Taj Andrews, 15, was recently crowned the 2020/2021 Wide Bay Capricorn Branch Youth Athlete of the Year.

“I have always been nominated every year but I have never got it so it feels so good to finally win it.”

After a tearaway season with the Tannum Sands Surf Lifesaving Club, Taj Andrews is hoping to further his career in South East Queensland.

A rising surf lifesaving star said he owed his latest accolade to the training and commitment of Tannum Sands Surf Lifesaving Club.

Taj Andrews, 15, was recently crowned the 2020/2021 Wide Bay Capricorn Branch Youth Athlete of the Year.

Having grown up on the beaches of Tannum Sands, Andrews said he was absolutely stoked to be recognised by Surf Lifesaving Queensland.

“It feels so good, people might not think there’s many competitors up Central Queensland that compete at high levels but there actually is,” he said.

“There is a stack of them and I feel absolutely privileged to be picked as one of the best.”

Andrews said it was a text from his dad which made him aware that he had won the award.

“He sent a screenshot through and I was like, ‘Oh that is so crazy!’,” he said.

“I have always been nominated every year but I have never got it so it feels so good to finally win it.”

Andrews said all of the past season had been a highlight for him, coming away with several accolades for the trophy cabinet.

“I came away with the state board champion, I got third in the iron which I was really happy with and went really well in all my team events too,” he said.

“At the Australian titles I won the Australian board championship and that was crazy.”

Following a move to the Gold Coast this year, Andrews said his dad continued to mentor his surf lifesaving journey.

“I have been training at Burleigh Surf Club down here for the past three months but before that he was my coach,” he said.

“He would always push me to be the best version of myself, always make me get up early to go to training.”

Andrews said his goal for the future was to train hard and get results next season so he could travel and represent the Australian surf lifesaving team.

Award winners will now go on to represent the region at the Surf Life Saving Queensland Awards of Excellence held in Brisbane on September 25.