Licences of Lifesavers

Basic Surf Lifesaver
 This licence is the first step to become a lifesaver. We must take 5days(35hours0)lessons and pass a examination. In the examination, we must show our knowledge we learn about surf, illness, organization of our body or so. In addition to it, we must show our power of swimming in the sea and rescue skill. As fitness test, we must train RUN-SWIM-RUN. I'll show run-swim-run movie. It is hard training for me.

 From rescue perspective, we must not fail, and if we would make mistakes we cannot pass. You can suggest how serious our activities are.
 There also limits to take lessons of basic. We prove our swimming power. 400m within 9minitues and 50m within 40seconds. If ｙou pass exams you can get following licence.

Advanced Surf Lifesaver
 I said to you that basic licence is a start line. Basic level requires a secure rescue, so the limit time in final exam is longer than advanced level. In addition, fitness should be powerful. Basic level is run-swim-run, but advance level needs run-swim-run-board-run-tube-run.
 From rescue perspective, advance level require speed in addition to safety. For that, we practice to catch a wave because catching waves is the fastest way to return to the beach. I'll show the scene of catching wave.　And catching wave is what every lifesaver loves activity.

What We Do in Summer

 Our main activity is watching and rescue on the beach. I do this activity in Otake as Otake Surf Life Saving Club Member. When we rescue someone in surf we need to have license of lifesaver. I will talk about these licenses next next week. Then I will write about what we do in summer.

Early Morning Training
 Our patrol is one day job from 8 to 16. Maybe we rescue at 8... For that we get up at 5, and swim on the sea and ready for one day patrol. Training example menu is "run swim run." In this practice we run 200m and 400m swim and 200m run. It is so hard task. But for someone's life we do our best in the early morning training. And we also check the sea. Then we inform bather about   beach or sea condition.

Beach Patrol
 During patrol we usually on the tower to look around the beach.

When we are on the tower, we can see all around the beach, but we cannot see in detail. Therefore, we walk along the sea to check whether there is patients or not.

Board Patrol
 Above way of patrol is done on the beach. We also patrol with rescue board. When rip current is occurred bathers may not notice it and they may become patients. This is a serious situation. Lifesaver who patrol on the beach take a few times to rescue, then lifesaver patrol in the sea with rescue board.

What Can You Do To Help Someone?

 If you would find someone who lies on the ground and that person may not conscious, what would you do? Can you imagine? This is serious problem. No way you know to save someone, you might not save that person. Even if you call ambulance, they take a few minutes.
 Do you know Golden Hour Principle graph? I'll show that graph! (from http://imnstir.blogspot.com/2011/06/golden-hour-pcinciple.html)

 This vertical line shows you the rate of death and horizontal line shows you minutes. You can get it that a few minutes would choose someone's death. That is to say, a few minutes until ambulance reach that scene would choose someone's death. But if you give lying someone medical treatment, that one can get high rate of revival.
 Then you have a question that what is a medical treatment. Today, I will show you basic life support flow chart. You maybe learn in a driving school.
 I will show you CPR flowchart. (from http://www.defence.gov.au/health/Health-e-checkup/i-HEC_CPR.htm)

  These days, I hear that this flowchart is changed a little, but a general flow doesn't be changed. Therefore, you should remember and master flowchart above. And if you want to practice with mannequins, please send us(dream- tsukuba12[AT]yahoogroups.co.jp) Email and inform that you want to do and have interested in our activity!

Otake Surf Life Saving Club

 We in Tsukuba lifesaving club belong to Otake Surf Life Saving Club. This structure is so difficult that I want to explain to you. In Japan, there are a lot of beach such as Otake, Kashima, Oarai, Yugawara or so. Each beach has lifesavers. This group by beach is big unit of lifesavers. If a lifesaver is a student of university, they also make groups by university. So, When we enter university and decide to belong lifesaving club of that university, they should also make decision which beach groups to belong. To sum up these, big groups of lifesavers are that by beach.
 Today, I want all of you to know about our Otake. First, I'll show our history. Our club was established in 1993. Following photo is one taken in 1993.

 Otake has three big parts to do lifesaving activity. All member choose one committee.

 First, I will talk about Patrol committee. This committee exists to make lifesaving activity in August be safe, so this committee make a lot of chance to learn about First Aid, CPR and how to sort out problem for club member. In June and July, patrol group's member make situation for summer, and they make us to practice rescue any number of time. It is so hard but we must not give up and compromise!!!

 Second, I will talk about Community committee. This committee's purpose is to spread lifesaving activity and contribute to region. For example, we have a chance to teach junior about lifesaving and AED, and become assistant to make marathon be safe.

 Third, I talk about Sport committee. This committee makes training schedule for summer activity or big game. Until now, I explain lifesaving sports to you. For club's improvement, member of this committee encourages members to tae part in games and practice.

Lifesaving Sports In The Pool

 Last week, I wrote about some competition on the beach, so in this week I am going to write about some competition in the pool. In winter, we do in pools because it is too cold to do best on the beach. I think you can imagine easily. In addition to it, in winter, our practices are getting so hard, therefore, to keep our motivation we compete in the pool.　In pool competition, we always use mannequins, and we see them as patients. Therefore, mannequins weight is about 60kg, and when we carry them we must make their nose and mouse above the water. Our goal to compete is always to rescue quickly!! I think every lifesaver will say so.

Mannequin Carry With Fin(100m)
 Before the race, mannequins are set on the bottom in pool at 50m point from start line. Then, competitors swim to pick up mannequins and after picking them up, they carry to goal line.

Mannequin Carry Without Fin(50m)
 The race course is about 50m. A mannequin is set at 25m point from start line. Rescuer swim in free style to the mannequin, and pick up mannequin, and carry mannequin in rescuer's arm to goal line.

Mannequin Tow With Fin(100m)
 In this race, we can use rescue tube and fin. Situation is that patient have conscious, so mannequin's weight is about 30kg. This race rule is also the same as Mannequin Carry With Fin. The difference is that we use rescue tube to carry mannequin. Of course, we must make mannequin's nose and mouse above the water.

Line Throw
 This race type rescue is called dry rescue, because rescuer doesn't get wet. This race is conducted by two people. Patient is not mannequin but people. When the race begin, patient is at 12.5m and rescuer is on the pool side. Then rescuer rolls up a rope and throw rope to the patient. If patient can catch the rope, and hold the rope, rescuer can pull. When patients can reach goal the race is finished.

SERC
 SERC is a abbreviation for Simulated Emergency Response Competition. This race's team consists of four member. The purpose of this race is to assess the judgement and act of a group of lifesavers applying lifesaving, first aid skills and CPR in a simulated emergency situation. The  time limit to be assessed is about between 90seconds and 120 seconds. In short time, we must deal with complicated situation and, make everything clear and safety as possible I could. Therefore, I think SERC is most difficult race in every team sport.

Lifesaving Ocean Sports

  Lifesaving sports are played indoors in swimming pools or outside on beaches. Lifesaving sport is the only sport in the world that has a purpose to save human life, so our goal is not to win but to rescue someone. This is the point! Today, I will introduce some races on beach to you!

Surf Race
 This race is simple. We only swim in the sea. In this race, we swim about 400m. Buoys are set up about 170m from beach, and we think buoys as patients in real situation, so we must swim fast!!  

Paddle Board Race
 In this race, we compete time. This race is about 600m and we use paddle board like rescue board. Paddle board is made for race, so it is faster and lighter than rescue board.

Surf Ski Race
 Surf ski is a long, narrow craft like kayak. It is so difficult to ride on ski. This race is about 700m, from a start in the water, out around a series of buoys and back to the beach. Surf ski is faster craft than board.

Ocean Man/Woman Race
 This race has all of above race items. They compete swim, board, ski techniques and speeds. This is so hard and difficult race, that is why this race is called ocean man/woman race. 

   

CPR Contest

 In this race, we compete resuscitation techniques. We show our techniques of artificial respiration and bringing pressure on breastbone to judges in three minutes. And judges assessment our skills and give us a rank such like "A","B","C". We lifesavers must always get A rank, because we cannot know when the accident happen. So, we train and train so that we master CPR skills.

Significant and Tragic Event

Black Sunday

 On Sunday, 6 February, 1938, an event occurred at Bondi Beach in Australia, when five people drowned, and hundreds were rescued, after a series of four tremendous waves. There were still around 30,000 people on the beach in the mid-afternoon, and several hundred in the surf.  Can you imagine how it was dangerous event? This event caused by tremendous waves, which created a backwash so strong that it make many bathers be into a rip current. 

 At that time, about 70 lifesavers were there by chance thanks to competition. If it happened now, they would use IRB, and they could rescue patients easily. But, such a technique hadn't improved then, so they had used rescue reel, surf boats, surf skis, and rubber floats.  Many patients had caught one lifeline and lifesavers had pulled that. Lifesavers had not got any rests they only kept going, and many panic bathers made rescue more difficult, because they grabbed onto lifesavers or other patients.
 One lifesaver, Arthur Elm, said like following. "Some of the men seemed to go mad.  I was trying to take the belt to a youngster who was right out, but I didn't get the chance. As I went by, dozens yelled for help and tried to grab me. I told them to hang onto the rope as soon as I had got it out, but they didn't wait... I didn't think I had a chance when they all came at me. One grabbed me round the neck, two others caught me by one arm, another held me round the waist, and another one seized my leg. I hit the man who had me round the neck. I managed to get in on his chin, and he let go. I had to do it. But for that I would have been drowned myself, and some of the others too. " In addition to his talk,  club captain, Carl Jeppesen, later said, ‘but for the fact that there were so many lifesavers on the beach, many more would have been drowned'.
 By all reports, the water was clear of bathers within about 15 minutes, but the resuscitation work on the beach went on for much longer. You can know that lifesavers must not stop, must keep on working. At the end of the day, dozens had been successfully resuscitated, two were recovering in
hospital, and four were known to be dead.
 The Surf Life Saving Association of Australia(SLSA) granted a special Meritorious Award to Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club on behalf of the work of its members. And now, when someone want to be lifesaver or get lifesaver's licence, they learn about Black Sunday incident as brave activity of lifesavers at first.
 

reference page(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondi_Beach,_New_South_Wales)