DESERVED: Errol Verstegen has received a regional service award for his 40 years of service to the Whakatāne Surf Life Saving Club. Photos supplied
Staff Reporter
There’s nothing better than helping out a community service that also doubles as a sport.
Whakatāne’s Errol Verstegen loves surf lifesaving and was recently awarded a regional service award for his involvement over a long and distinguished career.
Verstegen, who turns 70 next year, has been part of the Whakatāne Surf Life Saving Club since 1985 and will next year celebrate 50 years in the sport and 40 with the Whakatāne club.
He started with United Piha in the 1970s and received his bronze medallion in 1975 before moving to the Whakatāne club, where has been based ever since.
In those early days, he can remember riding his motorbike over the hill to Ōhope and telling his girls that he wanted to live there one day.
Now he does.
“Ōhope is a fantastic beach. It’s such a nice place to call home; it’s a fantastic place.”
Verstegen has enjoyed his involvement in surf lifesaving.
“It’s a community service organisation with a sporting content and there is hardly any other sport or community service that you can do that allows you to do a sport at the same time.
“You are saving lives and the water safety and sport content as a young person is amazing.
“As you go on more with the sport, you have the IRBs, surf boats and knowledge goes into those as well.
“There’s a great demographic of people as well. People at the nippers age right through to their 70s, like me.”
“You are out in the community all the time saving lives, providing education, everything. It’s a great sport and great community service to be involved with.”
If you hang in there, you are rewarded for your service, but for Verstegen it’s not about being recognised.
With New Zealand surrounded by water, he considers it a great service to get into to help Kiwis with their water confidence.
The recognition is appreciated, though.
“It was good to be recognised. All those years of doing stuff and looking after various things has paid off. You go unnoticed but to get some sort of notice for all that is nice.
“It was heartening.”
Verstegen competed in surf boats when he was younger. He lists winning a medal at national level with the Whakatāne Masters team as one of his highlights, along with watching others compete, and teaching the women how to use the IRBs.
“My skill set suited surf boats,” he said.
“Doing well at masters was an enjoyable highlight as a lifeguard. Being part of a team was great.”
He has been involved in a few rescues, including one at Ōhope where they were unable to save the person.
He is still an active member of the club and hopes to continue so for a while longer.
“I run the IRBs to make sure they are up to scratch and going well. I do all the check-ups with them. I have done so for the past five or six years. Maintaining drivers and keeping them up to scratch. I am also still trained as a lifeguard so I can do call-outs on the beach.”
Swimming was starting to get hard for him, though, he said.
In the winter they train new guards to drive the IRBs, so that keeps Verstegen busy over winter, running training and refreshers.
“I am still loving it. At the end of the day, I can have a swim or a surf at our beautiful beach.”
Verstegen said there had been many good times with the club.
“I’ve enjoyed all of it. It’s a nice quiet club and hasn’t gone corporate yet everyone is welcome.
“It’s available for nippers right up to seniors; a beautiful quaint little club.”