The committee have considered recent recommendations made by StrucD Ltd following their Structural Inspection of the Paekākāriki Surf Club Building, and have decided for the safety of members and the public, to close down the building. With the sole exception being the IRB Shed – this will remain operational.
Access to the building is permitted to limited personnel only, who will be tasked with retrieving any remaining gear and memorabilia. All access will be blocked off once we have had the opportunity to retrieve gear.
We realise this may come as a shock to some, but for others the declining condition of the club was already having an impact on daily operations and may feel somewhat overdue.
Our building committee are working hard to secure funding for the new building project, but we have a huge road ahead of us, targeting around $4m.
We recognise the building closure is going to change the way we operate, and we are realistic that this may go beyond this coming summer season.
Thankfully we have some great brains in our club, and we are pulling together a plan to ensure we can continue to offer lifeguarding, surf sports and nippers in the coming seasons.
If you have any questions please read on as we have attempted to cover FAQs below. There will also be a club meeting 12 September to discuss a plan forward.
You can view StrucD Limited’s findings and recommendations in the pdf letter below
SLSNZ partial funding secured for shower and toilet block
Pleasingly, Surf Life Saving NZ have already offered us funding to go towards a shower and ablutions block. This will enable us to carry on with our programmes this summer. We are very grateful for their timely support.
Meeting 12 September – Building closure and moving day
Paekakariki Memorial Hall 12 September at 2pm
All members and supporters are welcome. Meeting followed by gear removal from the clubhouse.
Lifeguarding, surf sports and nippers will continue
We have every intention and commitment to continue our club activities.
The plan is to obtain temporary accommodation in the form of portacoms and shipping containers on site.
Senior craft – Inlet training will continue as per usual.
IRB Training – The IRB shed is not considered to be part of the main building, and as such we are able to continue using it temporarily. However only one IRB crew (driver + crewperson) may be in the IRB Shed at any one time.
Nippers – Board training at the inlet will resume shortly. By the time we move to Paekakariki Beach trainings there should be a temporary shower and toilet block installed.
Boaties – We are in the midst of securing a space for the ergs. Meanwhile, winter boat trainings will continue at the Mana inlet with the hope the shower and toilet block is ready for summer beach trainings.
Regional guard – It is expected we will still have regional guard operating at Paekakariki this summer.
What we need members to Do
Keys
All surf club keys must be returned to the committee as soon as possible.
Personal Gear Removal
Do not enter the clubhouse without express permission from the committee. You will have an opportunity during club moving day 12 September.
What we need help with
Portacom or similar
We need a powered portacom, ideally with a kitchenette, to ensure we can continue to run our programmes this summer. If you have access to one, or any connections who could help us to obtain one sooner rather than later, please reply to this email.
Shower and toilet block
Similarly, we need a portable style shower and toilet block. Any offers of support with this, please email.
Shipping containers
We are after one or two shipping containers to assist with on site storage. Ideally a 20ft size. Can you help?
Storage
Long term and short term storage options are required for all of our gear and sports equipment. Do you have warehouse space, workshop storage or a spare garage that could look after our belongings? Please email us! We need to store big stuff like craft, nipper boards etc. But we also have archives, photographs, merchandise and club uniforms that will need a home. All bright ideas welcome!
Fundraising
We cannot emphasise enough how big of a task we have on our hands. It’s going to be around $4m we need to raise for the new building. Plus we are now having to address temporary accommodation and storage costs for the club over the next season or so. Please – if you have any connections that may help us with this please get in touch with Matt mattwarren505@gmail.com or Karen karen.simpson@canoeracing.org.nz
Offers in-kind and pro-bono work
Both for preparing our temporary accommodation and for the new building project. With the new build in particular we require
- someone with project management skills to help manage the project going forward
- large building construction firms and services
Still have questions?
You can reach Club Chair Matt Warren via mattwarren505@gmail.com
Paekakariki Surf Lifeguards 