Who is Dave Winner and what is The Winner Foundation ?

A swim with a powerful purpose

"Since 2023, the event has carried profound meaning for Coalcliff SLSC and the broader community. It now honours Dave Winner, a beloved life member whose extraordinary survival story has become a national call to action.

In 2021, Dave suffered a catastrophic surfing accident at Coalcliff Beach – breaking his neck, drowning, and going into cardiac arrest. His life was saved only because nearby bystanders knew CPR. In a remarkable twist, one of them had been trained by Dave himself during his years as Coalcliff’s Chief Instructor.

“One day, the life you save may be mine,” Dave often told his students. In 2021, those words proved true.

Following his recovery as a partial quadriplegic, Dave launched the Dave Winner Foundation with an ambitious mission: to train one million Australians in CPR for free by 2030. Supported by the IMB Bank Community Foundation, the organisation now delivers free online and in-person CPR courses nationwide and is developing a new CPR training app designed to put life-saving knowledge at every Australian’s fingertips.

“The day that I had my accident, when I broke my neck and drowned and went into cardiac arrest, the ocean decided to throw me back onto the rocks, and two young blokes knew how to do CPR,” Dave said. “If they weren’t there and didn’t know what to do, I wouldn’t be here today.”

James McFarlane, President Coalcliff SLSC.

For more information about the Winner Foundation go to:-

https://winnerfoundation.org