Published 6 June 2014

The starting gun has fired for the 2014 CIMSPA & IQL UK Lifeguard Triathlon with teams from across the UK in competition for the top facility, individual male and female and “Top 100 lifeguards” awards.

Throughout June, the biggest pool lifeguarding competition in the UK will see 56 pools (see full list below) compete at their own facilities against challenges taken from the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification: a timed swim towing a casualty, a CPR test and a theory paper.

Speaking for event partner IQL UK Ltd, Alex Blackwell, programme manager at IQL, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the continued growth in this event this year – we have pools taking part from every corner of the UK in a contest which is tightly focused on improving standards in pool lifeguarding.”

Tara Dillon, CIMSPA interim chief operating officer and executive director, IQL UK, talked about the management value of the contest: “For CIMSPA a clear payoff comes after the event – team managers will receive high-quality benchmarking data to compare their team against hundreds of other lifeguards and set performance goals to motivate and inspire.”

This year’s biggest single entry is from Everybody Sport and Recreation Trust with seven pools from the Cheshire East area taking part. Geoff Beadle, head of leisure and partnerships development for the trust explained, “The Lifeguard Triathlon is now a regular fixture on our staff training calendar, it is an excellent tool to benchmark the quality of our training against other operators around the UK while adding variety into the training programme for the staff. The lifeguard team is looking forward to improving on their positions from 2013 and aiming for the top spots in this year’s competition.”

The competition ends on Monday 30 June and results will be announced on Friday 4 July 2014. Late entries for the competition are still being accepted at www.cimspa.co.uk/triathlon

Full list of competing pools

• Grundy Park Leisure Centre, Cheshunt
• Corby East Midlands International Pool, Corby
• Bristol South Pool, Bristol
• The Godolphin Pool and Fitness Centre, Salisbury
• Ponds Forge ISC, Sheffield
• Kimberley Leisure Centre, Nottingham
• Yorks Sports Village, York
• Goodwin Sports Centre, Sheffield
• Stafford Leisure Centre, Stafford
• Alleynes Sports Centre, Stafford
• Kingfisher Leisure Centre, Sudbury
• Hadleigh Pool and Leisure, Hadleigh
• Oxford University Sports Complex, Oxford
• Sowerby Bridge Pool & Fitness Centre, Sowerby Bridge
• Todmorden Sports Centre, Todmorden
• Halifax Pool, Halifax
• Ivybridge Leisure Centre, Ivybridge
• Link Centre, Swindon
• The Edge, University of Leeds, Leeds
• Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield
• Meridian Leisure Centre, Louth
• Embassy Swimming Pool, Skegness
• Horncastle Swimming Pool, Horncastle
• Queens Leisure Centre, Oakwood, Derby
• Frank Lee Leisure & Fitness, Cambridge
• Moray Leisure Centre
• West View Climbing and Leisure Centre, Preston
• Fulwood Leisure Centre, Preston
• Penlan Leisure Centre
• Penyrheol Leisure Centre
• Pentrehafod Leisure Centre
• Morriston Leisure Centre
• Wales National Pool Swansea
• LC, Swansea
• Splash Leisure Pool, Rushden
• The Nene Centre, Thrapston
• Stevenage Swimming Centre
• Alsager Leisure Centre
• Congleton Leisure Centre
• Crewe Swimming Pool
• Knutsford Leisure Centre
• Macclesfield Leisure Centre
• Poynton Leisure Centre
• Sandbach Leisure Centre
• Queens Park Sports Centre, Chesterfield
• The Healthy Living Centre, Chesterfield
• Waterfront Complex, Greenock
• Aberdeen Sports Village
• Roe Valley Leisure Centre
• Frinton & Walton Swimming Pool
• Woodford Leisure Centre, Hull
• Ennerdale Leisure Centre, Hull
• East Hull Pools
• Beverley Road Baths, Hull
• Albert Avenue Pools, Hull
• Guildford Spectrum

Notes to editors:
The Lifeguard Triathlon event
ZIP archive of photo assets and event logos: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8835849/Triathlon%20Assets.zip
Please credit photos to RLSS UK.

• The triathlon is a partnership between CIMSPA and the Institute for Qualified Lifeguards (UK).
• Now in its 9th year, the event continues to grow in popularity, with over 650 pool lifeguards taking part in 2013, representing 49 facilities across all four home nations.
• During the event, lifeguards compete in three key elements of the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification:
  • a timed swim towing a casualty,
  • a CPR test
  • a theory paper
• This year, the event takes place throughout June 2014 – teams compete at their own facilities, on a date of their choice, overseen by their centre’s lifeguard trainer/assessor. UK-wide results are then compiled into the final rankings to determine category winners, and full analysis reports are made available to team managers after the event.
• Teams pay just £50 Inc. VAT per facility entry which covers an unlimited number of lifeguards from that venue.

 

IQL UK
IQL UK is the trading subsidiary of The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), the drowning prevention charity.

RLSS UK is the UK’s leading provider of training and education in lifesaving, lifeguarding, water safety and life support skills in the UK. It is also the governing body for Lifesaving Sport.

Through IQL UK, there are nearly 90,000 RLSS UK Pool Lifeguards in the UK trained in the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ). Around 95 per cent of all pool lifeguards are trained by the RLSS UK. IQL UK also offers the National Pool Management Qualification and First Aid at Work qualifications as part of its portfolio.

Around 400 people drown in the UK every year and the charity aims to prevent drowning and promote water safety education through campaigns and its lifesaving programmes.

RLSS UK awards and programmes teach a range of lifesaving skills ranging from life support (CPR) to water survival and rescue skills. Programmes include Rookie Lifeguard (for eight to12-year–olds), Survive and Save (for 12 years+) and Save a Baby’s Life (a free course aimed at parents and carers of young children).

The RLSS UK (then the Life Saving Society) was formed in 1891. In 1904, as there was great support for the organisation from the Royal Family, the society was granted permission to use the Royal title and became the Royal Life Saving Society.

CIMSPA
About CIMSPA:

• Launched in 2011, CIMSPA is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector.
• CIMSPA has been awarded chartered status by the Royal Privy Council, which came into effect at the start of January 2012.
• CIMSPA provides leadership, support and empowerment for professionals working in sport and physical activity and a single unified voice for the sector.
• The institute holds two long term strategic priorities:
• To provide opportunities for young leaders to develop and succeed
• To provide leadership on the development and management of career pathways

 

Everybody Sport & Recreation

‘Everybody’ is the new charitable trust established in May 2014 to run leisure services in the Cheshire East area. The trust aims to provide ‘leisure for life’ by changing lives through healthy recreation. The charity operates the 15 leisure facilities in the Cheshire East area as well as leisure development and outreach programmes.