Rescue Water Craft Award

Course Overview

The Rescue Water Craft (RWC) commonly known as a Personal Water Craft (PWC) or Jetski is specially outfitted for surf interaction and operated by experienced Surf Lifeguards. The main use of the RWC is for Support Services, this is defined as the provision of SLS services over and above the club patrolling system. Support Services major thrust is to provide services at remote/inaccessible locations and to supplement Club patrols as applicable.

As the operator of a Rescue Water Craft you are responsible for the safety of your crew, the public and yourself. It is important that you understand the risks inherent in operating this type of equipment and your role in assessing and minimising risk.

The qualification has a number of theoretical and practical components such as driving in the surf, patient pick up and maritime regulations to prepare experienced Surf Lifeguards for RWC use.

Course Information

Pre requistes	20 years of age \| Current & active member of a SLS club Surf Lifeguard Award (refreshed) \| Senior Lifeguard Award - IRB Driver (refreshed) Marine VHF Radio Operators Certificate \| Full Motor Vehicle Licence (Class 1) First Aid Level 1 (current) \| First Aid Level 2 (current) 400m Pool swim under 7.30min The fitness and experience pre-requisites for this role are minimums, it is expected that all applicants exceed these minimums.
Highly recommended	First Aid Level 3 (current) \| Advanced Lifeguard Award
Duration	Variable depending on competency of candidates
Delivered by	SLSNZ Regions
Who should complete it	Experienced Lifeguards who hold all the required pre-requistes and wish to develop their skills and knowledge in RWC
Candidate requirements	Attend training sessions with SLSNZ Region Complete the RWC Operators Workbook Successfully complete all components of the examination
Exam components	Theory test RWC setup and equipment Crewing the RWC RWC Capsize	Single person rescue Driving skills Emergency Manoeuvers RWC closedown

Topics covered

1. RWC Equipment	2. Fuel	3. RWC Set up
4. RWC closedown	5. Maritime regulations	6. RWC Capsize
7. Basic skills and techniques	8. RWC Closedown	9. General Operations
10. Rescues	11. Communication

RWC Policies

All the current RWC Policies can be found here.

Apply

Please contact your regional Lifesaving Manager here, to apply to be a RWC Operator.

Note: SLSNZ reserves the right to accept members onto the RWC programme at their discretion

Online Resources

RWCTraining Manual

This Manual includes topics and content to assist a candidate to gain either their Rescue Watercraft Award. Once candidates have completed their award, the training manual should be kept by them as reference. Hard copies of this manual can be purchased via your SLSNZ region once enrolled in a regional RWC programme.
Online Download: RWC Training Manual (updated December 2018)

RWC Candidate Workbook

This workbook has been created specifically for RWC candidates. All candidates training towards their Rescue Water Craft Award must complete this workbook.
Online Download: RWC Candidate Workbook (updated December 2018)