TOWERING DONATION RAISING LIFESAVERS TO NEW HEIGHTS

DAVENPORT DONATES 28 TOWERS TO NSW BEACHES

Sydney, Tuesday 19^th February, 2008: Davenport, the iconic Australian underwear brand, is giving a gift to the beaches of NSW with a collection of 28 surf lifesaving towers being distributed around the coast.

While states including Queensland have 10 such towers, NSW, home to some of the busiest and most dangerous beaches in Australia has only three known towers, making the new arrivals a welcome addition to the current safety resources of NSW beaches.

Davenport spokesperson, Dianne Taylor, confirmed: “Each of the 28 Davenport towers will be given to one Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) club within NSW. It is our belief that they will be invaluable to both the beach goers and to the 55,000 SLSA members involved in patrolling and running the state’s major water safety and rescue organisation.”

Taylor continues,

“We are proud to say that our Davenport undies keep the bottoms of surf lifesavers comfortable when they’re not on patrol, and now we will also be giving that same bottom a potentially life saving seat whilst at work on the beach.”

With over 8,000 people rescued, 17,357 first aid measures and in excess of 140,000 preventative actions performed in 2007 alone, there is no questioning the critical role surf lifesavers play on our beaches. The towers have proven successful on beaches and Davenport’s donation of these stands will not only provide further support to service offered by the SLSA members, it will also provide a safer environment for beach all goers.

Standing 3 meters in height, the Davenport Livesaver Towers will provide added visibility into the surf and visa versa. The towers will include the internationally recognised information symbol ‘i’ to ensure beach goers feel welcome in approaching Surf Life Savers (SLS), giving SLS opportunity to address concerns they may have relating to beach safety and surf conditions.

One of the few beaches in NSW to currently have a tower is Palm Beach, the Surf Club President, Jeremy Black recently commented,

“The advantage of a tower is that they give Surf Life Savers an elevated view and it is this downward view that provides them a huge advantage when looking out for rips and sand banks. In addition, our tower has made it possible to spot schools of fish beyond the break and sharks that have ventured close to our flagged area – it is now an essential and much needed part of our beach safety equipment.”

On hearing about the arrival of the Davenport Surf Life Saving Towers, Chief Executive Officer for SLSA Northern Beaches, Martin Phillips, commented,

“I know that I speak on behalf of all SLSA clubs involved when I say that I am delighted that Davenport has made this donation possible. Particularly in light of the fact that SLSA policy now states that beaches must have a tower as part of their safety equipment.”

The Davenport surf lifesaving towers will be rolled out across 28 NSW beaches including Long Reef, Freshwater, North Curl Curl and North Steyne over the course of the next couple of months, with all towers being in place by April 2008. The future of the program is to donate towers to other states in Australia throughout the remainder of the year and into 2009.