On Friday 14th April, at The Grand Ballroom, Luna Park, Royal Life Saving hosted The Aquas! The first Awards Gala of its kinds for Royal Life Saving in almost two decades. 200 guests from industry, government and the community joined us to celebrate our night of nights recognising the outstanding contributions, effort and dedication of individuals and organisations in the prevention of drowning and promotion of aquatic participation.

We received an overwhelming response from nominees across our 10 award categories with over 50 nominations received, 40 of these progressed to finalists and were invited to attend the evening. We had some very highly contested categories with some categories being awarded more than 1 recipient.

We are honoured to announce the Recipients for 2023 The Aquas Awards Gala:

• Excellence in Swimming – Parramatta City Swim Club

• Excellence in Lifesaving Sport – Andrew Bowden

• Excellence in Aquatic Safety Design – City of Sydney

• Excellence in Pool Plant Operations – Canberra International Sports & Aquatic Centre

• Excellence in Training and Education – Maitland Aquatics

• Excellence in Media and Promotions – Julie Power

• Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion – All Abilities Swim

• Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion – Blacktown Key Venues

• Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion – Orange Aquatic Centre & Glenroi Heights Public School

• Excellence in Aquatic Supervision – Inner West Council

• Excellence in Aquatic Supervision – Bay Pavilions Arts & Aquatic Centre

• Excellence in Drowning Prevention – Mark Horton

• Excellence in Drowning Prevention – Wagga Wagga City Council

• President's Award – Sydney Water

Royal Life Saving President Mr. Jim Whiteside presented 6 Commendation Awards on the night to members of the NSW Rural Fire Service, ACT Ambulance and a community recipient for displaying outstanding initiative, expertise, and empathy towards their fellow human beings by applying lifesaving skills in emergency situations.

The Aquas 2023 Awards Gala was proudly sponsored by:

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our valued sponsors who helped make this event possible. A further thanks to the team from Primary Create, who produced all the branding and AV packages for the event; the Luna Park Venues team who created the perfect setting for our event and provided amazing service; Master of Ceremonies Comedian and author Carolyn Swindell, and finally to all our recipients, finalists and guests for attending the night and making the success it was.

We congratulate all our award recipients and finalists. You are a fantastic representation of the core of the Aquatic Industry and our greater community.