Following the success of last year’s international youth exchange to Germany; I am pleased to report that we’ll be welcoming lifesavers from Kaufbeuren to the UK in August 2012. Sixteen youth members of the RLSS West Region will join sixteen young people from the DLRG (the German Lifesaving Association) for a week long programme of activities from 15-22 Aug 2012 inclusive.
The exchange will start in Bournemouth where we plan to spend a few days playing team-building games, learning beach lifeguard skills (including open-water swimming, beach sprints, lifeguard patrol skills and how to use specialised rescue equipment) and taking a tour of the RNLI’s training facility in Poole. We’ll then travel to Bristol, which will be our base for the second half of the week. We’ll spend time with each of the three branches that make up the RLSS West Region: sightseeing, getting to know each other, and taking part in lifesaving and cultural activities together.
The aims of the exchange are to:
- Learn about the work of RLSS UK, the RNLI and the DLRG.
- Develop international friendships and learn about life in Germany and the UK.
- Develop as lifesavers and as young adults.
UK participants will be directly involved in organising and planning every aspect of the exchange from fundraising to the programme of events. To help us to prepare, we’ll be running three planning days in the Bath/Bristol area on Sat 10 Mar, Sun 13 May and Sat 14 Jul (UK participants should make every effort to attend at least two of the planning days). We’ll also set up a Facebook group to allow the UK & German participants to get to know each other before the exchange.
The exchange is open to RLSS members from the West Region aged 14-18. The total cost of the exchange is £280 per person, which includes food, accommodation, travel, activities, and attendance at the training days in the UK before we depart. [Newsflash: The cost was putting some people off - so we've made some savings and found some additional funding, and we're now able to offer the exchange for just £180 (or £220 if you want a hoody as well)]!
Should you wish to reserve a place on this trip please complete the consent form (see link, below) and return it by 12 Mar 2012 with a cheque for £140 (made payable to The Royal Lifesaving Society) to cover the deposit. The remaining balance of £40 (or £80 if you want a hoody) is due by 15 May 2012. Priority will be given to lifesavers who attended the exchange to Germany in 2011, with the remaining places allocated on a first-come first-served basis. In the event that there is insufficient demand and the exchange does not go ahead, all monies will be returned in full.
Finally, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
David Fielding
Downloads…
1) Here’s the application form and poster for this year’s exchange…
2012 International Youth Exchange Application Form (PDF, 213 KB)
2012 International Youth Exchange Poster (PDF, 314 KB)
2) Here’s the report from last year’s international exchange to Germany so you can see what we got up to…
