National Pool Lifeguard Qualification

The club is a Royal Life Saving Society Approved Training Centre for pool lifeguards.

Because we do not operate commercially, the RLSS sponsor us as a volunteer organisation. We are regularly audited by the Institute of Qualified Lifeguards, and on the 17^th March 2004 we successfully passed our third audit.

The club embarked on dedicated pool lifeguard training, in addition to our lifesaving activities, in order to provide our own lifeguard cover

We are very fortunate to have four qualified Lifeguard Trainer/Assessors in the club. It is mandatory that all training be carried out by qualified Lifeguard Trainer/Assessors. In addition to club training activities, the Lifeguard Trainer/Assessors examine lifeguards at other venues.

Currently we are training to the requirements of the 7^th Edition of the RLSS training scheme; this edition commenced in January 2004.

The RLSS syllabus consists of two parts. Part 1 covers pool supervision, water rescue, first aid and resuscitation. Part 2 deals with such items as: lifeguard duties, lifeguards and the Law, Health and Safety, and knowledge of pool operating procedures and emergency arrangements.

All lifeguards must be examined in all the skills of Part 1 every 2 years; and they must attend regular training between examinations.

Each Saturday we have 30 minutes of dry training, followed by 60 minutes of water-based training. We augment the dry training by running an additional two hour session approximately once per month. The extra session concentrates on resuscitation and first aid.

One important skill which we practice frequently is the management of spinal injuries. Spinal injuries can easily be made much worse by incorrect management. We use an 'in water' spinal injuries board to recover casualties from the pool. Recently with the assistance of a lottery grant we have purchased some AED (automatic external defibrillation) equipment. Eventually we aim to be in a position to train all our lifeguards in the use of this equipment. In the future we intend to expand our skills with advanced airway management and oxygen administration.

We offer training to suit busy people that are unable to attend intensive courses. No hassles, you are ready at your own time.

Use this qualification to gain full time employment or as a part time job to earn extra cash. Or maybe, just learn a new skill that could save a life....

Further information can be found at http://www.lifesavers.org.uk

You can also test your skills at http://www.lifeguardskills.co.uk/testdisc/Quizmenu.htm