South Worcester Lifesaving Club

South Worcester Lifesaving Club – a Raring2go! Roving Reporters Review by Milly Hickman

I am a member of South Worcester Lifesaving Club (SWLC) where I teach, learn and train every Sunday evening, along with friends, teachers and volunteers, and I love it!

There is a wide range of different people who attend Pershore Leisure Centre on Sunday nights where SWLC is based, varying from young keen swimmers to older instructors. The club is run completely by volunteers, who offer experience for anyone who has completed their Stage 7 swimming badge or above. SWLC gives young people the opportunity to learn how to save lives and improve fitness. For me, it helps greatly with my mental health as well, as it allows me to take time away from the stress of school and just enjoy swimming with friends!

The groups are normally sizes 4 – 7 full of mixtures of boys and girls according to lifesaving ability and ages. These groups normally stay consistent throughout the lifesaving course, so are a great opportunity to make new friends. I still have friends from when I started lifesaving at the age of 8! The teachers and swimmers are all lovely, and the lifesaving atmosphere is always very friendly and content. Volunteers at Pershore wave and greet us with friendly hellos when we arrive.

At the age of 14, you are allowed to start training to teach the younger swimmers, and there is a quick training course to attend to make it official! You also have the option to attend the last session of the evening to train for Competition Lifesaving.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching younger swimmers, though I am not an official teacher yet! I often help out at different lanes where I assist in collecting equipment for the lesson and instructing the learners. Volunteers provide hand made folders with weekly lesson plan guidance and registers which alternate between activities such as Sport, Fitness and Skills; a mixture between theory lessons, general health, exercise, and gala training. During theory lessons, we do role plays simulating injuries, using different equipment and conditions.

Young swimmers learn how to effectively save people in the water, and what to do after they are out of the water. We practice using bystanders and mannequins to give them as much ‘real life’ experience as possible in rescuing people in the water. Fitness training is always incorporated into each lesson during the warm up of a couple of fast pace lengths, whilst the teachers get time to set up the lesson. Each lesson is 40 minutes long and we often end each with a bit of rope throwing practice, as everyone loves rope throw! Pershore Leisure Centre also often hosts Gala Competitions with nearby clubs. Races include carrying a manikin, throwing a rope and towing. All ages get involved and there are medals and prizes won at the end!

During the last session (which is part of the lifesaving subscription if you would like) we train for National competitions in Lifesaving. This involves competitive and aerobic training and has made me a much stronger swimmer! You learn how to tow full manikins and coil ropes at fast speeds as well as improving fitness levels and swimming techniques. Last year, my relay team won gold medals in the girls 13-14 rope throw Nationals Lifesaving competition and we recently competed again this year and many of our members won gold, silver and bronze medals. I really enjoy these training sessions as I feel they have been incredibly beneficial to my fitness.

Lifesaving is the highlight of my Sunday evenings and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone! I think it has benefited my confidence with speaking to new people, resilience in learning new skills and of course essential lifesaving and first aid skills. I am hoping to gain some work experience as a lifeguard at the end of the summer too so maybe sometime in the future I could have the opportunity to become a proper lifeguard…!

A note from Pauline – editor of Raring2go! Hereford and Worcester.

This wonderful review was written by Milly Hickman, and can be found in the Summer edition of the Raring2go! Hereford & Worcester magazine.  Thank you, Milly, for your great review.  We have a budding reporter in the making!  Milly is a year 10 student in Worcester and is currently studying GCSE Music, Triple Science, Computer Science, History, and German.