Moruya's Zara Hall named Junior Lifesaver of the Year

Zara, from Moruya Surf Lifesaving Club (SLSC) has just been named Ingenia Holiday Parks Junior Lifesaver of the year alongside Kiama Downs SLSC's Archie Weir.

Both were selected by their clubs to take part in three days of team building and leadership development in Collaroy on Sydney's Northern Beaches, after both had been acknowledged as their club's junior lifesavers of the year.

They were just two of a group of 22 accomplished 14-year-olds, each representing one of the 11 branches across NSW

"Oh my gosh that was the fun-est experience I have ever done - it was like a school camp," she said.

"We did bubble soccer in the zorb balls, we went for morning runs up to the headland, we did an Anzac memorial service, which was lovely - orienteering...movie night, trivia night - lots of leadership skills."

While fun was a focus, each of the juniors representing their clubs were taken away individually for an interview, where they were asked about their ideas for initiatives for their own club.

"My Country to Coast program was one of my ideas - I didn't realise they had one already called Beach to Bush, which has been running for around 20 to 30 years now," Zara said.

"But country to coast was my idea that we could encourage tourists and country kids and locals all to come down maybe in the holiday period...go through all the nipper skills and nipper safety awareness - things we do.

"Swim, board, flags - understanding the life of a patrol...just because that time of the year is when the drownings and fatalities occur."

The interview also quizzed the young surf lifesavers on their patrol knowledge and assessed what they would do in certain situations on the beach, before asking them their objectives with surf lifesaving into the future.

"In the coming years I'd like to do my bronze and my silver [medallions] and be recruited as a patrol captain...I'd like to get my advance resus as well, and one day maybe be like Kimberli [Eke} who runs the nipper sessions every Sunday," Zara said.

With the support of her family, Zara has managed to compete in country championships, inter-branch and state championships, and only a few weeks ago, at the Aussies.

Her mum Fiona Hall couldn't be prouder.

"It's a pleasure parenting children that are motivated and happy to work hard, and improve," Fiona said.

"The deal with going to Aussies is that she did have to train...she hadn't had any specialist training leading up to the state champs a month ago and she got a fifth place in March.

"She had the option to go to Aussies, but her dad said 'you've got to train'... and that really did make a difference and she was fortunate enough to get second place at nationals."