News
2015 BP Leaders for Life concludes
Thursday, 10 September 2015The presentation of group projects has concluded another successful year of the BP Leaders for Life programme.
The 2015 programme came to a close with the final round of workshops involving candidates from the Northern and Eastern Regions from August 22-24 in Auckland. Candidates from the Central and
Southern Regions took part in their final workshop in Wellington from August 8-10.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand Member Development Manager Belinda Slement says the programme was a great success for all of the candidates. Since May, 23 candidates across all four regions have taken part in three different workshops.
The final workshops for each region involved the candidates presenting group projects that they had been working on for the past three months.
The projects were:
• First Aid consistency within the Surf Lifeguard Award
• Community involvement in surf lifesaving
• Smart phone beach applications
• High School education
• Athlete ID during Surf Sport events
• Lifeguard development post the Surf Lifeguard Award
• IRB driver development
Belinda says all of the project work was of a high calibre. "The work that went into these projects was outstanding and we look forward to undertaking feasibility studies on a number of them," she says.
This year, some changes were made to the delivery of the programme, which included more key note speakers and topics more focused on surf lifesaving.
The guest speakers included Geoff Hamilton, Ben Flynn, Nathan Fa'avae, Mark Weatherall, Gaylene Hughes, Allan Mundy, Matt Sutton, David Houston, Will Flapper and Jamie Fitzgerald.
Belinda says some of the highlights of this year's programme included the Personal TMS profiling for each candidate, which looks at their work preferences, the huge range of guest speakers and the candidates being able to network with members from different regions for their project work.
"The overwhelming feedback was that this year's programme exceeded all the candidate expectations, which is fantastic," she says.
Some of the feedback from candidates included:
"I went in to the course looking to improve how I manage conflicts, and to take leaderships skills back to my club and to my work. These goals were met above the standard I expected."
"A well-rounded course with clear objectives and practical steps towards learning."
"A huge thank you to all of you, well done and keep the course in SLSNZ. It is a great way to model leadership and develop strong members within our organisation."
"Working in groups was a great experience as we all sharing the same passion for surf lifesaving. It was great to be around such enthusiasm and positive energy. The group projects and presentations were a great opportunity for collaborating with others and it is very exciting to think of what is going to come from our project further down the track!"
BP helped to form the Leaders for Life programme in 2013 as part of its ongoing relationship with Surf Life Saving and because of its strong link with the BP's core values.
The programme is part of a national strategy to support a wide range of development activity for members right across the Surf Life Saving community.
It aims to enhance the ability of current and emerging leaders within the Surf Life Saving community to make a real difference to their clubs and across the wider organisation.
BP Communications Manager Shelley Brady says BP Leaders for Life is great because "it provides candidates with essential skills across a variety of areas including leadership, collaboration, resilience and conflict resolution, she says.
"The programme also provides them with real tools that they can take back and implement within their community, their workplace and, of course, their club."
For more information about BP Leaders for Life click here.
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