About 5500 competitors will converge on Blacksmiths Beach across the next few weeks as it hosts the NSW Surf Life Saving Championships for a record fifth year in a row.
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The event, which kicked off Thursday and runs until March 21, will also spill over onto Redhead for the first time due to a coronavirus-impacted program.
Surf Lifesaving NSW CEO Steven Pearce said the event had to be segmented into different zones, and for the first time people had to be registered on and off the sand.
"I have to say in my time this is the greatest logistical arrangement we've ever had," he said.
"Apart from putting on the premier event in NSW for surf lifesaving, we had to compete with how do we do it within the guidelines - guidelines that would change from week to week or periodically.
"So we would just set up our arrangements ready to go and things would change and we'd have to morph, communicate that out to all the clubs and our 76,000 members.
"But I'm really confident we've done the best we can and we look forward to next four weeks."
Mr Pearce said the field of 5500, including about 2500 Nippers, was only about 500 down on previous years and that every surf lifesaving club in the state was represented.
The event will involve seven-year-old Nippers to 70-year-old beach lovers, and from mums and dads to elite athletes who compete in the Nutri-Grain Iron Series. They'll take on sand competitions including flags and beach sprints; swim events and craft activities such as skis, boats and boards.
For kids like Angus Crake, 9, the event is a stepping stone towards future goals.
"I want to be a lifesaver," the Cooks Hill SLSC member said. "It's fun and encourages people to save lives."
Mr Pearce said part of the appeal of Lake Macquarie was the length on the beach, meaning events could be moved up and down depending on swell conditions.
He also said Swansea-Belmont Surf Lifesaving Club had a dedicated team of volunteers to help the championship run smoothly.
"They'll start at 4.30 in the morning and go through to 8.30 at night," he said.
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said it was wonderful to have the event back, particularly for tourism and hospitality providers.
"It's been a really tough year with COVID," she said. "Tourism was down, we saw operators doing it really, really tough so this is great for our accommodation, tourism and hospitality providers. All our accommodation is booked out.
"Hopefully this will be a catalyst to get the tourism ball rolling now we're hopefully coming out of COVID and going back to some sort of normality."
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