## **Trustees Annual Report** **Charity Name -** Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club **Charity No. -** 1205583 **Period Start Date -** 06/11/23 **Period End Date -** 31/03/25 **Charity’s Principal Address -** Porthmawr Surf Lifesaving Club, Whitesands Beach, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, SA62 6PT **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |**Trustee name**|**Ofce (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**| |---|---|---| |Richard Cox|Chair|| |David Ward|Trustee|08 May 25 - Present| |Julian Whitewright|Secretary|08 May 25 - Present| |Jamie Barnes|Trustee|08 May 25 - Present| |Alwyn Padrig ap Sion
Rees|Trustee|08 May 25 - Present| |Martn Charlton|Club Captain|| |Sophie David|Treasurer|| |Thomas Coleman|Trustee|| |Jefrey David Rogers|Trustee|| |Lloyd Roberts|Trustee|| ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT** **Type of Governing Document - Constitution How the Charity is constituted - Association Trustee Selection methods - Elected by Trustees** ## _Afliaton_ Porthmawr Surf Lifesaving Club is affiliated to the Surf Life Saving Association Wales who are the largest volunteer organisation for ocean safety and rescue work in Wales. Their goal is to “prevent the loss of life through drowning.” SLSAW is the governing body for Porthmawr club and therefore everything that we do from training, competitions to fundraising events are all carried out in line with their guidance and policies. Our affiliation enables us to come together with other SLSAW clubs in the region to train and compete through surf life saving competitions which members of Porthmawr are encouraged to train for and attend. These events are a great chance to learn from each other and challenge abilities in a fun and safe environment. ## _Club Membership_ Membership of the Club is open to any person interested in furthering the objects of the Club and who has paid the appropriate annual subscription. All memberships may be subject to committee approval and references sought. There are various categories of membership: - SENIOR ACTIVE - over the age of 16 years. - JUNIOR ACTIVE - aged less than 16 years but more than 13. - NIPPER ACTIVE - aged less than 13 years but more than 7. - SPECIAL LONG SERVICE COMPETITOR MEMBER – A previously active, qualified patrolling and competitive member who no longer lives locally (Pembrokeshire) but wishes to remain a member. – Committee approval only - ASOCIATE MEMBER The club aims to be a friendly, welcoming, and pro-active club that is visible to Whitesands, St Davids and the surrounding area, providing training and education in a safe, enjoyable, and approachable manner. ## _Risks and management_ As trustees, due to the nature of surf life saving we are always aware of the risks involved with many of the activities that our club members partake in. Alongside our club policies, risk assessments and method statements, we ensure that risk assessments and session plans are completed on a sessionby-session basis. These are carried out prior to the start of a session to ensure that the correct measures are implemented to keep both our members and members of the public as safe as possible. As an example of this, if during the risk assessment it is clear that the beach/sea are especially busy, we will liaise directly with the RNLI lifeguards to select a safe and appropriate position for entering the water. We also maintain contact with the lifeguards throughout via use of two-way radios to ensure club members and other beach users are as safe as possible. We retain the session plan and risk assessment documents in case required at a later date and attempt to fill in a session overview afterwards to highlight things that went well and pinpoint any areas that could require improvement. ## _Charity Wider Network_ Due to the location of Porthmawr surf life saving club at Whitesands beach, we have an excellent relationship with the RNLI lifeguards, who work out of the same building that we lease and take responsibility for as a club. This helps us to ensure that we are providing training to the highest and most appropriate level, with qualifications and training often being carried out together. Several of our club members are also involved in a voluntarily capacity with the Coastguard and the RNLI lifeboat service. This again is a very valuable asset to the club as knowledge and expertise are shared between organisations, which has a huge impact on club training safety and beach user safety. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club aims to save lives and prevent drowning, primarily through: a) providing education and training in all areas relating to lifesaving, rescue and resuscitation for the benefit of the public in the area of St David's and its immediate area in Pembrokeshire, b) providing facilities to take part in organised lifesaving as a voluntary public service and to take part in beach and water sports, so as to develop their capabilities as lifeguards. The Club is established for the public benefit for the following purposes in the area comprising St Davids and its immediate area (the area of benefit): - To save lives · To patrol Whitesands Beach and render all possible aid to those in distress. · To promote, improve and control the work of life saving, resuscitation and first aid. · To encourage the provision of facilities for young people to participate in - Organised life saving as a voluntary vital public service - Beach and water sports for enjoyment and recreation. - To promote and improve standards of water safety. - To study, develop and improve life saving methods and equipment. · To organise competition and fund-raising activities to facilitate the attainment of the above objects. Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club is committed to providing access to activities, training and learning that promote beach and sea safety and lifesaving to a wide range of ages of its members, all of whom live and reside in the North Pembrokeshire region. The benefits extend to those who are not members of the club but who either live in the region or are visiting or on vacation. They benefit in the form of voluntary beach lifeguarding services provided by Porthmawr surf life saving members when the RNLI service is not available. There is also a general benefit to the public in that active members of the club who have undergone training and education through the club have a heightened awareness of other beach and sea users when at coastal locations throughout the region in their daily lives. The benefit is that they are able to assess conditions of beaches and tides and be aware of the dangers and risks to members of the public and can inform and advise these users if necessary. Further to this, there have been instances where members of the club have actively taken part in life saving procedures to members of the public outside of organised club activities. The life saving, rescue and resuscitation skills taught to members of the club are also not confined to coastal situations as many can or could be implemented in all daily forms of life if first aid were required to a member of the public. The club has also had links with youth clubs and schools in the area, providing community first aid training, which is beneficial both to the club in terms of raising awareness and the public in gaining key and potentially life saving first aid skills. A particular focus is spent with children aged 7 – 18 training, teaching and educating them in life saving techniques and the enjoyment of spending time outside and in the ocean. Spring and summer months are spent on the beach or in the sea learning sea awareness, developing skills both on and off rescue boards in the sea, practicing rescues with rescue tubes and generally improving fitness and life saving abilities. This is then built upon during Autumn and Winter months with indoor pool swimming sessions, again focussing on rescue techniques and swim fitness. The benefit of this to the public is that historically some members of the club who have partaken in these club activities as children have continued as young adults and adults to qualify as beach lifequards, going on to provide key life saving services through work with the RNLI at beaches around Pembrokeshire and beyond. When planning our activities for the year, Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club and its trustees have considered the commissions guidance on public benefit and implemented the guidance to the best of our ability to maximise our effect as a club on the members of the public. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** From November 2023 to March 2025 the club has had an active presence in the St Davids area and further afield through the following achievements. ## _Atendance_ Attendance at the club has been consistent for many years, with refreshed interest each new membership year. Currently the club is thriving with a total of 208 members, comprised of 64 Masters (18 plus) 37 Juniors (12-18) and 63 Nippers (7-12). Other members comprise of parent helpers, through to individual club members. Most members reside within a 30-minute radius of Whitesands beach. ## _Fundraising_ Fundraising is a key part of Porthmawr club as it is necessary not only for promoting and advertising the club to the local area, but also essential for the replacement and updating of lifesaving equipment and kit that is used for regular training at the club. During this period fundraising events have included cake sales, BBQs and raffles hosted outside the clubhouse at Whitesands and car park takeovers in the city of St Davids run by our Junior members. For the past two years Porthmawr club has teamed up with another local surf lifesaving club, Newgale, to host a fundraiser in St Davids town hall with live music throughout the evening. Specific purchases as a result of fundraising have been the purchase of buoyancy aids, rescue throw lines, two-way radios, body boards for the younger club members, replenishing of first aid kits, swim fins for training, an AED for the club and surf skis for competition training. ## _Compettons_ A key part of surf life saving is taking part in the competitions held throughout Wales, competing against other clubs who are part of SLSA Wales. These events allow us to spend time with, network and compete against other clubs, and allow the club members to use the skills that they have been learning throughout their training and push themselves to compete and achieve recognition for their efforts. During this period Nipper and Junior members participated in 2024 championships at Aberavon and the 2025 championships at Poppit Sands. Some came away with medals for their achievements and ranking. As a club we also hosted an informal competition at Whitesands with involvement from Nippers, Juniors and Masters. Going forward as a club we intend to be able to participate in more competitions, training up more senior members to be involved in the running of them. ## _Training/Qualifcatons_ Training and qualifications are at the core of the club, with members of all ages working towards obtaining them at all times during the year. At the Nipper level there is constant assessment of achievement towards an SLSA Wales framework of Bronze-Gold competency award which focuses on rescues both at sea and in the pool environment, fitness and first aid. At the Junior level there is the opportunity to obtain a Lifesaver Level 1 award, and at the Senior level Lifesaver Level 2 or National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification. Several members have obtained these qualifications over the last couple of years which allows the effective and safe running of the Nipper and Junior Sessions to commence on a Sunday when we meet at the beach for training and also enables Voluntary Beach Lifeguarding session to be organised for adverse weather conditions when RNLI lifeguards are not on duty. We have also managed to put several parents of Nippers and Juniors through a Parent/Helper award during this period. This gives them a basic level of safety and awareness and educates in lifesaving skills and rescues. As a result of this many who achieved this award also assist with the children’s sessions which is a great asset to the club. Going forward, the club is also aiming to train 3 or 4 members to become Trainer/Assessors to enable more frequent training of club members and assistance of training and assessing of candidates carrying out qualifications in neighbouring clubs. ## _Swim abilites_ One area that we as a club take particular pride in is that we are open to applicants who have limited swim abilities; many other clubs have a requirement of an already high standard of swimming. This is not to say that we allow non-swimmers in to the sea or a pool environment where it is unsafe to do so. Rather, we seek to make the club safely accessible for as many children as possible, which is made possible due to the high level of parental involvement and trained assessors. As a result of this we have seen children attend our winter swimming sessions with only a very basic swim ability, but who have been able to work on this in a safe and supportive environment and by the end of the season become competent and safe swimmers, setting them up for a season at the beach or in the sea within their depth and ability. ## _Events_ As a club we have been able to host or support a number of events that take place at the beach or in the sea at Whitesands where the clubhouse is located. Events include the Welsh Grom Surf Championships, the New Year’s Day Swim, the Nipper Camp beach/sea activities, friendly interclub competitions and being able to support various charity events including coast path runs and challenges that pass by the clubhouse. It is of great importance to the trustees of the club that we are visible to the general public and are able to help out in lifesaving, safety and in ways of hospitality to other events if we are able to. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## _Brief Overview_ The accounting period listed on the Charity Commission website states from the 06/11/23 – 31/03/25. However, the finances reviewed in this report cover the period from 01/04/24 – 31/05/25. The reason for this is that the application to become a CIO and associated paperwork was submitted at an earlier date than the official switch over from the old charity to a CIO. The registration date is 06/11/23 however Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club changed from a standard charity to a CIO at the start of April 2024, when all money was transferred from the old organisation to the new (same name used). Therefore, the only applicable accounts for the CIO are from 01/04/24 – 31/05/25. The minutes of the meeting on 28/03/24 are included at the end of this report to confirm this was the process followed. ## _Charites Principal Source of Funds_ The principal source of funds for this period came from both membership fees (£9956.98) and Grants (£10596.00). The grant applications for this period were lower than previous years due to the allocation of time given to preparing to make the switch to become a CIO. A trustee also stepped down in this period who was responsible for the grant applications. The intention in coming years is to make more grant applications, and hopefully to be able to apply for and secure larger grants with the status as a CIO. ## _Expenditure and Key Objectves_ We started the year with a healthy balance to work with over the next 12 months. The main source of expenditure for this period was on equipment purchase (£12956.96). In 2025 we were given a grant from Sportlot Wales of £9796.00 and therefore this was a year of investment in purchasing one new single and one new double surf ski, along with 4 adult racing boards. These can be used by adult members for training, as well as by coaches when running sessions for the younger members. As a club we felt we had plenty to offer to the younger members, however the equipment for adult participation was in need of replacement or new purchase, as reflected in the equipment cost. This will hopefully allow us to engage with a wider age range and appeal to more adults in the St Davids and surrounding areas. It will also enable us to enter in to adult ski and board races around the area. Without the racing boards it would be hard to run safe water sessions for the younger members. Swimming fins were also purchased to be used in the sea and the winter pool sessions. This period saw the club spend £5321.30 on training, an area which we are passionate in investing. £5321.00 was used for training purposes, equipment and charges needed for courses and pool hire charges. The more training that the club can offer to its members helps the club to meet its aims and objectives of saving lives and preventing drowning. Training is the key to all aspects of the functionality of the club, from providing sessions for the Nippers and Juniors, to carrying out Voluntary Lifeguard Patrols, to raising awareness of both the attractions and the dangers of the sea to the general public. It is an area that we will always prioritise financial investment in. The club received donations and fundraised a total of £5047.87, which went towards equipment purchases, subsidising training courses for members and general expenses of maintaining a building for the use of Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club. Membership accounted for £9956.98 received, of which £6201.00 was paid out for affiliation and insurance fees to Surf Life Saving Association Wales, our Governing Body. Very little building maintenance this year, £444.19, more expected in the coming years. The Club appears to have operated at a loss for the year, however, the previous financial year the Club was granted money to spend on specific life saving equipment that had to be ordered and manufactured, this had a long delay and money rolled over to the 24-25 year for reporting. ## _Reserves Policy_ Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club has two accounts which are for reserves. The first (Lease acc.) at the end of this period contained £5627.82. Thia has been built up to meet future costs of upgrading and maintaining the building at Whitesands Beach. The second (Savings acc.) contained £16627.77 at the end of this period. This is a contingency fund of saved to cover approximately a year of running Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club in the event of such events as a pandemic. These two accounts have been kept for this purpose for a number of years to act as a “buffer” if the need should arise. ## **DECLARATION** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **Signature(s) Full name(s)** Julian Whitewright **Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)** Secretary **Date** 30/01/25 ## **ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS** _**Independent examiner’s report on the accounts**_ ## _**- Minutes of Extra Ordinary General Meetng showing closure of old charity and creaton of CIO**_ ## **Porthmawr SLSC Extra-Ordinary General Meeting & AGM – 28[th] March 2024, 19:30hrsSt Davids Rugby Club – Members Lounge** ## **MINUTES OF THE MEETING** ## **Attendees** Stuart Penfold, Richard Cox, Celeste Walburg, Tom Coleman, Sophie David, Cllr Bethan Price, Jeff Rogers, Lisa Davies, Julian Wainwright, Martin Charlton ## **Apologies** Hafwen Kaill, Darwin Franks, Lloyd Roberts ## **Extra-Ordinary General Meeting** - Unanimous vote to close the old charity and move all assets both physical and financial to the new Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). All present agreed that we are relying on the transfer power laid out in the Charities Act Provisions to make this decision. - Action Stuart Penfold – to close the existing charity online. - Action Sophie David – to move all funds across to the new accounts. ## **Annual General Meeting** Treasurer reported totals of accounts to be passed over to the new Porthmawr CIO Accounts at the end of financial year 2023/2024– full report to follow post financial year end. Treasurers account £17856.48 Saving Account £16453.70 Holding Account £ 4080.57 ## **Election of Board of Trustees for new CIO** The first Charity Trustees of the CIO are Richard Cox Stuart Penfold Jeff Rogers Sophie David Martin Charlton Hafwen Kaill (not present but self-proposed beforehand and nominated) Lisa Davies Thomas Coleman Lloyd Roberts Darwin Franks (not present but self-proposed beforehand and nominated) Patrick Willis (not present but self-proposed beforehand and nominated) Celeste Walburg who was a committee member of the old un-incorporated Porthmawr SLSC expressed she was not willing to take a role as a Trustee of the new CIO ## **Chairmans Closing Statement** Chairman – Richard Cox made a small speech thanking all those involved in the running of Porthmawr Surf Life Saving Club for their hard work. Special mention to Lisa Davies, Sophie David and Stuart Penfold for the hard work put into the CIO handover process. **Next General Meeting to be held – Thursday 2[nd] May 19:30hrs St Davids Rugby Club** ACCOUNTS Porthmawr Surf Uf• S•¥lnq Club Summory of Ac¢ounts 1 Aprfl2024-31 March 2025 0genin8 881once 11412024 £178S6.48 Closing Bala￿ 271312025 £8171.91 IIICOME 8gnk Tr8n¥f•r 8ulLdlng Malnt DOn￿lD1 Grants Electri¢ InsvrarKo M•mb•r*hip Equlpment MiwUar*ou• 30.00 Tralning 142.¢YJ Bank Int•i•8t 11.69 8onkTrun$l•r Bull¢JingMaint iyj). 4U.19 5047.87 10596. 661.00 Granti Ele¢trl¢ Insurnnce NombersNp Equipmont Misceli8neous Trainlng 8ank Intwegl Fuel $679.47 2158.41 6201.¢XI 12956.96 1466.94 S321. 151.84 250.CQ io Occu TOTALIP4eoME 28445.01 TOTALEXPENDIYLThE 38IYJ.11 Sophi• D•ld-Treo￿f0r Rl¢harttCox. C*•lmwn Oponin88aiance 11412024 £*108057 CloslnKBo1oTrce 271312025 E5827.82 Bank int•mst É47.25 Trnn8ferfrom maiD•¢counl OtE1SOO S￿n￿A￿lUM Opanin88aianc• 11412024 £16453.70 Clo$lnKBal8nce 271312025 £16627.77 eank inthrfjst £774.07