Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s elite lifeguards level up to national school

9 November 2021

Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s elite lifeguards level up to national school

A group of Kiwi heroes already dedicated to saving lives are about to become even more super, when they hit the beaches for this season’s National Lifeguard School. This training will upskill them to Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s highest lifeguard qualification – The Advanced Lifeguard Award.

20 lifeguards from around the country will be learning about some of the more difficult and demanding emergency situations lifeguards can face, including mass rescue scenarios, search and rescue operations, advanced rock rescues and complex scenarios.

The school was originally to take place from December 3 to 5 2021, at Waihi Beach.  But with the ever changing COVID restrictions in the Auckland and Waikato area a decision has been made to move the date to 18 to 20 February 2022.  Candidates will be taught theory and practical skills, get the opportunity to run through acted scenarios, and tested physically and mentally, to try to attain the Advanced Lifeguard Award. 

Surf Life Saving New Zealand Education Development Lead Belinda Slement said, “This year we had 35 application for 20 places in the school, so the lifeguards selected to attend are already the cream of the crop.

“They’re already out there saving lives on our beaches before they reach this school.”

Slement said the intensive and action-packed school gives lifeguards the chance to try the new skills and see how situations might play out, with expert instructors able to guide them and talk them through examples from actual rescues.

“This is the super-elite of our training. Around the country lifeguards get faced with a varied level of complex situations, and these advanced lifeguards will be skilled in how to direct their patrol members when challenging situations happen. These are the people selected from their clubs to learn the most technical skills and to put that to use in the most challenging situations when lives are on the line.”

Candidates for this year’s National Lifeguard School are:

Instructors and Mentors for this year are:

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