Neil Swane Honoured
At the 2016 International Lifesaving Federation Championships in the Netherlands in September, Cronulla Club Member, Neil Swane was presented with a prestigious ILS Citation of Merit. Below is the transcript , written by Greg Allum OAM and which was delivered when Neil was presented with his award in front of his international peers.
Congratulations Neil. Your Club Members are incredibly proud of you, of your achievements and awarding of this honour.
Neil Swane
Neil Swane has been a member of the ILS family for more than 15 years through his membership of Cronulla SLSC in Australia.
Neil has distinguished himself as:
- A much loved Age Manager who has guided and mentored many groups of girls and boys through “nippers” and to the senior ranks of his Club;
- A generous benefactor who has helped the Cronulla with the acquisition of boards, skis and shade tents to support lifesavers and competitors;
- An honest and diligent Official at Club, Sydney Branch, NSW State and Australian Championship Carnivals;
- A deserved past winner of Cronulla SLSC’s “Most Outstanding Member” Award; and,
- A popular past winner of the Sydney Branch “Official of the Year Award”.
Neil has also distinguished himself as champion of many worthy causes and has never let his motor skill issues hinder him including having walked hundreds of kilometres for charity.
He is an inspirational speaker both for his employer and for SLSA with his catch cry of “Run like a chicken”.
As an ILS Official, Neil has attended five Lifesaving World Championships and he has worked tirelessly at each event. At this LWC Neil has worked at the pool as a Marshall and at the ocean as a Judge in the water arena.
We thank Neil Swane for his continued commitment to the cause of lifesaving competition and are delighted to recognise his work with an ILS Citation of Merit.