Surf lifesavers competing in state titles unfazed by shark threat

THEY’RE the state’s best surf lifesavers and it takes more than a 3.4m great white to faze them.

A DAY earlier their surfing comrades had been faced with a shark scare as a great white was caught metres from the Roxy Pro surf site, but that didn’t put off surf lifesavers competing in the SLS Masters on Friday.

While social media was abuzz with the news of the 3.4 metre shark, there was barely a whisper about sharks down at North Kirra when the competition kicked off.

MONSTER SHARK CAUGHT METRES FROM ROXY PRO

Event official Jenny Crawford said she hadn’t heard any adverse reaction from competitors.

“These people are in the surf every day,” she said.

“It’s in their nature if they see anything to react in the appropriate way and we have safety measures in place if sharks are spotted.”

While competition zones well patrolled and protective measures are in place, seven-times women’s world champion surfer Layne Beachley has spoken out about the effect a shark in a competition would have.

“I can’t imagine the consequential effect of one of the professional surfers getting attacked by a shark in a competition area,” she said.

“The ripple effect of that would be quite profound, so I’m sure organisers will go to extraordinary lengths to preserve and protect the wellbeing of competitors.”

Beachley said she had never feared sharks.

“I’m a big believer in you attract what you feel,” she said.

Fellow competitors were unfazed by the shark spotted only a few beaches south of the event base for the SLS Masters.

Gary Hume of Kawana Water SLSC said the threat of sharks never crossed his mind.

“I don’t even think about it. I got my bronze in 1966 and I’ve seen about four sharks since then,” he said.

“Even if you see them there’s a very minimal chance they’ll cause trouble.”

Meanwhile competitor Scott Brydson said he felt safe in the Gold Coast waters after returning from the Australian titles in Darwin where “crocs were everywhere”.

Northcliffe competitor Richard Bedford said it was very unlikely any of the veteran competitors hitting the surf would be worried about shark attacks.

“If we let fear and statistics run ours lives we’d never get out of bed and most of these guys would rather die out here than stay in bed.”

While there has been some adverse reaction to the sharks being killed, a hot topic with the recent introduction of shark culling in Western Australia, lifeguard Andrew Putland said the general reaction on the day was that “the drumlines are doing their job”.

“I don’t think there’s any concern in the water today,” he said.