RLSS West Region

At the start of August 2010, ten members of the Cheltenham Lifesavers club ventured into new territory when they completed the clubs first batch of National Beach Lifeguard Qualifications. As a land locked club, the open water awards have often seemed unobtainable and efforts have been focused on what can be done with the confines of the swimming pool. With the injection of new enthusiasm the group set about raising the funds required to complete the tour. The destination was chosen due to the contacts that the club had with the area and also because of the facilities and beaches.

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