Life Saved One Day After Attending Training Event

Some of New Zealand’s top lifeguards honed their advanced lifesaving skills on the water and in the classroom at last weekend’s National Lifeguard School intensive training event at Mt Maunganui.

For four days, the 19 lifeguards participated in advanced rock rescue training, specialised Inflatable Rescue Boat driving skills and the latest critical care first aid techniques. They took part in simulated search and rescue scenarios so they could put their training and new skills into practice in a controlled environment.

Those skills were utilised immediately when one of the candidates, Lily Tongue from United North Piha saved a life at the notorious Piha beach while she was on duty the day after returning home from the school. One of the instructors, Dan Short, who was off duty and on the beach relaxing, said he saw the rescue kick off and jumped into action to support the team. When he got into the patrol tower he saw the patient’s head disappear under the water while the team were on their way

“Lily and her team got there just in time and a person’s life was saved. Had the team got to the patient any later there could have been a very different outcome,” said Dan.

National Education Manager, Belinda Slement said that most of the lifeguards will be patrolling beaches in senior roles this summer and will undoubtedly contribute to saving and preserving life in their communities.

“We know one hundred percent that the skills and techniques the candidates are taught on this training school directly contribute to saving lives around New Zealand.

“The candidates we had on the school this year were a really great group. Our instructing team are some of the best instructors in the country and it is fantastic to see how they share their skills and knowledge to develop the future generations of top lifeguards”.

Event Manager Poppy Crouch said that Mt Maunganui turned on some great weather for the event, with the perfect mix of sunny days and calm waters for the first few days so the candidates could take time to practise their new skills and techniques.

“The surf, swell and wind really ramped up mid-way into the school, which provided some extremely challenging conditions which were perfect for practising our advanced rock rescues and IRB driving around rocks in big swell conditions. The candidates all performed extremely well, every attendee learnt and refined new skills and will take these back to their home beaches to make a difference this summer,” said Poppy.

The top candidate was Ben Isles from Sumner SLSC in Christchurch. He showcased a huge amount of skill and knowledge over the weekend which earned him the top spot.

Ben said he was stoked to receive this recognition.

“The weekend was absolutely epic. I learnt so much and I am looking forward to going back to Sumner and developing my new skills further during trainings and while on patrol over the summer.”

Head Instructor Kate Suter, is also from Sumner and said she was proud to see Ben in action.

“I look forward to watching him develop his new skills further on our home beach over the summer and into the future,” she said.

The candidates who were from the Eastern Region clubs were all supported to attend the school by our sponsor Zespri.

Surf Life Saving NZ (SLSNZ) National Lifesaving Manager Andy Kent, said that the support of sponsors and partners enabled SLSNZ to provide training and development opportunities to our lifeguards.

“We are thoroughly grateful for the support from Zespri and the other partners who help our organisation to save and preserve lives.

“I attended the school in person myself and it was awesome to see the skill level and enthusiasm of this team of lifeguards. I was reassured that the future of lifesaving is in good hands. I would like to congratulate everyone who attended as a candidate, for giving their all this weekend. As we have seen already with yesterday’s rescue at Piha, the skills learnt are literally life saving.”

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