The Royal Life Saving Society UK is a drowning prevention charity founded in 1891 in the UK. It has had Royal Patronage since 1904.

History

The Royal Life Saving Society UK is a national charity, founded in 1891 by William Henry, with the aim of ''Safeguarding lives in, on and near water''. The Society has more than 13,000 members in 48 branches and 170 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 Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

since 1904 starting with

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

. HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO is the current Commonwealth President of the Society. It is based in the Midlands town of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. The RLSS is part of Royal Lifesaving Society Commonwealth, and the

International Life Saving Federation The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) is an organisation for drowning prevention, water safety, lifesaving and lifesaving sports. Definition The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) comprises over 130 national life saving org ...

Lifesaving in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Lifesaving and

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...

ing are promoted as a sport and a life skill by the Royal Life Saving Society UK. There are over 170 lifesaving clubs based throughout the UK and Ireland, which teach skills such as

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

prevention,

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

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

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

environments, such as

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

s, inland water venues and at coastal locations. Often clubs coach their members towards achieving RLSS UK awards as part of the Survive & Save Programme. the flagship award being the Bronze Medallion. For a description of the Medallion itself see

Bronze Medallion (New Zealand and Australia) The Bronze Medallion, signifying a qualified lifesaver, has been a lifesaving standard award of The Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia for over one hundred years. It was developed in England in 1892. It has evolved ...

. Subsequent awards under the Survive & Save programme follow a path to silver and gold though four disciplines of lifesaving, open water, competition, and still water. The final award of lifesaving is that of Distinction, an award that demands a very high level of skill. The Distinction is awarded on passing three 3 gold awards. Training programmes exist for all ages, from young children to adults. Some lifesaving and lifeguard clubs operate as

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

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 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

affiliated clubs (organised through the British Universities Lifesaving Clubs Association (

BULSCA The British Universities Lifesaving Clubs' Association (BULSCA) 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, ...

)) field teams at these events.

Courses and qualifications

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. These awards include the National Pool and National Beach Lifeguard Qualifications (NPLQ and NBLQ respectively) as well as the new National Pool Management Course (NPMQ).

Children's Life Saving

RLSS UK offers various 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. 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.

Lifesaving Life Support

Lifesaving Life Support refers to the series of exams implemented by the RLSS in order to assess a lifesaver's ability in on land rescue techniques.

References

External links

homepage
(United Kingdom)
Lifesavers Direct
(United Kingdom) {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Life Saving Society Uk Swimming in the United Kingdom Swimming in Ireland Surf lifesaving First aid organizations Organizations established in 1891 Organisations based in Warwickshire Lifesaving organizations 1891 establishments in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage