstanding.”

The Summer Universiade is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events and is often compared to the Olympics in size and scope.

Athletes at previous Universiades have produced world and Olympic records. The event is held every odd year and attracts over 10,000 participants from 170 countries.

More than 200 athletes named in the 2008 Australian Olympic team were current or former university students and many of those same athletes had participated in previous Universiade events.

Increasingly, national sporting organisations are viewing Universiades as an integral part of the elite athlete developmental pathway.

Sally will depart with the Australian team on Wednesday for the three-week event.

You can learn more about the Summer Universiade at:
www.universiade-belgrade2009

Photo: Sally Potocki who has been selected in the women’s basketball team for the Summer Universiade Belgrade 2009.