Sadie

RLSS Rookie Lifeguard Programme

Our popular rookies programme will be running as usual this winter. The rookies programme offers the opportunity to follow a structured RLSS lifesaving skills programme, including Water Safety, Rescue, Self Rescue and Emergency Responses. The aims of Rookies is to:

• Teach Lifesaving Skills
• Increase Swimming Competence
• Develop Survival Skills in Water
• Develop Confidence, Initiative and Judgement
• Develop Teamwork and Leadership

There are 3 levels of awards: Bronze, Silver & Gold for the groms to work their way through. A great, fun way for the groms to learn essential skills to keep themselves (and others) safe in the water and at the end they receive an RLSS rookie lifeguard award (certificate, badge and sticker).

The programme runs for 11 weeks in the Penzance Leisure Centre pool and costs £25 for the whole course. Due to swimming galas in the Penzance pool we are starting the sessions later than usual with the first week being held on Saturday 5th March at the usual time of 7-8pm.

The second week (due to a gala taking over the pool) will be an optional week of Rookie Life Support training, held at the leisure centre. In order to gain this award rookies must demonstrate effective CPR on a mannequin, turn a live casualty, demonstrate the recovery position and also be able to treat bleeding, choking and shock – all rookies who pass this have the option to purchase a RLSS certificate for their achievement folders (£2).

We have had a lot of interest so are recommending that you book your child a place if they would like to join in so we can guarantee them a place. You can do this by replying to this email, posting on our facebook page or phoning (Sadie – 872685).  To make it fair to all, priority will go to 2015 club members.

RLSS Beach Survive & Save

This award is for groms progressing from the Rookies programme, or their parents who would like to learn basic lifesaving techniques.  Survive and Save awards teach lifesaving rescue, self-rescue, survival, and lifesaving skills, and also develop swimming ability and fitness, the programme we run is a beach survive and save so additional beach specific lifesaving & first aid skills will be covered.

The programme is taught both in the pool and on the beach.  The whole programme is £50 which includes the RLSS award applcation costs, all your training & pool costs and the award certificate.

Booking a place on this course is advised as we have limited spaces available.

RLSS NVBLQ (Lifeguard) & Assistant Lifeguard Programme

The Beach Lifeguard & Assistant Beach Lifeguard training programmes are running again this year with our new RLSS trainer Justin. We welcome groms over 14 onto the assistant lifeguard programme and 16+ or adults onto the full award.  Bear in mind that these awards are quite demanding and do require a commitment in terms of time (both for the club and to achieve the award). These awards are also suitable for anyone doing Duke of Edinburgh!

The cost of both of these awards is £75 which includes the RLSS exam fees, all your training & pool costs and your award certificate.  We have a few copies of the NBLQ lifeguard manual available to borrow from week to week during the course or you can purchase your own copy (£25 from the RLSS).

For those doing the full NVBLQ award (not assistants) who are not currently actively volunteering with the club there will be an additional £100 training cost applied, payable before the exam (half refunded each year that 10 weeks are volunteered with the club). The typical cost of this award is £250+ so this is still a good saving on the programme, but protects the club as there are quite a number of costs involved in running a programme like this and we need our lifeguards to attend sessions in order to enable the club to run!

The programme consists of 40 hours of modules covering pool, beach, first aid and theory, and each training session will need to be signed off by both yourself and your trainer. The training sessions will be running on a Wednesday evening from 7-9pm at the Surf Club from 20th January, with additional Sunday sessions held on the beach during May once conditions have improved (assessment on the last Sunday in May)! You will also need to attend at least 4 pool sessions (held alongside the rookies sessions as above) as part of your logged hours, but the pool will be available for swim training during all the weeks that rookies is running. We will be running a few ‘catch up’ sessions should anyone miss a module due to illness. You will likely need to swim outside of the Saturday evening sessions in order to achieve the minimum pool swim time (400 metres in 8 minutes for the full award and 200 metres in 4 1/2 minutes for the assistant award).

If you are interested in these awards please contact me (reply to this email or call me on 872685) as soon as possible as any spaces not taken up by club members will be offered to other members of the public! Booking a place on this course is advised as we have limited spaces available.

Qualified lifeguards are vital to the continuation of the club so please do consider giving it a go.