Revival of the Saints
These candidates will be voted for and elected at the first AGM, at a date to be confirmed.
Saints Lifesaving Club will be starting up again. It was shut down two years ago and now, led by Rob ‘Nobbo’ Mortimer and Stephan Shomela, is in the process of starting from scratch again.
A general meeting will be held at the old Saints clubhouse at St Michaels beach on Wednesday, March 16 at 18:00.
It’s open to all interested people to join the club (which is a voluntary movement) and to obtain nominations for positions on the committee.
These candidates will be voted for and elected at the first AGM, at a date to be confirmed.
For more info, contact Gail Mortimer (Rob’s wife) on 082 5518196 or Stephan on 066 0051816.
The revival of the club is linked with the Tidy Town Shelly to Margate project.
Historically, during the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, Saints at St Mike’s and Margate at Margate beach were the two biggest clubs on the coast.
They enjoyed a strong history with each other, dating back many years, and were responsible for providing voluntary lifeguards to safeguard the beaches alongside the employed municipal lifeguards.
When it came to competition there was a fierce but friendly rivalry between the clubs as to who could win the most medals and awards.
The voluntary clubs created a platform for members to forge lifelong friendships with each other, as well as providing a sense of belonging to a movement that was invested in helping others and saving lives.
“It is a very rewarding movement to be involved in and one that fosters the highest standards of behaviour in members, as well as respect for each other and for the public,” said Gail.
In 2004 the two clubs merged and became Margate Saints.
Sadly, the club closed its doors in 2020 and was dissolved by the committee at the time.
“As this movement is vitally important to our community and beaches along the coast line, members of the community involved with the Tidy Town campaign spearheaded the re-opening of the clubhouse.
We are happy to announce that two previous Saints members, well known on our coastline, Rob and Stephan, are excited at the prospect of once again flying the Saints Flag.”
The movement caters for all ages, from Nippers to senior members, including lifeguards in training and junior and senior lifeguards.
Watch this space for more info.
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