Normanville Surf Life Saving Club (NSLC) has seen membership numbers jump from 250 to over 800 since the clubhouse reopened in December following a rebuild.
“We’re just in a little community down here, and a lot of our community members jumped on board as social members,” NSLC president Dave Jansen told Club Management.
He added that because of an increase in member numbers, this has had a positive impact on volunteer numbers.
“You might get 10 per cent who say they’ll help out at the bar or the barbecue on Saturday,” he said.
Working with Ink Architects, the South Australian surf club underwent a $7 million redevelopment, a collaborative effort between the state government, the District Council of Yankalilla, and the NSLC.
According to Jansen, a complete rebuild “needed to be done” as the old clubhouse, which was only built in 1998, was “not up to standards” and was “built incorrectly”.
The surf club’s upgraded facilities include a new ramp, improving disability and emergency services access to the beach, and a new first-aid room. There’s also the Aqua Blue kiosk downstairs that offers a variety of casual dining options, including burgers, coffee, milkshakes, and ice creams, as well as alcoholic beverages. For a more formal dining option, upstairs of NSLC is the Aqua Blue restaurant and bar.
“It’s now bringing people in to have dinner and spend money at the bar, which is where most of our profit comes from,” Jansen said. “This enables us to buy lifesaving equipment for our lifesaving duties.”
Jansen adds the Aqua Blue kiosk and restaurant allow patrons to take advantage of the surf club’s prime location.
“It’s a beautiful spot – surf clubs often have the best real estate in the country,” he said.
