25 MEMORABLE MOMENTS #14

#14 – DHL Asia Pacific Life Saving Challenge, Japan 2004

DHL Asia Pacific Lifesaving Challenge Japan 2004 was an international surf lifesaving competition that had participants from Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Iran, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. The focus of the event was for developed countries to provide educational support to developing countries through life saving activities.

Organised by the International Life Saving Federation Asia Pacific Regional Branch, with assistance from Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA), the event was initially scheduled to be held in Hong Kong, but there were concerns at the time about the outbreak SARS and was moved to Japan.

Taking place over nine days in June, the competition consisted of both open water (beach) and pool events. Through its ongoing relationship with SLSA, Sold Out Events was responsible for logistics and operational support.

Transport logistics was a critical area of work for Sold Out with our team managing sensitive freight and equipment shipping, including four surf boats from Australia to Japan. Once on the ground in Japan, the Sold Out team assisted with competition and venue setup and signage installation and provided supplies and support to the Australian team.

The overall champion of the event was Australia winning both the pool and beach competition.