The 2011 LIWA Aquatics Pool Lifeguard Challenge was sponsored by AVP Commercial Pools and conducted on the 17^th of February at Challenge Stadium.  The VenuesWest staff did a great job again in configuring the 10 lane pool into two 25 meter segments for the event. 

This year ten teams completed in the multi-disciplined event with two teams from the City of Joondalup and one from the YMCA operated facility in Port Hedland.  It was great to see the South Hedland Aquatic Centre Manager Chris Retallack and his team of Dean, Thierra and Shaydeane representing the North West.  The Lifeguard Challenge consisted of three individual events designed to assess both the physical attributes of the Lifeguards as well as their ability to react in the pressure a simulated emergency.

The first event was the relay challenge which was a test of fitness that saw the Lifeguards race the clock.  The participants needed to dive under and through obstacles, retrieve and tow manikins and complete a sprint finish in the fastest possible time.  This component in Lifeguard training and development is a critical one for all staff as it ensures that they have a general level of fitness that will enable them to react appropriately in an emergency situation.

 The second event was the Super Lifeguard Teams Event where the teams worked in pairs and was scored on both the time for retrieval and skills completing CPR on the pool deck.  The participants were required to swim 10 meters, recover a manikin and tow it 15 meters, then swim 25 meters and then swim 10 meters underwater before recovering another submerged manikin and towing it a further 15 meters.  Upon landing the manikin Lifeguard 2 went into a simulated emergency with prompts delivered by an assessor on the pool deck which included DRABCD with 2 person CPR over a two minute period.

Lifeguards in Action

The third and final event was an emergency simulation event which saw the lifeguards locked down while the environment was set to replicate a typical pool deck they would find in their workplace.  Working in a three Lifeguard team the participants encounter a range of distractions that included an electrical hazard, a patron searching for lost goggles, a swim squad member suffering from cramp and patron suffering a heart attack on the pool deck..  The team and individuals were judged on their interpersonal skills, their ability to continue to supervise the environment and how well they dealt with the patrons involved.

 The teams continued through the rotations of the emergency simulation and the standard of all teams was very high and one that the industry could be very proud of.  This standard of Lifeguarding and the Watch Around Water program goes a long way to ensure patron safety in Western Australian Aquatic Facilities.

 With the event concluded there were formal presentations to the first three teams with the highest scores on the day.  The President of LIWA Aquatics Mr Jeff Fondacaro welcomed all the teams and managers and congratulated them on the participation in the event.  Jeff recognised the great support of this event by AVP Commercial Pools and the event managers Royal Life Saving.  Jeff paid a special tribute to Scott Jardine and Emma Thompson for all the hard work in putting the event together.

Jeff then introduced representatives from AVP Commercial Pools to present the awards to the top three teams in this year's Lifeguard Challenge.  The results were, third place Craigie Leisure Centre Team 1, second place Craigie Leisure Centre Team 2 and the winners of the 2011 AVP Lifeguard Challenge were Bayswater Waves.  Awards were presented to all teams and they were commended on their commitment and dedication to their roles as Pool Lifeguards.

This year's event was a great test of the ability of our Pool Lifeguards and clearly demonstrated the support for this type of event by all the Local Governments involved in the Challenge.  It was a great result for all involved and the Bayswater Waves was a very worthy winner in a very close finish.

The Winning Bayswater Waves Team

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