Two local brothers have been selected for the Australian Youth Lifesaving Team to compete at the World Championships in Italy later this year.
Callum and Riley Brennan will make their international lifesaving debut in Riccione, Italy at the 2022 Lifesaving World Championships held from September 27 to October 2.
Australian Youth Team Coach Craig Holden said he was excited to see the young athletes compete at an international level.
"The selection panel has chosen a very talented, strong and well-rounded team," he said.
"It is going to be a challenging World Championships' campaign, with COVID-19 still a factor, and we also know that the European countries are going to be very strong and very well represented in the pool events, but I know that our team is up for the challenge."
The brothers have been long involved with surf life saving on the Redlands Coast, starting their lifesaving journey at Point Lookout Surf Life Saving Club at the age of five.
As teenagers, the pair moved to Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club on the Gold Coast to continue honing their surf lifesaving skills while also branching out into ironman, ski and pool rescue disciplines.
Sticking to their roots in Redlands, the boys have continued to undergo an intensive training regime at the Redlands Swim Club which involves national squad swim training.
The past year has seen the brothers compete with great success at the Australian Super Surf League Teams at North Bondi in January, the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast in April, and the Australian Pool Lifesaving Championships in Sydney earlier this month.
Head Coach Kurt Wilson congratulated the athletes for their hard work leading up to their selection.
"It is a real credit to the hard work of all our youth athletes and their coaches over what has been a very challenging period," said Mr Wilson.
"It's so good to finally have a Youth Team named for the first time since International Surf Rescue Challenge back in 2019 and the talent across the roster is super exciting for this campaign and our overall program."
In preparation for their international debut later this year, the brothers will spend the next three months in training camps as they lead into the Australian Pool Rescue Championships in August as well as representing Queensland at the Australian School Sport Swimming Championships at Chandler in August as well.
The boys will join 10 other young Australian athletes in Italy later this year.