As Royal Life Saving gears up for its 130th anniversary celebrations, we’re thrilled to announce that the 2025 Aquas Awards Gala will be bigger and better than ever before. This landmark event will take place on Thursday 1 May 2025, and promises to shine a spotlight on the incredible individuals, teams, and organisations driving change in water safety and aquatic participation across Australia.
One of the most exciting developments for this year is the expansion of our awards categories. In 2023, we celebrated excellence through 10 awards, but in 2025, we’re increasing that number to 14 categories. This expansion reflects the diversity of programs, training, and services we offer and recognises the wide-ranging contributions of the aquatic community.
New and Expanded Award Categories
This year, we’re proud to introduce several new awards alongside updated categories, each designed to celebrate the depth and breadth of excellence across lifesaving sport, the aquatic industry, and community education.
Lifesaving Sport Awards
Competitor of the Year: Celebrating a top-performing athlete who has achieved remarkable success and exemplified sportsmanship in Pool Lifesaving competitions.
Outstanding Contributions to Lifesaving Sport: This award recognises an exceptional non-competitive member within the Lifesaving Sport community, including coaches, officials, administrators, and other dedicated club members, whose behind-the-scenes efforts make lifesaving sport possible.
Industry Awards
Dedicated to recognising excellence within the aquatic industry, these categories highlight the incredible work of professionals, teams, and businesses:
Pool Lifeguard of the Year - Recognising an individual lifeguard who has demonstrated exceptional skill, dedication, and professionalism in their duties.
Swim Teacher of the Year - Celebrating a swim teacher who has shown outstanding commitment to teaching swimming skills and promoting water safety.
Poolie of the Year - Honouring an Aquatic Technical Operator and/or Duty Manager who has excelled in managing pool water quality, ensuring safety, and leading their team effectively.
Industry Leader of the Year – This award recognises an outstanding individual who has demonstrated exemplary leadership, innovation, and dedication within the aquatic industry.
Supplier of the Year - Recognising a supplier who has excelled in maintaining or supporting aquatic facilities, ensuring safety, and enhancing user experience.
Aquatic Facility of the Year - This award recognises exceptional aquatic facilities and swim schools that demonstrate excellence in safety, community impact, innovative programming, and operational management. It celebrates facilities that provide outstanding service, promote water safety education, and enhance accessibility, user satisfaction, and environmental sustainability.
Excellence Awards
Our expanded Excellence Awards celebrate organisations and individuals making significant contributions in key areas of innovation, management, and inclusivity:
Excellence in Cultural Diversity - This Award recognises individuals or organisations who have made a difference or innovative approach to culturally diverse communities within a swimming, lifesaving or drowning prevention context. This may be a one-off or ongoing initiative/program.
Excellence in Access and Inclusion - This Award recognises individuals or organisations who have made a difference or innovative approach to Inclusion for people with different abilities, the LGBTQIA+ community or other underrepresented groups within a swimming, lifesaving or drowning prevention context. This may be a one-off or ongoing program/service.
Excellence in Training and Education - This Award recognises individuals, local governments or organisations who have made a difference or innovative approach to a Swimming or lifesaving training or education program that has been implemented.
Excellence in Innovation - Celebrating innovative solutions, technologies, or methodologies that have significantly advanced the field of drowning prevention, the aquatic industry or aquatic safety, demonstrating creativity and impact.
Excellence in Drowning Prevention - This Award recognises individuals, community groups, government or organisations who have made a difference or innovative approach to Drowning Prevention at a community level.
The President’s Award – Awarded by Royal Life Saving NSW |ACT|TAS President recognising clubs, organisations, business or schools for their continued and significant contributions to the community.
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Why the Expansion?
This year’s expanded categories reflect the evolving diversity of the aquatic community and the growing impact of Royal Life Saving’s programs. From lifesaving sport to industry innovation, these awards ensure that every aspect of the sector is acknowledged and celebrated. By adding new categories, we also aim to inspire others to strive for excellence and promote greater collaboration and innovation across the industry.
The Aquas Awards Gala is more than an awards ceremony; it’s an opportunity to:
Celebrate the remarkable achievements of individuals and organisations.
Network with industry leaders, aquatic professionals, and lifesaving sport enthusiasts.
Be part of a historic event marking Royal Life Saving’s 130 years of service to the community.
Nominations will open Monday 10 February 2025 and tickets for this unforgettable evening will be made available in late February. With an expanded program and the prestigious atmosphere of the awards night, this year’s event promises to set a new standard for celebration and recognition in the aquatic industry.
Stay tuned for more updates, and we can’t wait to see you there!
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