Royal Life Saving Society UK - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Royal Lifesaving Society UK, also known as Lifesavers, is the governing body for lifesaving

Lifesaving

Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue however it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete...

and lifeguard

Lifeguard

A lifeguard supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, or beach. Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on...

ing in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The Royal Lifesaving Society also exists in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

under the title RLSS Ireland.

History

The Royal Life Saving Society UK is a national charity that was founded in 1891 and its aim is to Safeguard lives in, on and near water.
The Society has more than 13,000 members in 48 branches and 1,400 active lifesaving and lifeguarding clubs it trains over 93% of all pool and beach lifeguards throughout the UK and Ireland.

The Society has had Royal Patronage

Royal patronage

Royal patronage may refer to*Royal patronage in arts, commerce, etc.*Patronato real*Padroado...

since 1904. Her Majesty the Queen

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

is the Society's Patron. HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO

Prince Michael of Kent

Prince Michael of Kent is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside...

is the extremely active Commonwealth President of the Society. It is based in the Midlands town of Alcester

Alcester

Alcester is an old market town of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 8 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

.

www.rlss.org.uk
The RLSS is part of Royal Lifesaving Society Commonwealth and International Life Saving Federation

International Life Saving Federation

The International Life Saving Federation is an organisation for drowning prevention, water safety, lifesaving and lifesaving sport.- Definition :...

Lifesaving in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

Lifesaving and lifeguard

Lifeguard

ing are promoted as a sport and a life skill by the Royal Life Saving Society UK There are over 1400 lifesaving clubs based throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland, which teach skills such as drowning

Drowning

Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....

prevention, life support

Life support

Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...

and personal survival. The learning of lifesaving takes place in a variety of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

environments, such as swimming pool

Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

s, inland water venues and at coastal locations. Often clubs coach their members towards achieving RLSS awards, the flagship award being the Bronze Medallion

Bronze Medallion (United Kingdom)

The Bronze Medallion is the flagship award of the Royal Life Saving Society UK. It is open to those age 14 years of age and over, and consists of resuscitation, theory questions on water safety, self rescue, and rescue principles, and a practical swimming pool based assessment.A summary of the...

. For a description of the Medallion itself see Bronze Medallion (New Zealand and Australia)

Bronze Medallion (New Zealand and Australia)

In New Zealand and Australia one must gain a Bronze Medallion in order to become a qualified Surf Lifesaver.-Testing & Exams:The qualifying test to become a Surf Lifesaver includes both theoretical and practical components.-Theoretical:This includes...

.

Subsequent awards include the Award of Merit, which is followed by Open Water exams of the Bronze and Silver Crosses. The final award of lifesaving is that of Distinction, an award that demands a very high level of skill from the participant http://www.lifesavers.org.uk/courses/lifesaving_openwater_awards.htm. Training programmes exist for all ages, from young children to adults. Some lifesaving and lifeguard clubs operate as volunteer organisations, providing safety cover at locations where there would otherwise be none.

The RLSS organises both national and regional speed and skills competitions and many clubs, including university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

affiliated clubs (organised through http://www.bulsca.co.ukthe British Universities Lifesaving Clubs Association (BULSCA

BULSCA

The British Universities Lifesaving Clubs' Association is the governing body for lifesaving sport at the University level in the United Kingdom. It organises the university-level competition schedule, assists with the training of judges, and hosts an annual Student National Championship...

)]) field teams at these events.

To mark the centenary of the Royal Life Saving Society activity in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

the establishment of the Ireland Medal was introduced in 2004. It is a specially commissioned gold medallion that is awarded annually to those resident in Ireland or those with Irish descent who have the most outstanding aquatic rescue. This award is also in conjunction with the - Irish Lifesaving Foundation.

Professional certification

The RLSS offers community courses as well as vocational qualifications for pool and beach lifeguards. These vocational awards are recognised throughout the UK and Ireland and are awarded under the auspices of the Institute of Qualified Lifeguards. http://www.lifesavers.org.uk/iql/index.htm. These awards include the National Pool and National Beach Lifeguard Qualifications as well as the new National Pool Management Course (NPMQ).

Children's Life Saving

RLSS UK offers many courses for young people including the Rookie Lifeguard Programme which is part of the governments National Plan for Teaching of Swimming developed to teach children aged 8 to 12 years old the basics in life saving http://www.lifesavers.org.uk/rookie/. Other programmes include Young Leaders (12+), Assistant Instructor (14+) and Rookie Instructor (16+) as well as Assistant Beach Lifeguard and Senior Lifesaving Awards. Young people also have the opportunity to use their lifesaving skills in a competitive environment through the Sport Section of the Society.

External links

Lifesavers UK homepage (United Kingdom)
Lifesavers Direct (United Kingdom)
British University Lifesaving Clubs Association (United Kingdom)
Irish Lifesaving Foundation (Republic of Ireland)
Lifeguards Ireland (Republic of Ireland)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Lifesaving in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

Professional certification

Children's Life Saving

See also

External links