‘Specimens of superb manhood:'The lifesaver as national icon

Saunders, Kay

doi:10.1080/14443059809387364

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…As the peak body responsible for the delivery of aquatic safety in Australia, SLSA provides an estimated the economic value of AUD$3.4 billion per annum to Australian communities European Sport Management Quarterly 3 (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2011). Additionally, surf life-saving makes an important contribution to the culture and social capital within Australian communities (Darcy, Maxwell, Edwards, Onyx, & Sherker, 2014;Saunders, 1998). Surf Life Saving Western Australia (SLSWA, 2009), a key organisation in this study has the vision of 'Saving lives and building great communities', which shows the scope of the organisation's influence.…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 95%

Quantitative analysis of sport development event legacy: an examination of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships

Hodgetts

Duncan

2015

European Sport Management Quarterly

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Research question: This study explores whether the conduct of an unleveraged major event, the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, leaves a legacy in terms of making a contribution towards the ongoing sport development of surf life-saving. This is an area of event legacy research that has received little empirical research. Research methods: Secondary data sources from the event host organisation were used as indicators of sport development. Regression analysis, adjusting for changes in the outcome variable outside of the host location (Perth, Western Australia), was used to identify if hosting the event was associated with changes in indicators of attracting, retention and nurturing of sport members in the host location. Results and findings: The only significant adjusted results were a decrease in membership for the host club and an increase in competitor numbers for Western Australia and the Perth metropolitan area, suggesting hosting the event offered some retention and nurturing opportunities for sport development. Implications: This study contributes to sport event legacy literature through examining a non-mega, single sport event and its effects on sport development and suggests that hosting the event only had a limited effect on indicators of sport development. The study uses a regression analysis method that could be used to examine legacy from other events.

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Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 95%

Quantitative analysis of sport development event legacy: an examination of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships

Hodgetts

Duncan

2015

European Sport Management Quarterly

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“…They strut the beaches with superiority that is insolent’. In an analysis of the lifesaving movement in the interwar years, including several iconic pictorial images, historian Kay Saunders (, 103) shows lifesavers ‘literally and figuratively’ superseding the previous generation of soldier heroes. Subordination of the sea was a key ingredient in the surf lifesaver as national hero.…”

Section: Gallant Surf Lifesavers?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Myth of Bondi's Black Sunday

Booth

2015

Geographical Research

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On 6 February 1938, five bathers drowned while swimming between the flags at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. In surf lifesaving history, the day is known as Black Sunday. The dominant heroic narrative of Black Sunday highlights freak surf conditions and the gallantry, efficiency, and adeptness of Bondi's volunteer surf lifesavers. In this article I analyse this representation as a myth. Here I employ the French philosopher Roland Barthes' concept of myth, not as a falsehood, but as simplistic story, replete with silences and devoid of critical assessment. I argue that the myth of Black Sunday served the interests of Surf Life Saving Australia well in establishing its status as the country's premier safety service. However, the culture that underpinned that myth still persists with ongoing ramifications for risk assessment at the beach.

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“…6 Similar sentiments are expressed by Saunders in her work on lifesavers as national icons in Australia, whom she describes as 'specimens of superb manhood'. 7 At other times icons are often in the vanguard of sporting revolution or at the forefront of profound societal change. A modern-day example of this can be understood through an examination of the career of the Swiss athlete Roger Federer, who effectively pioneered the transformation of world tennis and who, at the same time, achieved a reputation for embodying the qualities of fair play, grace under pressure and respect for his opponent, which, while extremely desirable, are very often absent in the contemporary professional sportscape.…”

Section: Sport and Its Iconsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction: What makes a Sporting Icon?

Hassan¹

2013

Sport in History

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‘Specimens of superb manhood:'The lifesaver as national icon

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

Quantitative analysis of sport development event legacy: an examination of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships

Quantitative analysis of sport development event legacy: an examination of the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships

The Myth of Bondi's Black Sunday

Introduction: What makes a Sporting Icon?

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