2022 ROYAL LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA POOL LIFEGUARD CHAMPIONS

Written By Jake Culkin

South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre’s Team C are the 2022 Royal Life Saving Society - South Australia Pool Lifeguard Champions, beating a highly competitive field of lifeguards in an impressive display of lifeguarding skills and teamwork at Marion Outdoor Pool on 23 November.

The event, the first of its kind in South Australia, was delivered with the generous support of Aflex Inflatables, Marion Outdoor Pool and the Royal Life Saving Society - Australia.

Photo: 2022 South Australian Pool Lifeguard Champions, SAALC Team C

“The Lifeguard Challenge is an outstanding event! Our team certainly had such an amazing time competing against other centres,” South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre’s Manager of Lifeguards and Events, Will Jack said.

“What a great display of talent across the South Australian aquatic industry. The experience, knowledge and skills that all participants develop from the event is a positive for all facilities. Bring on nationals!” Mr Jack said.

“Winning this year was an exciting and a great honour for the team and we hope to be back again next year to do it all over again.”

The teams were challenged in a variety of simulated scenarios, such as managing major incidents, a theory assessment, as well as race events in the pool including rescue tows, line throws and manikin relays.

Photo: RLS-SA GM Jake Culkin provides the pre-event briefing to competitors

Royal Life Saving Society - South Australia Acting Chief Executive Officer Jake Culkin said he was impressed by the standard of competitors as they dealt with complex challenges.

“The scenarios were designed not only to test the technical skills of the individual team members, but also their overall teamwork, communication and incident response capabilities,” Mr Culkin said.

“The scenarios they faced were difficult, but realistic, and could easily occur at the participants’ own facilities. A variety of twists and complications were also introduced into the scenarios to make the situations even more challenging.”

Top three results:

– South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre (SAALC) Team C = 195 points

– Marion Outdoor Pool (MOP) Team A = 194 points

– Waterworld Aquatic Centre (WAC) Team A = 190 points

Individual event winners included:

  • Wet scenarios – MOP B & WAC A

  • Dry scenarios – SAALC C

  • Theory Exam – SAALC E

  • Races – MOP A

Royal Life Saving Society - South Australia acknowledges the support of Marion City Council for providing the event venue and support staff; Royal Life Saving Society - Australia for providing support staff and competitor equipment kits; and staff and volunteers from Royal Life Saving Society - South Australia who assisted with event officiating and adjudication.

Royal Life Saving Society - South Australia would also like to acknowledge the following individuals who made the event happen:

  • Jake Culkin

  • RJ Houston

  • Michelle Williams

  • Ann McIntosh

  • Jayne Minear

  • Steph Culkin

  • David Dewar

  • Brione Rundle

  • The staff at Marion Outdoor Pool

  • And of course, all the competitors

The South Australian Pool Lifeguard Challenge will return in 2023.

Jake Culkin
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