So... what's lifesaving and why do we love it?? Well… what other sport will give you not only fun and diverse training in the pool, but provide you with the opportunity to earn money through a rare and highly sought-after campus job, keep you fit whilst laughing with friends, and at the same time equip you with valuable life skills that you’ll keep forever!
At Warwick, Lifesaving is a club like no other, our relatively small membership means we all know each other very well – an inevitable result with weekly training sessions and numerous comps and socials! Although this makes for close friendships, we are always incredibly welcoming towards freshers and students of any year alike who would like to join our friendly and diverse group and try out lifesaving – everyone is always so keen to explain what we do and teach you what’s going on that you’ll be inundated with friendly faces to offer advice and guidance if needed!
So what do our training sessions actually entail? Lifesaving is divided into what we like to call Speeds (kind of like swimming but a LOT more interesting) and SERCs (basically first aid skills and then we put them into action as a team in a competition-style emergency scenario)! Read more about the exciting things we get up to here, including diving under obstacles and towing manikins in torpedo buoys as a relay team, car fires, cave-ins and chemical lab malfunctions.
Welcome Week (Week 0)
During Welcome Week we've got plenty of exciting events for you to come and find out about our club and what we do. Feel free to come to as few or as many things as you like!
- Monday 23rd Sept - Meet the Exec Picnic! Come to R3.41 on the top floor of the Ramphal (moved from Windmill Hill due to the weather) between 14:00-16:00 and meet our lovely Lifesaving Exec at our lovely Lifesaving Picnic! As well as some food, we will have a range of exciting activities such as some CPR practice and some throw ropes - can you save a life, and can you throw faster than our Exec?
- Tuesday 24th Sept - Sports Fair! Join us at the main Sports Hub Hall at Stall 31 between 10:00-18:00 to ask us any questions you may have about lifesaving!
- Wednesday 25th Sept - How to Survive a Night Out: Part 1! Come along to OC0.01 in the Oculus for 14:00 for an interactive hands-on session to learn some potentially lifesaving skills! We'll go over things such as how to deal with bleeds, broken bones, a friend passing out, and even CPR. You'll also have the opportunity to meet and chat to our friendly exec and find out all about the club!
- Thursday 26th Sept - How to Survive a Night Out: Part 2! Come along to OC1.09 in the Oculus for 14:00 for the second half of our interactive hands-on session! This part will cover some slightly different skills compared to the first session so you're free to come along to this one even if you weren't at the first. If that’s not got you excited, we will then show you how we turn first aid into a sport (yes that's right)!
- Friday 27th Sept - Sports Day (Pool Taster Session). Come along to our biggest free taster session in the pool at 14:30! You don't need any special equipment, just meet us on poolside in your swimming costume. Any swimming ability is absolutely fine (and of course no prior lifesaving experience is expected!).
N.B.: You don't need to be booked on with the Welcome Week timetable to come along to these.
You can also fill in this 2024-25 Interest Form here to receive emails so you stay updated with our events and taster sessions!
Free Taster Sessions (Weeks 1&2)
The first two weeks of training are all taster sessions so you won't need to buy a membership to come along and have a go! We have plenty of sessions both in and out of the pool - feel free to come along to any one session or all seven! Times and locations are listed below:
Meet us on poolside for the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday taster sessions - you won't need any special equipment, just wear a swimming costume and goggles!
The only thing you will need to do to come to our taster sessions is to book onto them through Warwick Sport:
- Go to the Warwick GladstoneGo website
- Make sure you're logged in with your university email
- Search for 'lifesaving'
- Select and book onto the sessions you wish to attend!
N.B.: You don't need to book on to the Friday session.
Please note that we have a finite number of places available so please only book onto a session if you're actually going to turn up to prevent others from missing out! Booking can be done up to 7 days in advance and cancelled anytime. Message us on Instagram if you need any help with booking!
Can I still join after Tasters finish?
Of course! We would love to share our love of lifesaving with anyone. From Week 3 onwards, we have four sessions per week, but we understand how busy university life is so attendance to all sessions is definitely not compulsory! Feel free to join us whenever you can make it for any session (or half session!). Our training times and locations are the same as for tasters and are listed below:
Click here for more details of what we get up to in each session!
You need to get our membership plus the On-campus Pass and SU Federation Fee but this is one up-front payment which lasts for the whole year - an amazing deal for 8 hours of training each week in all three terms! If you've already bought the On-campus Pass and Federation Fee for another club, then you don't need to buy these again, and you'll just need to get our £6 membership! See the bottom of this page for more details.
But what about getting my qualifications?
We run courses throughout the year which look great on your CV, including the Emergency First Aid at Work Qualification and the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) - the prerequisite to a part-time campus (or elsewhere) job as a lifeguard. We will be running an NPLQ course if we receive interest, this will be open to everyone but spaces will be prioritised to our club members, who will also receive a hefty discount! If you are interested in the NPLQ, please express your interest here to receive more information.
You can also visit our website for more info and to find sign-up links to receive updates about our courses.
And what about socials?
Even though all of our sessions are super fun and enjoyable, we also do a lot of fun things away from training! Warwick Lifesaving is one of the best clubs on campus for socials as we have one of the most jam-packed calendars all throughout all three terms, with events both sober and not, catering to all of our members! Some things that we have coming up in Term 1 include:
- Movie and foodie nights
- Laser tag
- Water park trips
- Clubnights
- Circling (a Warwick tradition!)
- ...and much more!
You don't have to come to everything but it's always the more the merrier! Check out the full Term 1 calendar on our website here.
I'm keen, what can I do right now?
- Sign up for our 2024-25 Interest Form to receive updates on our Welcome Week events, Free Taster Sessions and more.
- Message us on social media to say hi and ask any questions you may have! We'd love to meet you
- Express your interest in an NPLQ here
- Have a look through our website, where you can find loads more info on what we get up to!
We are really looking forward to meeting you, see you soon!
"Lifesaving sport is possibly the most demanding multi-discipline sport that exists in the world today. Connected so closely with the noble act of lifesaving, speed lifesaving offers enjoyment, challenges and learning to all ages and abilities.” - RLSS 2006
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