Hi Team Tama!

Welcome back to one of the best parts of our week, yes it’s another profile of one of our fabulous Tama Women. 

Tama’s ‘She’s a Lifesaver’ campaign keeps on gaining momentum! 

Up next is a woman with a lovely soul. I met her during lockdown on some Groper swims during winter last year, those swims helped us stay sane. She flies the flag for women with Patrol 10, she grew up in Canberra but has defected to Sydney, loves music, running, and happens to be a neurologist on the side. 

Introducing the lovely Dr. Alice Powell. She was a vital member of the group involved in the successful resuscitation at Mackenzie's in 2020, she saves lives. 

From the mighty Tim Murray “ Alice is one of the quiet achievers on Patrol 10. She is one of the strongest swimmers and has a strong record of rescuing and resuscitating patients. I always feel confident when she is on patrol that we are rescue ready”.

So over to the wonderful Alice…

Thank you,  Zoe - VP

Alice with club mascot Chingu (puppy Chingu!)

Tell us a bit about yourself: 3 words that best describe you?  A bit nerdy

How did you get into Surf Life Saving? How did you join Tama? I was about to embark on a research year in 2019 and had some free time as well as a developing interest in ocean swimming. Surf lifesaving seemed like a great opportunity to get involved in the community, meet people, get fitter and learn more about the ocean. I reached out to the amazing Nikki Bart who I’d recently done the Cole Classic with, and she told me she’d done her bronze at Tamarama and what a wonderful club it was…

Alice with her Bronzie cohort, spring 2019, recognise some familiar faces :)

What are the best things about being part of the Surf Life Saving community? There are so many good things,spending time with lovely people, learning practical and transferable skills, doing something useful while having a really good excuse to spend several hours on the beach

How would you describe our community at Tama? A small club with a big heart – diverse, interesting, welcoming, inclusive

What has been your biggest achievement from being part of Surf Lifesaving? It would have to be, being part of the patrol involved in the successful resuscitation of an unconscious bodyboarder at Mackenzies in 2020. I was so impressed with everyone on patrol that day and how they worked together as a team in an intense and stressful situation. It was also nice to see how many off-duty club members came down to pitch in that day and the layers of support available. It made me very proud to be part of the club and confident it was an organisation that could deal with any incident. I would also have to credit Tama Gropers swims for staying somewhat sane and functioning in the hospital during COVID times.

Alice and Lisa sporting the awesome Tama Gropers swimwear

Tell us about what you do when not on the beach at Tama looking after people? Work, research (neurodegenerative disease/dementia and how to avoid it), running, music groups (hopefully restarting COVID permitting).

Favourite place to go for food in Sydney? I’m pretty obsessed with the ‘Black Russian’ dark rye loaf and little fruit buns from Organic Bread Bar

Ideal holiday destination right now? The UK to see friends and family then somewhere fun in Europe…

What would be your advice to any woman thinking to give surf lifesaving a go? Stop thinking, just do it, you won’t regret it

Spot Alice amongst the Gropers

What have you learned from your time at Tama? How a functional volunteer organisation works, all the complementary skills individual members can bring to make a great patrol (shout out to the multi-talented patrol 10!), how quickly a beach can change (especially Tamarama!)

Thank you Alice! Another inspirational woman flying the flag at Tama for all women. Let’s use Alice’s words to those thinking about giving lifesaving a go,  ‘Stop thinking, just do it, you won’t regret it’, perfect words.

Thank you for joining Tama Alice, you’ve made a great difference and we are so lucky to have you.