West Region Competitors. Picture courtesy of Stu Mapstone

Competitors will be up against those who have qualified from Regional Heats across the UK, all aiming to become the National Champion in their category. All the action takes place on Saturday 19th November at Ponds Forge pool in Sheffield. Competitors will be put through their paces by dealing with a wet then dry initiative test, a rope throw race and finally a swim and tow race.

For all those going to Sheffield, please make sure you have read the letter and FAQ’s sent from River House (RLSS UK HQ). Please remember that you need to bring slip on footwear in order to walk around the complex, and between initiative tests – trainers will NOT be allowed. All competitors will be given a polo shirt for them to wear throughout the competition and to keep.

The team manager for the West Region this year is Alan Sutherland – if you need to get in touch e-mail alan@rlsswest.org.uk or phone 07816 254 776.

If you are interested in knowing more about lifesaving competitions, check out the Competition pages of our website.

The RLSS has brought out a new Lifesaving Instructors qualification to accompany the new Survive and Save awards. Only qualified Lifesaving Instructors can teach and assess the Survive and Save awards. If you’d like to become a Lifesaving Instructor then this is the course for you!

Format: The course will run over 2 days with a mixture of classroom based work and practical training in the swimming pool.

Location: Brockworth Sports Centre.

Bring: Course materials will be provided, but attendees will need to bring pens, a notepad, packed lunch and swimming kit.

Cost: The course costs £60 which includes all materials and tuition.

Booking: Booking is essential, please contact Katie Briggs for more information or to reserve your place.

Note for Existing Trainer Assessors (TAs): Existing TAs can become Lifesaving Instructors by purchasing the Lifesaving Manual for Instructors from the Lifesavers Direct Website and completing the update online at www.surviveandsave.co.uk

We are looking for someone who is male aged 18 or older, and can drive an automatic minibus. The person will need a CRB check or be willing to get a CRB – this will be sorted through the RLSS.

There is no cost to the individual who volunteers for this role and accommodation is included. The person will be leading the group, but all arrangements have been made.

The trip is running from the 31st July until 6th August and is taking place in Margate, Kent.

If you’re interested, get in touch with Keith Packwood the trip organiser at keith@rlsswest.org.uk.

Next Blondie showed them how to apply special-effects wax: moulding it into the skin to provide the base for an incised wound. Dark blood inside the wound and a lighter spattering of blood on the surface of the skin completed the effect!

Using external teachers is a great way to spice up your training sessions. RLSS Avon & North Wiltshire can put you in touch with teachers specialising in casualty simulation, defib and oxygen, underwater photography, radio communication, team building, knots and much more besides. Or maybe you have a lifesaving -related specialism that you’d be prepared to share with other clubs? Please get in touch for more information by e-mailing avon@rlsswest.org.uk.

Several clubs in the Bath and Bristol area have recently been hit with pool closures or reduced pool time, and this was making it difficult for some candidates to take their assessments. The A&NW Branch Committee decided to offer practical help by arranging a mass-assessment evening.

Lifesavers from University of Bath, Bristol University, Keynsham and Wooton Bassett travelled to Keynsham to take their awards, watched over by Colin, Alan and Keith – all qualified Trainer-Assessors who generously volunteered their time for free.

By the end of the evening we had 6 successful Lifesupport, 7 Lifesupport 3 and 11 Bronze Medallions – all in the space of 3 hours. The evening was rounded off in style as Colin presented Pat Smith with an award to recognise her commitment and service to Keynsham Lifesaving Club.

More pictures are available by clicking here.

Vice Chair

RLSS UK Management Board has determined the role of Regional Chair to be the lead person in the Region; to ensure the regional strategy is developed in line with national strategy; to ensure good flow of communication to facilitate and support Branches. The Vice Chair should support this work and be prepared to deputise for the Regional Chair at meetings and events.

We invite applications from interested persons for the post of Vice Chair to support the present Chair in delivering the above tasks.

Secretary

The role of the Secretary is to co-ordinate and record meetings of the Regional Committee (4 -5 per year) as well as to deal with a limited amount of correspondence and liaise with other parts of the Society

Both posts will require travel to meetings within the Region (expenses are available). Access to email is essential; use of Skype is preferable. Enthusiasm for the work of the Society at a local level and the desire and ability to show leadership to the Region and its volunteers is more important than current lifesaving qualifications. Successful applicants should be prepared to assist with projects on a regional/branch level.

For further information, please contact Clive Holland, Regional Chairman, at clive@rlsswest.org.uk.

The group endeavoured to reduce the cost of the course by hosting fundraising events including a car wash and cake sales. They also sort corporate sponsorship and were granted a donation from Sky. The group was very enthusiastic the learn the new skills. All were NPLQ guards and had been involved in lifesaving for many years making the job of teaching them very easy for our instructors.

Thanks to Stuart Cattell in Thanet, the organisation of the course was made easy. We arranged travel and accommodation whilst he did the rest. The group stayed in a Youth Hostel on the sea front at Margate which had great links to the pool, beach and classroom. The course was run over three days with the assessment being carried out on the Friday morning. This left a day off where the guys went on a tour of the Ramsgate Lifeboat to explore the rescue response alongside the Lifeguards.

All 10 candidates completed the course and are now fully qualified NBLQ guards. They are now looking to test their skills at the clubs open water events providing safety cover for the rookie guards. This tour came at the right time as the members were beginning to lose interest given that there was nothing left to do. Having completed the course their interest in lifesaving has been boosted that will hopefully benefit the club and help to drive it further. The trip has also boosted the relationships between the members and will be greatly received on their CV’s.

Photos – A selection of pictures from the trip can be found by clicking here.

Below are a few comments from some of the guys who went on the trip:

“When the NPLQ idea came up within the club it sounded a fun and unique opportunity. I chose to go as firstly a lot of my friends from the club were going and this was possibly the last chance I could spend time with them before they went off to university. As friends were going I thought it would be fun and be an interesting experience. Another reason is that the award is viewed highly so would look good when I apply for university or for a job. The award was an opening to learn more lifesaving and first aid skills in a new environment.

With the qualification I would hopefully like to use it, either on my personal statement or for a lifeguarding job. Although there are no beaches around the area we live, perhaps for a gap year I would work as a lifeguard on a beach. It would also help as pool lifeguard job as my skills have been refreshed and have learnt new skills.

The experience was really great, it was something new that was fun and interesting. The things we did we good including the day off and the food choices were nice. Although the course was intense it was fun and the only thing I would change is the amount of timed swim practice I would do before leaving. It was a struggle the first couple of times I did it on the course and should have trained more before leaving. Also although it cannot be helped, there was quite a lot of traveling between the classroom, pool, beach and accommodation. Hope nothing will develop from our number plates being taken down at the beach parking! The trip was well worth it and would recommend it to anyone else considering it.” – Tim Van Der Hoff

“Not really one reason why I chose to go, thought the extra qualification will look good on my CV and would give me more job opportunities. I also quite enjoy getting away from home (and the parents) and staying with mates in a YHA. I’m hoping there will be some open water that needs life guarding when im in University, if not theres always the lakes near us during the summer holidays.

No one thing I enjoyed the most, but I suppose the day off when we went to the RNLI lifeboat station was interesting! And alot of the theory we had a to learn for the exam that I didn’t all ready know was also interesting, even if there was so much of it! To improve I definatly think we should have done alot more fundraising before hand, get the price down even more concerning food. Maybe should have organised ourselves a little more to make the most of our free time – especially as we went to the wrong beach on thursday and lost you lot! and was a shame we had to get away early after we had all passed, would hve been nice to celebrate! Even if it would have increased the price a little more! Overall really enjoyed it!” – Jamie Auld

“I chose to embark upon the NBLQ because I was faced with an interminably long summer and nothing to fill it. The NBLQ seemed like a great way to do something constructive: it was to be a challenge, it would solidify and expand my skills, and it would provide a qualification as well. Further, it sounded like great fun.

The NBLQ will hopefully be used both at university and back home to supervise lifesaving activities for the two clubs I am part of. It should open up the range of places available for use, especially at university, where nobody has any open water awards but interest is high to learn.Given my dislike of sun and sand, I shan’t be looking to get a job at a beach, but I will be looking out at inland open water sites, which have expressed a desire to use lifeguards in future.

It might sound clichéd, but I enjoyed all of it. Great company, great instructor, good food, relaxed atmosphere, and generally a very pleasant and enjoyable week.

Nothing needs changing, but one thing which could be improved would be the drying facilities, which we never found at the hostel. Putting on a damp wetsuit isn’t the nicest of experiences. Other than that very minor inconvenience, it was perfect.” – Phil Sheppard

From the tour I am going on to complete my NBLQ Trainer Assessor so that I can keep the qualifications valid and provide more training opportunities not only for my club but for the whole region.

Are you interested in doing an NBLQ (National Beach Lifeguard Qualification)? If so, click here for details on the 2011 Trip!

Article Written by Keith Packwood, Trip Organiser

Carol was unable to attend the Society Awards Ceremony at the Guildhall in London and was presented by Colin on behalf of the Society. A big thank you to Carol and all the others awarded Honours in 2010 for their hard work and dedication to supporting lifesaving in the Branch during 2009.

If you know of someone who should be awarded an honour for their work during 2010, why not nominate them for an award?! Have a look at Honours page by clicking here.

Each chapter starts with a description of the event; this is followed by step-by-step instructions so that you can learn the same techniques used by national champions. Each chapter is illustrated with real video footage from real competitions — all accompanied by detailed notes to highlight key points.

The DVD is available for only £10 (which covers David’s costs and the significant amount of time this took to put together).

If you want to get hold of a copy of the DVD, contact David Fielding using the contact form by clicking here.