Robert Blankenstein

Robbie's 'normal' job is as a compliance and enforcement officer with the West Coast Regional Council. Robbie's rescue back ground is in swiftwater (river) rescue and is an active member in Land Search and Rescue (LANDSAR) as both a team leader and in the incident management team.

Many years as an outdoor instructor have led to development in child and adult education including lecturing at the School of Education at Waikato University.   A volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with St John on the West Coast, he is currently studying to obtain his paramedic qualification.

Bret Burrows

Bret has worked as a professional lifeguard in the Bay of Plenty (Head Lifeguard) and also the UK. He has held club positions of Club Captain, Coaching / Competition Board member, Patrol Captain, Club Coach and examiner for his club. Bret was Bay of Plenty Lifeguard of the Year in 2004. At a national level he has been an instructor at SLSNZ Senior Lifeguard schools and has won the coverted title of SLSNZ Lifeguard of the year in 2004.

Bret currently works as a firefighter with the NZFS and as a team leader in the Hutt City Council, where he is responsible for the training and development of lifeguards. Bret has a Bachelor of Business in Health Information Management and has worked extensively in hospital administration in Australia and NZ.

Claire Carrington

Claire is a member of Bethells Beach and is currently active as Vice Patrol Captain, First Aid Officer and Lifeguard Instructor for her club. Claire has also been a Community Beach Safety Educator and City Nippers instructor in the Northern Region. Claire is in her final semester of a Nursing Degree at Auckland University. After she has graduated Claire wants to work in Cardiac Intensive Care working towards a position in the Emergency Department at Auckland Hospital.

Hira Edmonds

Introduced to the surf club at 7 Hira has been a member of Bethells beach for 17 years and is currently a Patrol Captain and the Qualifications Manager for his club. He is also a Lifeguard instructor and Examiner at regional level and is part of the Northern Region Suport Services Team as a Jetski Operator Patroling Aucklands West Coast. Hira has worked as a regional guard in the Northern and Bay Of Plenty regions for a number of seasons. Hira is also a national pool lifeguard with experience in some of Aucklands biggest complexes. For the past year he has worked on an Ambulance service specialising in patient transfer and event medical cover including TV series master chef and is a volunteer for St Johns at Breem Bay.

Gordon Finlayson

Gordon Finlayson joined Mangawhai Heads Surf Lifesaving Club in 1967. He has filled the roles of Treasurer, Instructor, President, Clubhouse Director, and now Vice President. He was a Patrol Captain from 1975 to 1990. For the past 33 years he has worked for Air New Zealand at Auckland airport.

Gordon was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for Surf Life Saving Northern Region in 2007 and the SLSNZ Service and Distinguished Service Awards in 2011. Gordon is passionate about passing on his first aid knowledge and surf lifesaving experience to other members of Surf Life Saving and to the public.

Dr David Grundy

Lindsay Hill

Lindsay is a volunteer member of Whangarei Heads VSLSP since 1998, and has held numerous club positions over that time. Current he is SLSNR instructor and examiner, plus support services member and facilitator of Patrol Captains and Instructors workshops. He is a previous recipient of the SLSNR Lifeguard of the Year 06-07 season and Examiner of the Year 05/06 season. During the day Lindsay is a mortgage broker for Squirrel Financial Solutions based in central Auckland.

Nicky Howes

Nicky was named Rookie Lifeguard of the Year for her club and for Surf Life Saving Northern Region, then in 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons she was U19 Lifeguard of the Year  for her club and the Northern Region. Nicky is also an examiner for the Surf Lifeguard Award, and has audited patrols for her region.

Currently Nicky is in her final year of Bachelors of Physical Education at the University of Auckland and working part time as a Hockey Coach. Nicky also spends her spare time volunteering as an Ambulance Officer for St John at the Bream Bay Station, Whangarei.

Rob Howes

Jeremy Lockwood

Tai Kahn

Tai is a current member of Whangarei Heads SLSC and is a senior guard, qualified instructor and IRB operator for his patrol. He won Regional Lifeguard of the Year for Northern Region in 2010-11 and is a patrol captain at two beaches every summer.

Currently Tai is completing his second year of a Bachelor of Paramedicine at AUT.

Ross Pounds

Ross spent over ten years working as an Ocean Lifeguard at City of Seal Beach, California, USA, where he also held the positions of training instructor, Lieutenant and Captain.

In 2006-07 he was General Manager of Mairangi Bay SLSC, and he worked for SLS Northern Region in 2007-08 as a Lifesaving Development Officer.

Ross is a fighfighter as well as a first aid instructor and lifeguard, and he can also be seen on screen in 'Danger Beach: Muriwai' on Prime!

Alice Stafford

Alice is a member of North Beach SLSC and has been an active patrolling surf lifeguard since 2001, when she first received her SLSNZ Lifeguard Award. Alice is a qualified SLSNZ Instructor and IRB driver and was awarded the top IRB club award in the 2008-09 season.

In 2008 Alice completed her Bachelor of Nursing degree and followed this up with a graduate year in the neurosurgical ward and a further two years in the orthopaedic trauma ward. In 2010 Alice was awarded her Pre Hospital Emergency Care Instructor award and was voted both the Canterbury Regional Lifeguard of the year in the 2010-11 season.

Currently, Alice is working for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) as a Senior Surf Lifeguard and has recently completed her RNLI award in Complete Casualty Care.

Faron Turner

Faron has been involved in Orewa SLSC since 1999, as an active lifeguard, Club Captain, Lifeguard Instructor, IRB Officer, Committee Member and Patrol Captain. Faron has also volunteered at the regional level for Surf Lifesaving in roles including District Instructor and Examiner, Duty Officer and Chief District Examiner.

Faron is a qualified Pre-Hospital Emergency Care First Aid Instructor and National Pool Lifeguard Assessor. He has also gained his service awards for Orewa SLSC, Northern Region and New Zealand Surf Lifesaving as well as being named for a second time as the Northern Region Lifeguard of the Year during the 2010/2011 season.