Teams have been named for the new national surf lifesaving league and coaches announced, with renowned ironman Shannon Eckstein and Flinders sporting legend Associate Professor Claire Drummond to lead the South Australian team.

As head female coach, Associate Professor Drummond will co-lead the eight-person mixed team – the SA Reds – that will compete over three rounds in a variety of surf, board and swimming events in both single and mixed gender competitions.

The first event kicks off this weekend, Sunday 1 December, at Bulli NSW. Teams from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia will compete in the new league.

A longstanding supporter and participant in surf lifesaving, Associate Professor Drummond has also been appointed High Performance Lead with Surf Lifesaving SA. This is a new, voluntary role to deliver evidence-based leadership across South Australia’s coaches and state teams. She is delighted to be sharing her knowledge of exercise science with the organisation, and will manage this additional role alongside her other weekend commitments to community sport.