2019 LWP REGO NO INCREASE

Hey,

We have been in discussion with Mardi Gras and have gained ourselves another 20 spots in the parade for 2019.  So anyone still thinking of registering that thought they may have missed out, register for the parade in the coming days and lock it in.  We are hoping to send our swimwear requirements to Rival before Christmas so jump in now to be sure we place an order for you.

It's going to be a hep of fun.  Rego link is below, although you'll need to join the page first, before registering.  Two minutes max including a few easy questions about your surf club and music suggestions etc.  Grab your lifesaving mates and make it a great night.

Get to it and register here

Gary, Orlando, Mike and the Committee

2019 MARDI GRAS PARADE REGISTRATIONS OPEN

Hey guys,

LWP are opening the registration page today for the 2019 Mardi Gras.  If must be free on Saturday 02 March, and be able to come to the required rehearsals.

You have to be registered on our website first to join the parade.  Follow the link here and we look forward to seeing you at rehearsals.

https://www.lifesaverswithpride.com.au/parade_2019

Note we are capped to 80 again this year so get in early.

Gary, Orlando, Mike and the committee

NEW LWP WEBSITE

Hey,

We are testing our rego page for the 2019 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras now so it'll be live soon.  It's going to be huge this year.  We have plenty of surprises ahead and will announce them as we go.

First change is that we are launching our new website, and will migrate off the blogsite over the summer.  Whilst the rego page isn't live yet, have a look around the website and spread the word on LWP.  You can join the site in preparation as only people who have joined the site will be able to register.  Note you'll get the same amount of emails from that site as you do from the blogsite now.  Plus we can focus our comms so you don't get info on an event unless you have registered for it.

Anyway, I hope you have a song ready to suggest, have started back at the gym and have that environmentally friendly glitter on order.

Getting close now!

https://www.lifesaverswithpride.com.au/

Gary, Mike, Orlando and the Committee

GET READY FOR 2019 MARDI GRAS PARADE

Hey, time to start your Mardi Gras planning

Just letting you know that we'll be posting the registration page soon for the Sydney event, and we have a few changes in store for this year, which we'll unveil as we go.  So if you are free on Saturday 02 March, and can come to the six rehearsals on Thursday and Sunday evenings beforehand (interstate people will need to watch the online posts) then start getting your thoughts together.

The first change is that we will be including nippers on the float this year, so if you want to bring little ones, contact us directly so that we can lock you in beforehand.  They won't need to come to rehearsals.

OK, brains in motion to pick a tune, head to the gym, cut out carbs, tan up and pre-order that (biodegradable) glitter.  It's going to be fun.

LGBTIQ Festival dates for the Australian 2018-19 summer

Gary, Orlando, Andrew and the committee

WEAR IT PURPLE THIS FRIDAY

Just a reminder that this Friday 31 August is Wear it Purple Day, created to empower young LGBT people.

http://wearitpurple.org/wear-it-purple-day/

The City of Sydney council is hosting an event in Hyde Park for LGBT Emergency Services personnel, and LWP are invited to swing on down.  The event goes from 11am until about 3pm, but the formalities are from noon until 2pm, and (we're told) lunch is provided, probably 12.30pm to 1.30pm.  If you are in town, swing on down and say hi, and bring your lifesaving cap to show your support.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Gary, Dom, Tracey and the committee

2018 WEAR IT PURPLE DAY

Well the patrolling season is getting closer again, so things are warming up.

The City of Sydney is hosting an event in Hyde Park on Friday, 31 August for all LGBT Emergency Services personnel, as the headline for their Wear it Purple celebrations.  So if you are in the city, swing on down to Hyde Park South corner Park and Elizabeth Streets, for lunch and to introduce yourselves to the lovely firies, ambos and cops who will be there as well.  If you have your uniform, that's great; anything purple would be good too; and if not then no worries, just come along and show your support for the best LGBT Emergency Service provider in NSW, the lifesavers.

Hope to see you there.

Gary and the Committee

2018 SLSNSW STATE CONFERENCE

Hey,

LWP spoke today at the SLSNSW conference.  We had two sessions, one on inclusion and diversity, and one on thoughts and ideas, where we got the word out about an inclusive, progressive and welcoming lifesaving culture.  We received a lot of positive feedback from staff and members, at state, branch and club levels alike.  We also chatted with representatives from Queensland, Tasmania, Northern Territory, and Victoria who have also asked us to speak at their state conference too.

It's great to see such progress.  Everyone should feel proud of the work we are doing.

Gary, Bastien, Mick and the committee

LWP AT SLSNSW STATE CONFERENCE

Hey All,

LWP are super excited to be presenting for the first time ever at the SLSNSW State Conference this weekend.  We're teaming up in a session on diversity and inclusion.  If you are heading along, look out for us after lunch on Saturday.

Check the link here for details.

https://www.surflifesaving.com.au/events/2018-slsnsw-state-conference

Gary and the committee

WEAR IT PURPLE EMERGENCY SERVICES ACTIVITIES

Hi all,

Quick post in the off season,

NSW Police have invited SLSNSW to participate in the Emergency Services, Wear it Purple day to celebrate LGBT inclusion amongst all the emergency services and raise awareness of youth LGBT suicide and bullying.

There is a photoshoot planned for next Tuesday 9am in Centennial Park, uniforms required (no need to bring swimmers, far too cold).

Then following that on Wear it Purple Day Friday 31 August, NSW Police Sydney Metro Region and City of Sydney council will be hosting an event in Hyde Park, either in lifesaving uniform or wearing purple.  Details to follow on the time for this.  Again this will be to promote prevention of homophobic and transphobic bullying and violence and the impact on young people.

Hope to see you there.  See the 2014 photoshoot below.

Gary and the Committee

2018 PARADE VIDEO

OK, here it is, the video from the 2018 parade season.  A huge thanks to Mike for his amazing work.  This is by far the best video we've had.  We will produce hard copies for those who ask, so message back if you would like a hardcopy.
Thanks to everyone who came on Friday night, it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves.  And thanks to our four new committee members who've joined us for a fun year ahead.  We are considering feedback from this season, and already have some great ideas for 2019.  This includes introducing nippers into the float, so if you have any youngsters, put thought into registering with them.  Details to come, and yes there'll be plenty of warning for registrations.
Well enjoy the last days of the season down at the beach and keep an eye out, when it warms up, for next season's details.
In the meantime, enjoy the video.  It's lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhPoCzCh0TE&feature=youtu.be

Gary and the committee, now including Holly (Tama), Michele (Garie), Tracy (Coogee) and Dom (N Bondi)

LWP VIDEO NIGHT THIS FRIDAY

Hey,

Just a quick reminder that our end of season video night will be this Friday 20 April at Palms on Oxford Street from 7.30pm, until the public come in around 8.30 or 9pm.  Looking forward to seeing everyone again for a laugh and a drink, while we kick back and enjoy the video that our videographer Mike has put together.

See you there before we all go into winter hibernation.

Gary and the Committee

LWP VIDEO NIGHT

Hey guys,

We've locked in our post parade video night for Friday 20 April.  Swing down to day hi, catch up with new friends, have a drink and laugh at our video together, with no stress about remembering dance moves or holding your stomach in.  We'll meet from 7.30 at Palms on Oxford ST where we have half an hour before the venue opens to the public, although its still empty for an hour or so.  I should be a fun night and it'll be your last chance to say thanks to the committee before we all go into hibernation over winter.

Partners, friends, past members and potential lifesavers are all welcome.

See you there.

Gary and the new larger Committee now including Dom and Holly

2018 PARADE PICTURES

Hey guys,

Keep an eye out for our post parade video night, where we can all gather for a drink and watch the final product that Mike has put together after his countless hours of filming and editing.  We're just confirming venue and date, but it'll be a Friday night in April.

In the meantime, for those of you not on facebook, here is a selection of pictures that our photographer Justin has posted online for us.

More are available on our facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1640278526052556&type=3

Gary and the Committee

2018 PARADE LIVE STREAM

Hey,

Here's the live stream of the parade from SBS.  There is no commentary and the overlap of music between floats is messy but you get the idea.  Lifesavers with Pride come in at about 117 minutes, and we go for a minute or two.  Each time you think they've moved onto the next float, they keep coming back to us.

https://twitter.com/i/events/964347502496329728

Also, the committee want to really thank our sponsors this year.

Thanks to Rival for providing us with our swimwear.  They generously provided all our swimwear for the parade, so that we all look great on camera.  Be sure to wear them out and about on the beaches.

https://rival.runningbare.com.au/

Thanks too to Balance water who kept us hydrated throughout the rehearsals, Fair Day and the parade.  Be sure to spread the word.

http://drinkbalance.com/

And thanks to our helper,

Brenton Parry Photography who did the work on our new banner

https://www.brentonparry.com/

Skylight Productions for their great work on the Audio Visuals on our truck

dylan@skylightproductions.com.au
Andy Wilson for the music loop

https://plasma.com.au/

and, Drew Lambert for his help on the media rehearsal

drew@dlcomms.com.au

Plus the lovely Bev Ferguson for all her work at her sewing machine making up all the coloured flags, after making the white ones for us a few years ago.

Its only with the help of our people and volunteers supporting us, and sponsors providing us with their generosity that we can put on such a great performance every year.

Gary and the Committee

RECOGNITION OF LGBT ROLE MODELS

How much fun was last Saturday night?  Only 12 years ago Surf Life Savers were marching for the first time with a reluctant organisation allowing us to march in our first ever parade.  And only a week ago, the CEO of Surf Life Saving Australia Melissa King called us to wish us luck, the first time the CEO has ever contacted us directly, and the CEO of Surf Life Saving New South Wales came to our rehearsal to wish us luck, and followed that up by actually joining us in the parade.  It's only through the likes of committed individuals that we've got this far.

Diversity in Sport is a national organisation that promotes LGBT within Australia's sporting organisations, and LWP has been working with them of late to ensure that Surf Life Saving takes a more inclusive and diverse positions with its members.  They also produce Pride Inclusion Programs, and run the Pride in Sport Diversity Index (which LWP is still trying to get SLSA to participate in).  Within this are the annual Individual awards for Role Models for the LGBT community.

The following categories are open for nomination for the calendar year 2017;

• Ally Award
• Community Sporting Group Award
• Inclusion Initiative Award
• Coach Award
• Out Role Model Award, and
• Small Club Award

It's invaluable that we acknowledge the commitment and dedication of our role models, no matter what their sexuality, to demonstrate to our newer members that we truly value a diverse and inclusive organisation.  If you know anyone suitable for nominating both current or former members of the lifesaving community, feel free to get in touch with the committee, or even nominate them yourself.  

http://www.prideindiversity.com.au/PSI/

Applications should be submitted by next Friday 16 March

Gary and the Committee

PARADE RECOVERY BLUES

Well you've probably already started finding glitter in strange places.  There's a week or two of that to go.

Thanks everyone for contributing to such a great night on Saturday.  We had such a huge response from everyone.  The float went off without a hitch, with 80 fantastic lifesavers telling the world that Life Saving in Australia is for everyone regardless of your sexuality.

But for now, just glow in the joy of  Saturday night's fun, energy and excitement.  Only 364 days to go to next year.

A big thank you has to go to the committee who work tirelessly, by going to the pub a lot, joking on messenger a lot, paying each other out at every opportunity, taking plenty of boomerang pics of ourselves and just being at the beach whenever they can, all while putting together such a great entry. Thanks to;

• Nick for his role of treasurer and his mum for endless hours of sewing our flags
• Grant as treasurer, telling me to spend less money
• Wayne managing the logistics of getting a generator that actually works, and sound and lights when our supplier goes out of business with no notice
• Andrew for arranging all things rehearsal, such as the room/courtyard hire and the song loop
• Mick Boland for dealing with everyone who decided they changed swimwear sizes at the last minute
• Orlando for the rego process and chasing up waiting lists and payment issues
• Mike Barley for dealing with Fair Day mayhem, and helping logistics on the parade
• David for arranging the post parade bash, more so when the first venue cancelled two days out
• Karen for all our social media comms
• Bastien for our media work, getting the great SMH article out there

plus our key helpers,

• Bravo for making lifesavers who excel at lifesaving appear to be talented dancers too,
• Mike for not filming us when we look stupid, and
• Justin for pictures carefully edited to exclude when we forget to suck our stomachs in.

Anyone who wants to help us as a committee next year, feel free to get in touch with any of the above, or me, Gary at lifesaverswithpride@gmail.com of through messenger.  We're going to have a casual parade debrief in a week or two, so swing along and say hi, no obligations.

In the meantime, put your feet up and breath easy, and reintroduce yourself to carbs.

Gary

TODAY IS THE DAY

Are you;
A) jumping up and down clapping your hands
B) breathing into a paper bag
C) squealing like a pig?

Then you are ready for tonight's Lifesavers with Pride, 2018 40th Anniversary Mardi Gras parade entry.  It's all come down to today and we are all super excited.  So the checklist is;

• Meet at 4pm in front of the Sydney Football Stadium, by Kippax Lake
• Bring your red issued swimwear, red and yellow quarter cap, white shoes, and uniform if you are volunteering (we'll have spares, but any red shorts are fine).
• Bring as little else as possible as storage space is limited
• Do not bring alcohol or drugs, nor come under the influence of such.
• Bring the biggest smile you've got, because it's going to be fun.  So much fun in fact that at 9pm you'll desperately want to run to the front and do it again.
• Tell your friends to meet you at the Unicorn Hotel on Oxford st from about 10pm where we will head afterwards (FYI, I met my partner, now husband after my first MG with LWP at the post parade drinks so the precedent has been set)

The committee is really keen to remind all that this is our opportunity to say to everyone, including the LGBT community that lifesaving is a progressive, inclusive and welcoming organisation no matter what your sexuality is.  So lets get out there and be the role models we want for tomorrow's lifesavers.

Here's another bit of media we got today from Wednesday's march.  Enjoy and see you this afternoon at 4pm

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/flags-at-the-ready-for-40-years-of-mardi-gras-fun-20180301-p4z2dl.html

Looking forward to seeing your glitteringly smiling faces soon.

Gary, Nick, Andrew, Mike, Mick, Bastien, Orlando, Karen, Grant, Wayne, Dave, Christine, plus Bravo, Mike and Justin and hopefully you too next year too

REHEARSALS ARE DONE NOW

Our final beach rehearsal went off really well on Wednesday with over and hour on the sand, with the public providing great support.

It was also great to have Steve Peace the CEO of SLSNSW come down and personally wish us well for Saturday night.  What's more today I received a phone call of support from Melissa King, the CEO of SLSA, giving us the same support and saying that they are really proud of the work we do, and that they look forward every year to our float.  This is the first that either organisation has ever reached out to us in our 12 years, and it just says so much that the very top now want to go out of their way to support us.  We're getting the message through, slowly but steadily.

Anyway, here are some pics, for those who don't have facebook.