Norah Hammerheads

The beginnings of a new spearfishing club on the Central Coast

At the start of February, the discussion came up between a few mates Alex and Craig Bond, Brett Carter, Beau Mellon & myself about a spearfishing club based at the north end of the Central Coast. As much as we loved diving with, and being part of the Central Coast Sealions, the distance was a problem for us getting to the meetings and dives that were out of Terrigal. The Central Coast is a huge area, and it can take an hour and a half, or more, to get from one end to the other.

The discussion was had with a few of the Sealions committee, and once it was explained about the reasons behind our decision, we had the blessing of our southern Central Coast brethren, and we were away brainstorming.

This was something that we were motivated to make happen, so it was time to start thinking of a name and where we would call home. Norah Head was a no brainer for us, most of the crew that was part of the discussion were only about 15 minutes from there, so that was locked in. Then the question, what was to be our mascot? A few ideas were floated around (pun intended) Norah Head Sea Wasps, no, too close to Sealions. Norah Head Tridents or Vikings, nah, then a few joke names like The Lake Macquarie Mermen and my son Flynn said we should call ourselves the Fishy Fellas. Then it came – The Norah Hammerheads. We had a name!

What’s the next thing a club needs? A space for meetings and presentations etc. The hunt began for a spot that had a few key things for us. Enough room to accommodate 10-20 people, surely that’s enough for a start -club, space for our kids to go and play (get out of our hair for a little bit), a good feed and cold beer. Brett visited a few places before coming across a hidden gem, the Norah Head Sporties. Well the name fits with ours, so big tick there. Time to test the food and beer, tick again. A meeting was set up with the CEO and not long into our talk she told us that their club was in need of a new sporting group for them to sponsor, so a few things were thrown back and forth and we had an agreement for The Norah Head Sporties to be our first sponsor and be our home base.

So, we set up our first meeting and decided that for us and people with families and work commitments that a Sunday afternoon would be a great time for a meeting. Then we could have the meeting and then if anyone wanted to, they could stick around for dinner or drink and have a bit more of a relaxed catch up. And what a meeting it was! Not long after our start time of 4.30 the room started filling up fast, and by the time everyone piled in there was standing room only.

Then an intro to our Club’s committee – Alex Bond was chairing the meeting and was to head up the Club as President, he has been diving since he was washing pee out of his dad’s wetsuits and his passion to teaching his own kids about the sustainability of spearfishing and building their skills in the sport is amazing to see, nobody better for this role. Brett Carter as Vice President, another great advocate for the sport that has been diving since he was (still is) a young fella. He is always available to offer advice wherever he can help, just make sure to double check comp start times that he tells you. Craig Bond as Treasurer. Now there wouldn’t be many around the spearing community that don’t know Craig, with his wealth (and years) of knowledge, I know he has taught me a thing or 2 in the few dives I have been with him, he has plenty of experience in the committee side of clubs and will be a key to keeping us in line and on track for our goals. Beau Mellon as Sports Secretary, Beau was the very first person I dove with when starting out and for a young bloke he is definitely one of the best spearos I have been out with. And then myself, Justin Elsey, as Secretary. Only a few years in the sport, but absolutely love it and the friendships that I have made over my time doing it. If I’m not in the water, I’m out on it in my boat. 

We were also lucky enough to have Bob McComb attend and give the fresh and experienced divers a in the room a detailed talk about the USFA.

After all the formalities were done with, a count of the membership applications we had taken in for the day. 33 including us!! We did not expect that at all! The next day we also had another 3 join us, bringing the total to 36, and the breakdown of the following classes 5x sub junior, 2x junior, 2x intermediate, 13x senior, 7x veteran, 6x ladies and 1x Grand Master. And we still have a few more messaging us about joining up, so we are all very thankful for the support received so far and are extremely excited to see where this is going to take us.  

Justin – Norah Hammerheads

Club Secretary

[email protected]

Living Water Freedivers

The Living Water Freedivers club holds meetings on a monthly basis at Charlestown (see calendar for next meeting). At club meetings members can learn new skills and information about dive gear and popular target species with topic nights on various aspects of this great sport.

We welcome all keen spearos to attend one of our meetings as this is the best time to meet the guys and organise boat rides for the next comp (usually the following Saturday).

We have a good mix of Social divers who enjoy our weekends away up the coast and Comp divers. Our comp structure has evolved over the past years, concentrating on selective taking of fish as this is an ecologically sustainable sport.

 

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Central Coast Sea Lions

Central Coast Sealions Freediving Club

Zone Northern Zone
General Location Central Coast Sealions
Meetings Held 4th Thursday of every Month  
Meeting Location Breakers Country Club Dover Road Wamberal
Contact person(s) Alastair Cooke, Glenn Bath, Craig Bond
Name Alastair Cooke

Phone Number

0414326375
Email [email protected]
Club Website www.centralcoastsealions.info
Club Facebook Page Centralcoastsealions.info
ROLE NAME Email
President

Alastair Cooke

[email protected]
Vice President Andrew Pearce [email protected]
Secretary Dave Thompson  
Treasurer Craig Bond [email protected]
Sports Secretary Nathan Garadige  
Club Delegate Glenn Bath [email protected]
Safety Officer 1 Tony Byrne  
Safety Officer 2 Andy Duncan  
USFA Website Liaison Officer

(Provide updates and content for club page on USFA website)

  

General info about Club

The Central Coast Sealions is a spearfishing and freediving club based on the Central Coast of NSW. Our members have one thing in common. They are all passionate about the ocean and respect its beauty and diversity.  Our members participate in a large number of ocean-based activities from SCUBA diving and snorkelling to underwater hockey and marine photography.  Members also follow the philosophy of only taking what you need and keeping to the USFA Safe, Selective, Sustainable Seafood principles.

The Sealions are a very sociable club and participate is a large range of fun and social activities.  Whether you are new to Spearfishing or snorkelling we would be happy to show you how to dive and spearfish safely

History of Club

The Sealions was formed back in 1950 making it one of the first spearfishing clubs in Australia.

The club was formed by Bill Heffernan and ????  who were the major pioneers of the club.

Due to inactivity the club disbanded for a few years and was re-formed by Glenn Bath and Andrew Pearce back in 1997 has been going strong ever since.

Social Activities

The Sealions also participate in a large number of social activities. These include camping weekends away, scuba-diving and film fishing and social BBQ’s.  Our members all love and respect the ocean and

Members of the club often participate in fundraisers to raise money for the club including BBQs, Picnic days, Formal Balls or dinners, and Presentations.

Competitions and Events

The Sealions is proud to host an annual event which is also one of the oldest spearfishing competitions in Australia. The Canada Cup started back in 1952 as a friendly competition between Spearfiherman and fishermen. The cup was donated by a visiting Canadian tourist who was taken out by some local club members. This competition has generated a large following with up to 50 members participating in the weekend event.  

What monthly competitions do you compete in?

The Sealions hold monthly competitions usually on a Sunday. The competition locations vary from the south coast to as far north as southwest Rocks on the mid-north Coast NSW. The competitions are scored as per the sealions score sheets and points are calculated towards trophies and awards for the end of the year.  A BBQ is put on after the competition so members can relax and enjoy a feed and a cold drink while talking about the day’s diving.

We also hold weekend away trips in which the competition is usually held on a Saturday giving members a chance to relax on Saturday night and plenty of time to drive home on Sunday. 

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St George Sea Dragons

 

St George Spearfishing & Freediving

Sydney Metropolitan Zone
Southern Sydney
Meetings Held 3rd Monday of each month – 7pm at Gymea Trade Union Club
Contact person(s)
Justine Shephard
0415 903 422
[email protected]
www.stgeorgespearfishing.com.au
Club Facebook Page
St George Spearfishing & Freediving Club

President:
Vice President: Mark Harris
Secretary: Luke Colys
Treasurer: Ben Favorito
Treasurer Memberships: Justine Shephard
Sports Secretary: Luke Harris
Secretary Public Officer: Luke Colys
Social Secretary: Craig Shephard
Club Records Officer: Ben Favorito
Zone Secretary: Shaun Pyne
Historical officer: Susan Dockar
Safety Officer 1: Gary Baxter

General info about Club

The focus of the club is the safe development of new divers as well as local competitions and social dives.
St George Spearfishing Club aims to bring together like minded spearfisherman and free divers to exchange information and enjoy a relaxed social setting to discuss a sport we all enjoy.
The club was formed in 1956
Pioneers of the club were as follows: Ron & Valerie Taylor, Ben Cropp, Wally Gibbons, John Sumner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%26_Valerie_Taylor Link mentions STG spearfishing club

What events stand out in the history of the club? Milestones?

Ron Taylor winning the World Spearfishing titles in 1965. Also, several Australian titles 1962,63,64,65
Ben Cropp winning the Australian title in 1961
Mark Colys winning the Australian title in 1994
Australian Spearfishing team representatives- Ron Taylor, Mark Colys, Gunther Phrengle

The club runs Social Competitions and Social Club Dives to cater for the newer and beginner divers.
Club yearly presentation and Christmas Party.
Club away trips- Depending on weather conditions- Both North and South Coast of NSW

The club is looking to expand with snorkelling days for beginners and also fish identification days.
The club is involved in all major championships with members both competing and helping with the organisation. (Sydney Cup, Canada Cup etc)
Stg competes in the monthly Alliman Shield competition and is also involved in the championships.

Representative accolades of members from club?
Ron Taylor winning the world championship as a member, the only Australian to ever win it.
Mark Colys, Gunther Phrengle, Wally Gibbons and Ben Cropp have all been part of the Australian Spearfishing squad. Any extra’s to add?
https://fathomoz.wordpress.com/tag/vic-ley/
Check out this link, has some great old photo’s

Mosman Whalers

Mosman Whalers is a Sydney based spearfishing club. We are one of the smaller clubs in Sydney and a number of our members compete in the monthly Alliman Shield Competition and other NSW based competitions. We have divers of all skill levels from Beginners to Australian Representatives. We run several social outings throughout the year including trips away up and down the coast. Originally based in Mosman we now have members from all over the greater Sydney area with monthly meetings usually held on the third Wednesday of the month at Gladesville bowlo.

We are always welcoming to new members. If you want to join a club and learn to become a better spearo and meet a great group of divers you can give Matt Poulton a call on 0427 967 528 or Tony Moussa on 0418447238. Alternatively look up our facebook page “Mosman Whalers Spearfishing Club”

President Matt Poulton 0427967528

VP Tony Moussa 0418447238

Treasurer Allan Forbes 0408229289

Secretary Robbie Clark 0402293199
 
Sports sec Steve Wayne 0447451391

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Darwin Dolphins Club

Meetings:
Held on the third Tuesday of the month, contact the Secretary for location.

Contacts:
President: Rick Trippe
0411 234 567
[email protected]

Secretary: Mitchell Rider
0422 298 542
[email protected]

Treasurer: David Blondeau-Patissier

Vice President: Wayne Wasey

Public Officer: Rick Trippe

Postal Address:
GPO Box 10, Darwin NT 0801

Telephone:
0411 234 567 (Rick Trippe)

Email: [email protected] (Secretary)

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Sans Souci Dolphins Spearfishing Club

Zone: Sydney Metropolitan Zone
General Location: Eastern Suburbs of Sydney and surrounds
Meetings Held: 3rd Tuesday of every month, 7.00pm
Meeting Location: South Sydney Amateur Fishing Club, Corner of Hastings and Macquarie Street
Contact person(s)
Name: Parry Gryllis
Phone: 0403598824
Email: [email protected]
Club Website: http://sanssoucidolphins.org
Club Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/SSDSC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sansdolphins
Instagram: http://instagram.com/sanssoucidolphins

The Sans Souci Dolphins were established in 1953, and sixty years on we are still having a great time, as we grow as a club every day. We currently have a membership of over 60 divers, making us the largest spearfishing club in NSW. We strive to deliver what our club members expect from a well established and run club.

In order to ensure our members get what they need from our club, we maintain a balance of social and competition events throughout the year. We have social outings to restaurants, social dives both locally and abroad, and a variety of competition events. For example, at last year’s Eden Three Way State Titles in July, we booked three houses for our members, and over thirty dolphins attended the event.

Our club meetings are also a great social night for us all. We have a BBQ at every meeting as well as information/learning nights such as presentations on “Finding Jewfish” by Australian Spearfishing Champion Paul Roso, “Gear maintenance” by Luke Downie of Frogdive Guildford, “Correct Breathing Technique” by Simon Trippe of Australian Spearfishing Academy, plus much more to come over the year.

Who were the major pioneers of the club? Fred Nann was the original founding member for the Dolphins it’s first president and first Life member. He later moved to WA in his late 20′s, where he did a record freedive at the time recorded at 110ft.

North Shore Underwater

North Shore Underwater Club boasts more than 65 financial members spanning from Penshurst down South, Blacktown in the West, Bondi in the East and, of course, all up and down the Northern Beaches. Not only does it give the ability to participate in Alliman competitions but it represents an excellent network of dive buddies. North Shore has always encouraged the development of new divers and it is our aim to get you taking the fish you are after. No questions are stupid or too basic, ask us how to shoot a luderick and we will show you how to.

Membership to North Shore also awards you membership to the Sydney Freedivers. SF is the ONLY insured and competition capable freediving club in Australia. Sydney Freedivers focuses on the freediving side and has its own host of training sessions, pool sessions and competitions.

North Shore is an exciting club boasting a huge breadth of divers from Sub Juniors to veterans at all skill levels. North Shore Underwater Club has in the past run many training sessions on pertinent topics throughout the years. We are sure that by attending just a single training session you will learn something that you didn’t think of before or perhaps didn’t know.

You do not have to be a member of NSUC to attend these as they are training sessions to encourage people to learn, come along, learn about the club and then make a decision whether the club scene is for them. I encourage you all to come along for at least one topic of your choice and join in what is always a great night of beers, raffles, dinner…oh yes and the training!

History of Club 

TBA

Social Activities

NSUC historically hosts a high number of social events, we feel these weekends are a necessity as it gives our members the opportunity to network amongst each other outside of the structured monthly meetings, to find new dive buddies and in some cases friends for life. 

In the past we have been lucky enough to be able to run a number of bunnings bbq’s which has allowed the club to be able to sponsor our ever growing list of social occasions some of which include:

  • Annual seal rocks camping weekend
  • Annual coffs harbour trip/ club competition
  • Club partners competition
  • New Zealand/reef trips
  • Family day/bbqs
  • Excellent end of year xmas party & many more

Competitions and Events

In addition to being involved in all of the USFA run competitions including the Alliman shield, Sydney cup etc. NSUC also regularly run our own club competitions to encourage a bit of healthy competition within the club, and as a good excuse to get together and enjoy a day or two in the water.

Our club competitions range from annual events such as the seal rocks club comp and Coffs harbour club comp to hand spear and social comps in the harbour. We have also in recent times been running a regular pairs competition which involves two divers fishing as a team with only one gun, not only does this promote safe diving practice and teamwork, but it has also proved to be great fun aswell..

 

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