Miles has informed us that we are running a RLSS National Pool Lifeguard course, to be held at 2RMLC - please contact Miles for available places and times.
Surf Lifeguard and Beach Lifeguard are two qualifications that we are severely lacking at present, we must have qualified people on the beach at the weekends during the summer so all prospective 'Baywatch Bodies' need to be thinking about this now. Miles will be organising courses soon.
A SLSA Advanced Resuscitation course is also on the cards for the near future, many of our members that hold this award need to renew this year.
Well, would you believe we have already held the first barbecue of the year !! A few Juniors took advantage of the recent mild spell and had a quick social gathering at the end of February. The second Is being considered for the end of March. Contact Andy Hayes on 01202 424383 for details.
The Club (or rather the Gear Steward on behalf of) has been given a 14 foot Dory. The boat is in a bit of a state, but with a few hour work, will be an excellent vessel for members use later In the yea,. If anyone can spare a few hours to help fix it, contact Tony on 01202 470034.
So far we have had an excellent response to the offer of a Club trip to Alton Towers later in the year. At the time of writing, there are two, possibly three places left. Anyone who may still be interested should contact Craig or Jeff as soon as possible. (Have you seen the TV adverts for the new ride 'oblivion' )
We have been informed by the SLSA that the Nipper Camp organised for June has been cancelled due to the holiday company going into liquidation, however, we are still looking into the possibility of holding a Club camp - any ideas of what, when and where greatly appreciated.
| March | ||
| 28 | SLS Southern Region AGM | |
| BRC Centre, Christchurch | ||
| 29 | CLSC AGM | |
| BRC Centre, Christchurch | ||
| June | ||
| 28 | SLS Southern Reg. Champs | |
| Southern Region | ||
| July | ||
| 5 | RLSS Wessex LS Champs | |
| Fareham | ||
| August | ||
| 15-16 | SLSA of GB Junior Champs. | |
| Dawlish Warren | ||
| 22-23 | National Lifeguard Champs. | |
| Poole, Dorset (RLSS) | ||
| September | ||
| 4-5 | British Life Saving Champs. | |
| Newquay, Cornwall | ||
| 12-13 | SLSA of GB Youth Challenge | |
| Portreath, Cornwall | ||
| 19 | SLSA of GB International Comp | |
| West Bay, Wales | ||
| October | ||
| 2-4 | UK Lifeguard '98 | |
| Exmouth, Devon | ||
| November | ||
| 14-15 | National Lifesaving Champs. | |
| Sheffield (RLSS) |
Any members wishing to place an item in the agenda, or enter a nomination, should contact the Secretary by Sunday 22nd March.
I would like to see the Young members form a group, to discuss and decide what they would like to do, and when they want to do it. They should elect a leader from amongst themselves. Their leader will be expected to attend Committee meetings. A Committee members should be on hand at their meetings to keep things in perspective, but I fear this idea will be a non-starter unless members actively encourage and I mean ACTIVELY encourage the young.
Following discussions with RLSS and SLSA, it has been brought to light the extent of the Clubs'insurance cover for personal accident. Whilst we are adequately covered for major injury (loss of limb, disfigurement, etc.) we are unclear on exactly how serious an injury needs to be for the insurance company to indemnify. The Club recommends that if members' own personal insurance does not cover them for all risks, they join RLSS as personal members and take advantage of their personal accident cover. Further details and information are available from the Club Secretary.
We urgently need more input for the next issue of Gazette News Letter. If you have anything to say, sell or ask - the latest date for the next issue is 30th April 1998.
Here are a few statistics for you from the Los Angeles County Lifeguards (Baywatch) averages..
| Rescues | 9,126 |
| First Aid | 8,490 |
| Boat rescues | 1,014 |
| Missing person | 1,922 |
| Resuscitations | 513 |
| Drownings | 4 |
| Attendance | 57,081,956 !!! |
Makes our beach look a bit on the quiet side, don't you think ??
Information taken from the LA Country Fire Dept. web site. ( well worth a visit).
Anyone with any suggestions for fund-raising this year needs to make themselves known. There is no punishment for coming up with a good idea on how we can raise cash to buy more equipment and perhaps look towards improving our premises at the beach.
Strange things happen sometimes, this was my experience when I was in Cornwall a short while ago. I was driving into town, when I noticed a man waiting at a bus stop. Being in a good mood I stopped to give him a lift. He had a job to get into the car as he was nearly blind and needed his white stick. During the journey he explained his recent experience. "People are funny" he said. He had started to walk to town from his outlying home; but halfway there he decided to catch a bus so he waited at the next stop. A little while later he was joined by a man, his wife and kids. When the bus arrived, he being of the old school, allowed the wife and kids on first. The conductor then stuck his hand up and said "the bus is full, you'll both have to catch the next bus." We waited but after a while we decided to walk to the next stop. So off we went. After a while the man said "you had better walk on the inside, the tapping of your stick is getting on my nerves." So we changed over. A short while later he said "it's no good, that tapping is driving me mad. Why didn't you get a rubber fitted on the end ?" This got me annoyed. I said "Look if you had put a rubber on the end, we would have been on the bus !"