Do you have a potential life guard in the family?
RLSS UK’s Rookie Lifeguard programme gives your child the skills they need to be confident in the pool or the sea. It gives them skills to help save themselves in the water and what to do if they see others in trouble.
This is a perfect introduction for any would be lifeguards or those wishing to undertake a future career in aquatics during their studies or after education. The programme is split in to three levels, Rookie Bronze, Silver and Gold and can be used to help complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. The children undertake wet side and also dry side lessons which cover basic first aid techniques such as the recovery position and dealing with choking along with CPR.
Children are invited to the programme after they have completed their grade 7 or if they wish to continue swimming past their grade 10 Swim England Awards. Lessons are 30 minutes a week and cost £33.50 a month.
Rookie Bronze Award
- Enter shallow water safely and confidently and wade
- Tread water and signal for help
- Swim continuously in clothing for 50m
- Swim Lifesaving Backstroke
- Scull head and feet first
- Hold the ‘HELP’ position
- Demonstrate a non-swimmer, weak swimmer and an unconscious casualty
- Demonstrate a ‘Shout and Signal’ rescue
- Throw an aid
- Demonstrate a reach rescue
- Enter deep water safely and confidently
- Perform a feet first surface dive and swim underwater
- Climb out in deep water without using the steps
Rookie Silver Award
- Swim continuously in clothing for 200m on your front and back
- Demonstrate a reaching rescue
- Throw a buoyant aid to a casualty 8m away
- Enter shallow water and wade to a casualty
- Using a throwing aid, instruct the casualty what to do
- Using a rigid aid instruct the casualty what to do
- The support position
- Tread water for 3 minutes
- Swimming, surface dives and object recovery
- Shallow turn and rescue an ‘unconscious casualty’
- Coil and throw a rope to a casualty 10m away and pull to the side in less than 45 seconds
- Enter deep water using a straddle jump
- Demonstrate a fall-in entry into clear deep water
- Swim 20m continuously with your head out of the water on your front
Rookie Gold Award
- Coil and throw a rope to a casualty and pull to the side
- Swim 400m continuously in clothing
- Demonstrate Lifesaving Backstroke, Sidestroke, Breaststroke or Front Crawl
- Tread water, removing clothing then swim 50m
- Climb out of deep water unaided
- Demonstrate fall-in, compact jump or shallow dive
- Demonstrate a Reverse
- Demonstrate a Standoff
- Rescue an unconscious casualty at depth in less than 2 minutes 30 seconds
- Demonstrate supported rescue breathing whilst waiting for help
- Demonstrate the support position
- Demonstrate non-contact rescues
- Treat for shock
- Hand signals
- Using any recognised competitive stroke, swim 400m continuously, in less than 12 minutes
Classes are running at our sites, speak to a member of the team for more information or visit the RLSS website.