In the early hours of the morning, Liam Jackson stood on the beach ready to start swimming training with the rest of his team.
The Coogee lifesavers were not yet on duty but, as a lifesaver and representative swimmer, 14-year-old Liam wasn't concerned.
As they ran and dived into the water, a small wave clipped Liam's feet and steered him towards the sand, crushing his head into his chest.
"I walked out of the water and collapsed," he says of the 2015 incident. Liam lay in the Sydney Children's Hospital for two days, unable to move, with a fractured spine. He could walk, but found himself in a neck brace for three months.
"I'm constantly reminded by it. I haven't been back to Coogee since," he says.
"Most people hurt their neck from being picked up and dumped, but I was going into the water."
Data from Surf Life Saving NSW reveals the Coogee surf is responsible for more spinal injuries than any other beach in the state.
Coogee had the most requests for ambulances in the summer of 2015/16 - and 19 of 47 calls were for assumed spinal injuries.
Byron Bay, Bondi and Newport Beach were equal second highest, with each recording five ambulance requests for potential spinal injuries. Many beaches in NSW had two similar ambulance requests.
Andrew Short, a coastal studies researcher from the University of Sydney, says that Coogee's geographic nature - a narrow, steep face of sand combined with dumping waves - puts people at a much greater risk of spinal injury.
Most spinal injuries are caused by people bodysurfing these waves.
"Bodysurfers, usually young males, catch the waves and are dumped head-first into the sand," he says.
Doug Hawkins, a lifesaver of 30 years, says spinal management training has been a focus of the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club for many years.
The extra precaution Coogee's lifesavers take is likely to have contributed to the high number of ambulance requests, says lifesaving manager at Surf Life Saving NSW, Matthew Duplessis.
"The ocean is an awesome playground, but unfortunately, if you don't know what you're doing, things can go wrong quickly," Mr Duplessis says.
Coogee has a strong lifesaving presence, but whether visitors follow their recommendations is another question. Liam says as a surf lifesaver he was aware of the dangers, but people take too many risks in the water, especially at Coogee.
"There's definitely some precautions there [with signs) and if you're a local you know Coogee is bad for its shore dumpers, but you still don't realise how dangerous it is," he says.
"You never think it will happen to you."
Beachsafe gives Coogee a general hazard rating of four out of 10, which is a moderate score.
"The hazard rating is based on people being rescued, which doesn't generally happen when people injure their backs," Professor Short says.
"Coogee has a low level of risk to people in the surf, but regrettably there is a significant number of people being injured by dumping waves."
Mr Hawkins says the waves do not have to be high for people to suffer a spinal injury. It depends on the severity of the dumping waves and the way the individual is interacting with the water.
"You'll get people who run in, turn around and wave to their friend, then when they're not looking at the third biggest wave behind them it hits them in the back of the neck," he says.
