Beach

Glenelg  SLSC Beach Section's early success occurred on the beach in the  1970's.  The 'Beachies' were considered to be the backbone of the club  during this time. In short Glenelg dominated the beach events.  Many  great names of GSLSC made their mark during this time.  Names such as  Clements, Bowbridge, Binns, McFeat and Marshman, all had a massive  influence on the beach at Glenelg. Bill Clements became GSLSC's first  Australian Medalist on the beach in 1973, winning the Silver medal in  the Beach Flags event.  He backed this up the next year winning another  Silver medal in 1974.  His many State medals in Beach sprint and flags  headed a beach team that set the standard for years to come.  Such was  his dominance of the beach flags that other competitors would try and  gang up on him.  Surf Life Savings folk-lore tells the story of the  alternating hamstring injury. Bill was trying to get a mental edge on  his competitors and strapped up his leg, even though he had no injury.   The problem was Bill eventually strapped up the wrong leg and ruse was discovered.  He still won.

The  1980's produced more champions on the beach for GSLSC than any other  section. Hutchison, Sage, Mangelsdorf, 'The Doctor' (Peter All croft)  combined with some of our experienced competitors to ensure Glenelg  continued to dominate the beach along with Brighton and Grange. 

The  great's, Peter Sage and David Hutchison would perform strongly for many  years, with Hutch still dominating the Masters events at national level  20 years later, quite a phenomenal feat. 

The  Glenelg SLSC beach team has produced many champions including 1992 Bay  Sheffield place-getter and Australian Medalist Luke Hildyard.  Luke is  also a 4 time Club Captain and can still be found competing in beach  events.  The beach area has produced many leaders at the club including  past Captain's Peter Sage, Leigh Bowbridge, Shane Daw and Ben Clements.

Long  time Beach captain Leigh Bowbridge has guided many runners to victory,  and the team events are always strong for GSLSC.  Past champions of the  90's and current years are still on the beach today, looking to  continue the proud tradition of beach competition at Glenelg SLSC. In  our 75th year the return to 'The Sage', Peter Sage that is,  will ensure the best of coaching, competition and camaraderie will  again be the focal point of the Glenelg Beach Section.

As the new generation of beach competitors mature and develop, keep watch for such names as Hext, O'Loughlin, Cole, Obermeier, Kithers and Burton.