Two new members appointed to National Lifesaving Committee

Surf Life Saving New Zealand is pleased to announce it has appointed Ben Flynn (Paekakariki) and David Pontin (Palmerston North) to the National Lifesaving Committee (NLC).

Last month, SLSNZ invited expressions of interest from members who wanted to apply for two appointed positions on the committee.

The objective of the NLC is to assist SLSNZ in the delivery and development of surf lifesaving. The NLC is responsible to the Lifesaving Services and Education Manager, Brent Harvey.

Mr Harvey says he is pleased to welcome Ben and David to the committee. "Both of them have a rich lifesaving history and I believe their experience and passion for surf lifesaving will be a great addition to the committee and to the future development of lifesaving activities across New Zealand," he says.

Ben and David start on the committee immediately and will join in the next NLC meeting on November 16.

For more information about the NLC, including members' contact details, please click here.

About the new committee members

Ben Flynn:

Ben is a Paekakariki Surf Life Saving Club member and has an extensive lifeguarding background.

He joined the Paekakariki Surf Lifeguards at the age of eight as a nipper and from there he gained his Surf Lifeguard Award in 1995 when he was 14. His lifeguarding career has grown from then on.

Ben is a long standing member of the Capital Coast Lifesaving Committee and the driving force behind the local callout squad. He is a regional facilitator, examiner and active lifeguard who was employed as a senior lifeguard by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 2007. He has been the Head Instructor at the National Lifeguard School for the last five years and a mentor/ instructor prior to this.

David Pontin:

David is formerly from the Southern Region and brings a wealth of lifeguarding experience to the NLC.

He previously sat on the NLC as the Southern Region representative (2011) and has been a Chief Examiner for both the Southern and Central regions.

David has a has a strong background in education having worked in the education sector since 2005 within a variety of roles including a university tutor, university lecturer and secondary school teacher.

He relocated to Palmerston North in 2013 and has been instrumental in the training and up-skilling of Palmerston North lifeguards. Last season, he was awarded the SLSNZ Instructor of the Year award and in 2007 he was the NZ Lottery Grants Board Lifeguard of the Year.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Honeybone, Media & Communications Specialist, SLSNZ
Phone 09 303 9335 or 0276 488 823
Email lisa.honeybone@surflifesaving.org.nz