Retford and District Lifesaving Club sent a team of local swimmers to compete at the World Lifesaving Championships, held in Eindhoven, Netherlands this September. 

This year marks the fifth consecutive championships where Retford has been represented on an international level, and is the most successful to date for the club, who brought home four medals in total!
The World Lifesaving Championships takes place every two years and is made up of National Teams, Masters, Interclub Youth and Interclub Open championships. This year saw nearly 4,000 athletes from over 60 countries converge in Eindhoven, where the pool section was hosted. Other beach and ocean events took place in Noordwijk, on the North Sea coast.

Coach and Chairman Pete Moyes took part in the Masters section alongside Ian Hutchings, Theresa Tomlinson, and Karen Atkin-Moore. Theresa and Karen won Gold in the Masters 12.5m Line Throw for their age group, becoming the World Champions in the 45-50 age category. Pete and Ian also won the Bronze medal in the Masters 50-55 age group 12.5m Line Throw. Theresa and Pete also competed in other events, recording personal best times in the 100m Manikin Carry with Fins.

The Youth team comprising of Jakes Hammond (Captain), Georgina Tomlinson, Jess Newton and Hannah Barnett took to the water in the Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC) – in a big field of over fifty teams, a good performance in the heats was essential. The team delivered thanks to great communication and teamwork, winning their heat to guarantee them a place in the top 16. In the final, they again performed consistently and confidently, finishing in 10th position overall. They were one of the youngest teams in the event.

Georgina Tomlinson and Hannah Barnett took to the Line Throw event and won the Gold medal in a time of 14.38 to become the World Interclub Champions for 2016. Georgina and Jess Newton went on to compete in other events with Jess Newton recording a personal best time in the 100m Manikin Carry with Fins.

The Open team, consisting of Pete Moyes (captain), Alex Moyes, Theresa Tomlinson and Toby Sanderson, had a tough draw in the heats of the SERC event, starting 1st of 26 teams. However, they performed outstandingly and won their heat, confirming their place in the final 16. Over 70 teams took part in this event – the largest ever at an international competition. After another great performance in the final, they took the Silver medal, being pipped by a team of Australian beach lifeguards. The SERC is the blue riband event of competitive lifesaving and this podium position is a major achievement for the club. It was also the top UK-based club in the event.

Mother and daughter pair, Theresa and Georgina, teamed up to take on the world in the Open 12.5m Line Throw and finished in 5th place overall. Masters and Youth champions doing really well in a strong field of Open category competitors.

Alex and Toby went on to do other events with Alex recording a personal best time in the 100m Manikin Carry with Fins. Both went on to complete the gruelling and highly technical 200m Super Lifesaver event, which combines all the skills of previous events into one lung-busting four-length swim.

The team have also had great support from Jackie and Charlie Newton, Hazel and Kate Moyes who all helped with the logistics – enabling the team compete at their best over nine days of competition at the pool in Eindhoven.

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Summary: Two golds, one silver and a bronze for Retford and District Lifesaving Club, competing at the 2016 World Lifesaving Championships, Eindhoven, Netherlands.