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Over 2000 Lifesavers To Ignite Lakes Entrance

Over 2000 lifesavers from across Victoria are set to ignite the Lakes Entrance beach when they return to the East Gippsland tourist capital for the 2011 Victorian Life Saving Championships

By Life Saving Victoria - 17th February 2011 - Back to News

The championships, to be held on the weekend of Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 March, are a coup for Lakes Entrance which won the bid to stage the event for two years over stiff competition from elsewhere in the state.

Victoria’s largest surf sports carnival, the event will attract tens of thousands of people to the Lakes region during March and provide an economic boost to the local economy of in the order of $2 million.

East Gippsland Mayor, Cr Richard Ellis, said the event would provide a tremendous boost to sports tourism in the region.

"I congratulate Lakes Entrance Surf Life Saving Club for staging last year’s highly successful championships and aiming for even bigger numbers this year," he said.

"An event of this size takes an enormous commitment at all levels, but the more we can showcase and boost visitation to our region, the better.

"We hope it will also highlight the other important aspects of surf life saving, especially the great work done by volunteer lifesavers to keep the public safe each summer on our beaches."

Life Saving Victoria’s President, Mike Martin said that staging the championships posed a massive logistical challenge.

"Experience shows the Lakes Entrance Surf Life Saving Club and it members are well up to the task," he said.

"The event has been a hugely popular and successful over the last few years and I'm sure the Lakes team of volunteers is looking forward to welcoming elite surf sports competitors from around the state."

Mr Martin said the State Life Saving Championships were a key to developing the rescue and safety skills of members of the state's surf clubs.

"This is why these championships bring significant benefits to our organisation," he said.

"We are grateful to the East Gippsland Shire Council & Regional Development Victoria that has been enormously supportive and we are pleased the championships will showcase the region as a premier events based tourism destination."

* * *

For further information, contact:

Life Saving Victoria Aquatic Sports Department

(03) 9676 6930

sport@lifesavingvictoria.com.au

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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