Inquest hears of risky surf conditions at 2012 Surf Life Saving Championships

Several witnesses have told an inquest into the death of teenage lifesaver Matthew Barclay about challenging conditions at the 2012 Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast.

The 14-year-old died while competing in a board race at the national titles at Kurrawa Beach in March 2012.

Gold Coast City Council Senior Lifeguard Stuart Keay told the Coroners Court in Brisbane he was concerned about the "risky" surf conditions on the day.

Keay said he had witnessed the conditions in the female under 15s competition and felt the area "needed to be terminated".

He told the court he did not consider whether Gold Coast lifeguards had the power to stop the competition.

Lifeguard Dean Powell told the court he raised his concerns with competition organisers, who reassured him they had "water safety" in place.

Speaking outside the inquest, Keay told the ABC he and Powell shared major reservations.

Keay explained "Dean and I discussed it and we were really concerned about it.

"It's just the skill level of that age group handling big waves, you've really got to take that into consideration."

Volunteer jet ski operator Brian Stanley Lewis, who was on patrol that day, told the inquest up to 40% of competitors did not get across the sand bank.

Lewis said several competitors struggled to get across the bank during Matthew Barclay's board race before he saw the teenager's head floating above the water.

He described seeing the body being dumped by a wave and tossed around before disappearing.

Matthew Barclay was the third person to be killed at the championships since 1996, when 15-year-old Robert Gatenby drowned after a surfboat collision in rough seas.

In 2010, 19-year-old Saxon Bird was hit in the head with a surf ski and knocked out and was not rescued for about 50 minutes, despite thousands of people being on the beach.

This week's inquest will consider whether Surf Life Saving Australia had implemented safety recommendations made after Bird's death.

Image: Surf at Kurrawa Beach. Image used for illustrative purposes only.

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