Published 10 February 2014

The outstanding achievements of exceptional pool lifeguards and exemplary pool safety will be recognised at this year’s Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) and IQL UK National Awards set to take place on Friday 20th June 2014.

Nominations for Pool Lifeguard, Pool Trainer Assessor and Approved Training Centre of the year have been gaining momentum since entries opened in January and there is still time to nominate an individual or leisure facility before entries close on Friday 28th March.

This year’s prestigious awards ceremony, which will take place at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham, will be the second held by the RLSS UK and its trading subsidiary IQL UK to celebrate excellence within the aquatics community. A special guest is expected to present the awards to the inspirational winners who have demonstrated outstanding dedication to their roles – but is yet to be announced.

Tara Dilllon, Executive Director at IQL UK, said: “We’ve had a fantastic response for nominations so far and we’re looking forward to building on the success of last year’s event by exceeding the number of entries received in 2014. For the second consecutive year, we can proudly say there have been zero drownings in lifeguarded pools in the UK which underlines the extremely high standards we uphold in the sector.

“Our annual awards are vitally important to the aquatics professionals as they draw attention to the valuable contribution Lifeguards make to the safety of pool users and also raise awareness of the need for water safety and water safety awareness.

“We are all very excited as this year is set to be even bigger and better than last year.”

Jared Dungate, Lifeguard at Larkfield Leisure Centre in Kent and winner of the 2013 IQL UK Pool Lifeguard of the Year Award, added: “This is a fantastic event for the leisure sector and gives everyone a chance to celebrate their successes and achievements.

“There are some amazing stories out there about the work that lifeguards, trainer assessors and training centres carry out on a daily basis. I would encourage everyone to get behind this year’s awards and nominate the people that have provided an inspiration so they can receive the recognition they deserve.”

There are three prestigious awards:

Pool Lifeguards of the Year

This award recognises an individual with a powerful dedication to Pool Lifeguarding and have made an outstanding contribution to the safety of swimmers.

Approved Training Centre of the Year

This award recognises a clear dedication to the provision of Pool Lifeguard training, Pool Lifeguard career development and the delivery of wider water safety messages.

Pool Lifeguard Trainer Assessor of the Year

This award recognises exceptional instruction, assessment and development skills for Pool Lifeguard training and a clear dedication to the training of Pool Lifeguarding.