Senior surf official stood down over allegations of improper conduct

The head coach of the Australian surf lifesaving team has been stood down over allegations of improper conduct towards a female star.

Surf coach Kurt Wilson

The head coach of the Australian surf lifesaving team has been temporarily stood down over allegations of improper conduct towards one of his female stars.

Kurt Wilson, also a senior official in Surf Life Saving Queensland and at his club at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, was recently reappointed head coach after guiding the Australian team to a record-breaking performance at the 2022 Lifesaving World Championships in Italy.

He again led the national team to the German Cup in Warendorf last November, and is contracted to guide the team through to the 2024 world champs, to be held on the Gold Coast in August.

However just days after returning home from the German campaign, Wilson was temporarily stood down from his role at SLSA, following a complaint from a female athlete.

His role with SLSA is described as voluntary, which he has held since his appointment to the head coach job in 2017.

The New Zealander had previously been SLSA’s national coaching adviser and was a former head coach of the NZ national youth team before moving to Australia in 2014.

He also works as SLSQ’s general manager of sport, brand, membership and enterprise and is director of surf sports at the Currumbin Vikings.

He has since taken leave from his six-figure position at the Vikings as clubs prepare for the upcoming Queensland and Australian championships.

Surf coach Kurt Wilson. Picture: LinkedIn

In a statement, a spokesperson for SLSA said Wilson had been stood down “relating to complaints made by a current member around alleged breaches of current SLSA Policies… pending outcomes of an internal investigation”.

“SLSA will await the outcome of the investigation before determining the next steps,” the statement said.

“SLSA takes allegations of breaches of SLSA policies seriously.

“Support has been made available to the members.”

A SLSQ spokesperson confirmed the state body had also scaled back Wilson’s roles within the organisation while the complaint is investigated internally.

“With that person also serving as a staff member of SLSQ, the organisation took immediate steps to reduce the person’s professional capacity and responsibilities within the organisation pending the outcome of the investigation,” the statement said.

“SLSQ will be awaiting the findings of the investigation before taking next steps.

“Any allegations of breaches of Surf Life Saving policies are taken seriously, and SLSQ continues to support SLSA’s investigation.”

A Currumbin official declined to comment, referring inquiries to SLSQ.

However, it is understood the woman involved was not a Currumbin athlete.

Wilson, who is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing over the incident, did not respond to The Courier-Mail’s request for comment.

Kurt Wilson at Currumbin surf club. Picture: Supplied

The saga comes just days before the Queensland championships, with “The Aussies” to follow next month.

Before moving to Australia, Wilson was a successful coach based at Papamoa on New Zealand’s North Island, and he told NZ media he was excited at the opportunity to test himself at the sport’s “Mecca” on the Gold Coast.

He said plenty of clubs had tried to coax him across the Tasman, but he had signed with the Currumbin Vikings because it shared the same family values as Papamoa.

After his position was renewed to guide the Aussie team’s run towards the 2024 world champs, Wilson told media he was very excited.

“I look forward to putting in place a program and the platforms that will allow the athletes to achieve the best possible results in what is a great time for the sport,” he said at the time.

“We have a great group of athletes at the top who are coming off winning the 2022 Lifesaving World Championships.”