INTERNATIONAL LIFE SAVING FEDERATION

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL LIFE SAVING FEDERATION Gemeenteplein Leuven - Belgium Tel: (32.16) Fax: (32.16) ils.hq@pandora.be Web: ILS NEWS 2007/5 World Water Safety 2007 The World Water Safety 2007 (WWS 2007) Conference and Exhibition was held in Portugal from 27 to 29 September WWS 2007 brought together specialists in a multitude of disciplines to share ideas and approaches to drowning prevention. Representatives of over 40 countries were present to hear speakers from every region of the world and to participate in workshops to enhance the world s protections against unintentional drowning. The attendees, numbering in excess of 300, heard from speakers from diverse backgrounds. Examples include the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Alliance for Safety Children, rescuers who had responded to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, child aquatic safety trainers in Brazil, and groups developing beach risk assessments in Europe. Political boundaries were seemingly nonexistent, as speakers from Iran, the USA, and China shared the podium. A key theme arising from the conference is that child drowning is a serious problem both in developed and developing nations. In some developing nations, drowning is the leading cause of death for children, outstripping even disease. Over 47,000 children drowned in Vietnam alone in Although developed nations generally appear to be safer from accidental injury than developing nations, the proportion of child drowning remains very high in each. ILS President Inauguration AO The photo shows the ILS President Alan Whelpton and his wife Helen (middle) at the Government house on 19 September at the inauguration "AO". 1

2 The ILS President was awarded the Honour of Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to Australia and humanity in the Queen s Birthday Honours list. The ILS President received the Honour for his service to the community, particularly through the promotion of surf lifesaving at state, national and international levels, and as an administrator in a range of roles related to sport. The ILS family congratulated Alan in being awarded this Honour of Officer in the Order of Australia (AO). New members At the meetings held in Porto in September the ILS Board of Directors approved the membership applications of China, Philippines, British Virgin Islands and South Korea. These associations were accepted as Full Members of ILS. The details of these associations can be found on the ILS website. ILS History update On 24 February 1993, the Fédération Internationale de Sauvetage Aquatique (FIS) and World Life Saving (WLS) were merged into a single, worldwide lifesaving: the International Life Saving Federation (ILS). The ILS Headquarters has done some research on the exact date of creation of FIS. Raymond Pitet was born on 27 March 1872 in Deauville and not in Le Havre as it is sometimes stated. His birthday always had an importance for him. On 27 March 1899, when he became 27 years old, he created the National Association of Swimming and Lifesaving Societies, which became the French Lifesaving Federation. 27 March became the Federation s date. We see that FIS was created after the inundation of Paris and the creation was triggered by the solidarity that Raymond Pitet witnessed from the neighbouring countries. The inundation of Paris was from 25 to 30 January Raymond Pitet organised on the Federation date, thus on 27 March 1910 in Saint Ouen a Congress on Lifesaving. Saint-Ouen is a commune of the Seine-Saint-Denis district located in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. This town is located 6.6 km (4.1 miles) from the centre of Paris. Raymond Pitet was the first elected President of FIS and he was President of FIS from 1910 to 1951 (so 41 years). We therefore believe that 27 March 1910 is the creation date of our International Federation. Rescue 2010 awarded to Great Britain During the Board of Directors Meeting in Portugal Surf Life Saving Great Britain (SLSGB) was awarded the Rescue 2010 World Lifesaving Championships, which will be held in Newquay, Cornwall. SLSGB is an association of 7,000 members and supporters in more than 60 clubs that provide the rescue force of trained volunteers that safeguard the beaches of Britain s 7,500 mile coast line. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has joined forces with SLSGB in the bid to host Rescue 2010 as part of the wider strategic partnership agreement between the two organisations to develop volunteer lifeguarding and surf life saving clubs. The RNLI is the biggest provider of paid lifeguards in the UK. This will be only the second time that Britain will host for the championships The first of the Rescue Championships organised by the ILS was held 13 years ago in 1994, hosted by Great Britain in Newquay and Cardiff. In that time, the event has grown in size from about 1000 athletes to about 6,000 athletes. Rescue 2010 will be the largest international sporting event in competitor numbers in Great Britain before the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. An audience of over 40,000 is expected at the Championships plus several million through TV, radio, press and internet. One of the unique aspects of the event is that both the pool and the beach events will be held at the same location. The athletes do not have to travel between events and the two week programme can be more efficiently coordinated. The picture shows an impression of a potential 2

3 temporary 50m Olympic pool on the back of Newquay Fistral beach. The two week programme will include the following championships: o National Teams World Lifesaving Championships o Interclub World Lifesaving Championships o Masters World Lifesaving Championships o Surf Boat World Championships o Inshore Rescue Boat (IRB) World Championships Website: Conference on better beach management The 2007 Lifesaving Conference on the Gold Coast discussed a number of initiatives including the new beach management course, developed by the Australian Lifesaving Academy. messages as well as providing state-of-the-art training for surf lifesavers. SLSA s Lifesaving Manager, Ben Whibley said the conference was a huge success and has laid a strong foundation to help take the organisation forward. The conference was about refining what works well and looking at ways to improve our beach safety standards, he said. For the past 100 years we have set the benchmark in aquatic safety and looking into the future, we want to be on the cutting edge of lifesaving service delivery and beach safety. Beach management is more than just about the red and yellow flags on the beach. It encompasses all aspects of lifesaving including operational support services, better use of technology, community education, surf lifesaver training and much more. Australian beaches continue to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, therefore we need to be continually developing our standards and practices to ensure our beaches remain among the safest, he said. Source: /09/2007 Iranian Lifesaving Courses successful The Iranian Lifesaving and Diving Federation has successfully organised lifesaving courses and clinics in the Iranian Olympic Academy during August and September The following courses were organised: o Lifesaving Instructor Course ( pool option ) o Promoting Lifesaving Instructor Clinic o Lifesaving course ( water park option ) o Lifesaving competition Referee Clinic More than 300 surf lifesavers from around the country came together to discuss relevant issues and practices surrounding surf lifesaving as well as look at beach management heading into the future. A new initiative unveiled on the weekend was the first edition of the Australian Coastal Public Safety Guidelines. The first of its kind, these guidelines bring together a number of best practice coastal management standards that will assist local, state and federal government land management agencies, and other organisations to provide safer aquatic environments for the community. Education was also a major focus, as the Australian Lifesaving Academy gears up to reach more people than ever before with vital surf safety The picture shows a group of course participants, instructors and officials. Mr. Afshin Kasir Moallem was the instructor of more than 400 participants. Both men and women participated in the lifesaving courses. 3

4 US Team Coach Survives Deadly Experience This is a very inspiring story of survival involving a LA County Lifeguard and the recent fires in Southern California. LA County Lifeguard Mitch Kahn has long served as the coach of the US National Team, most recently at Rescue 2006 in Australia. He has been a competitor himself and is well known to many other international competitors. Mitch is also an Orange County, California fire-fighter, who was deployed in the recent epidemic of fires in Southern California. One night, after many hours, he and his team of twelve fire-fighters were trapped on a ridgeline with flames all around them. His incredible story of survival is best described in a report on the national news network NBC: demonstrations and over 300 training courses country wide. The Swim to Survive programme has taught nearly 30,000 men, women and children to swim. The Poverty Alleviation programme is ongoing and trains both urban and rural people as lifeguards. The programme assists them in finding jobs, in the process elevating their family status from below to above the poverty line. A project has been prepared and submitted to the State Government and the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation for the formation of ten Flood Relief Teams, each equipped with appropriate gear and trained to rescue and revive victims during floods. From May to July 2007, 800 officials were trained from different disaster prone districts of Maharashtra in disaster relief. A pilot project to cover Dehli, Agra and the Jaiper Golden Tourist Triangle has been approved by the Ministry of Tourism to train people in first aid along the road/highway. To date 350 volunteers have been trained. An ongoing project to give free training to handicapped children in first aid, swimming and lifesaving continues in Pune. Four more lifeguards from India were trained in Sydney, Australia in May Picture was taken by Karen Tapia for the Los Angeles Times (October 22, 2007) Source: Rashtriya Life Saving Society of India In November 2007 the Rashtriya Life Saving Society of India will host its 5th Lifesaving Sports Championships in Mumbai: 31/10-1/11: Lifesaving Sports Officials Workshop 2-3/11: Ocean Events 4-5/11: Pool Events 6/11: National Lifesavers Conference The Rashtriya Life Saving Society of India, member of ILS since 2000, reported on its lifesaving development progress. The RLSS-I has been full member of ILS since The Society started with programmes in swimming pools but soon extended its training programmes to other waterfronts and general care of accident victims. Since 2000 over 12,000 first aid providers, lifesavers and lifeguards have been trained. This has been achieved through over 2000 free Website: Source: Extract from Activity Report of the ILS Asia-Pacific Region. EPSA reports from Argentina EPSA (Equipo Profesional De Salvamento Acuatico Professional Team for Aquatic Rescues) is the Argentinean member of ILS. EPSA reported on their rescue and education activities and sport initiatives. Rescue and Education EPSA has been working since May on an electronic library with free access in the web site. EPSA has organised several roll out conferences (CPR 2005 guidelines) and drowning prevention for lifeguards around the country. 4

5 EPSA participated in the Brazilian Championships and Congress in Guaruja SP Brazil EPSA is planning preventive actions for the summer 2007/2008 in the Argentinean Atlantic coast and in the main cities of the country. They hope to be able to finalize this campaign with an ILS meeting and an international congress in the city of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires. Sport EPSA has created the Lifesaving Training Centre for master swimmers and lifeguards to promote more the Lifesaving Sport in the country. requesting lifeguard supervision for the day from our organisation. St. Lucia continues to make slow but steady progress with members of our Association attending Olympic Solidarity Administration Courses, qualifying further Lifesaving Instructors and hopefully within the month at last having our own qualified Lifeguard Instructors. Source: Extract from the Report of the America s Region 2007 RLSSA Kids Online The National Team is training to participate in next Brazilian Championships in November. Website: Source: Extract from the Report of the America s Region 2007 St. Lucia report on lifesaving development The St. Lucia Life Saving Association became Full Member of ILS in 2003 after having successfully organised the 2003 Caribbean Lifesaving Championships as well as the ILS Conference, the ILS Commission Meetings and the ILS Board of Directors Meeting. The President of the America s Region provided us with the following report: An instructor of the Lifesaving Society Canada conducted a National Waterfront Lifeguard Programme in November 2006 qualifying 12 lifeguards, mainly from the Hotels, Police and Fire Service. Patrick D Almada was the instructor and he identified three men on that course to train as Lifeguard Instructors, two for the Waterfront and one for the Pool. Patrick together with Doug Trentowsky is returning at the end of July 2007 to conduct both this course and also further qualify lifeguards for the waterfront and pool. Stuart Frazer and the Chief Examiner in Jamaica will be attending these Courses as will a representative from Antigua. A Water Safety Programme for St. Lucia is planned for the new School Year and has the full support of the Sports Director in the Ministry of Sport & Community Development. A major goal in St. Lucia has been promoting the awareness of lifeguards. Although the beaches are not guarded regularly (government or any division does not employ lifeguards) members of communities who organise beach activities are Royal Life Saving Society Australia offers Kids Online, a website for hours of fun activities, games and competitions. Kids can learn about Water Safety while keeping busy and having fun. Children can test their skills and knowledge in fun water safety games on their computer or test their water safety knowledge in the Swim and Survive Aqua Quizzes. There are a range of activities for each level, including colouring in, matching pairs, find a word, and crosswords - all with a focus on water safety. Kids can start their water safety knowledge by learning the three rules of the Aquacode: go together, stay afloat and wave and reach to rescue. Check out other important water safety tips for a range of aquatic locations. Wherever there is water, kids need to be aware of the dangers to ensure they stay safe. Source: Life Saving Society Malaysia Report In 1994 the Life Saving Society Malaysia (LSSM) became a full member of the International Life Saving Federation. 5

6 The knowledge and mastery of life saving techniques are of utmost importance. In any emergency the skills learnt can help save lives and prevent further complications. This is the mission of the Life Saving Society Malaysia. This national, voluntary, non profit organisation is dedicated towards providing the knowledge and skills needed to save lives from drowning and emergencies related to cardiac arrest. To date, over 80,000 people have qualified from the various programmes offered by the Society. LSSM reported the following lifesaving activities: Two new affiliates have been formed in East Malaysia, i.e., Kinabalu Life Saving Society in Sabah and the Sarawak Life Saving Society. Throughout the year 384 CPR awards, 946 Bronze Medallion awards and 82 Instructor awards were issued. Professional life guarding courses have also been in demand. Hotels are realising the importance of having lifeguards trained to ILS standards. The first National Officials and Coaches Accreditation course was held in Penang from the 12th-17th August 2006 and was conducted by two instructors from SLSA. Malaysia was represented for the first time in an International competition at Rescue 2006 and continues the promotion of lifesaving sports. The third DHL National and the first Invitational International Life Saving Sports Challenge was held in Penang from the 19th-20th August The fourth National and second International Life Saving Sports Challenge was held in Ipoh, Perak on the 22nd July 2007 and was a very successful pool competition for local and Singaporean teams. LSSM was represented at the Commonwealth Conference held in Bath, England 2006, which was attended by delegates from 24 countries. Various Commonwealth honours were awarded to 41 of our members, led by our President who was made a Commonwealth Vice President. Honorary Life Members were also awarded to 4 LSSM s officers. Website of the Society: Source: Extract from Asia-Pacific Activity report European Junior Championships 2007 The 2007 European Junior Championships were held in Canet en Roussillon, located in the south of France. Altogether, 14 European Nations competed: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and of course France. After the opening ceremony at Thursday evening in the Europe Pool, the first competition to be done was the SERC event. The Friday and Saturday morning continued with all pool competitions, ruled by the Chief Referee Frans Kenis (Belgium). At Saturday afternoon, the competitions started with the ocean events at the beautiful beach of Canet, ruled by the Chief Referee Bob Dekkers (The Netherlands). Finally, on Sunday evening the closing ceremony took place in the Malibu Village. After counting all points, the new and old European Junior Champion is the team from Italy (839 points), followed by Germany (809 points) and Spain (646.5 points). France got the fourth place. Congratulations to all athletes competing in these Championships, to all referees and judges and all the voluntary hands that helped to manage this event. More information and photos are available on the website of the French Lifesaving Federation - Federation Francaise de Sauvetage et de Secourisme. Next year s European Junior Championships will be held in the Netherlands. News articles and press releases including pictures for publication in the ILS News can be mailed to: ils.hq@pandora.be. NEWSLETTER COMPILED BY DR. HARALD VERVAECKE - SECRETARY GENERAL SANDRA HARTHOORN - EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 6