Beach Training 2024 – RLSS POOLE LIFEGUARD

Drop off and pick up location

Is located in the BCP compound directly straight in front of you as you come through the car park barriers.

Safeguarding our members

Parents will need to come to the drop off /pick up point at our garages in the compound, indicated in the above image, in person to collect their children at the end of each session.
Please do not drop off on the road or in the car park and assume that the session is taking place. Take your child/children to the drop off point and hand them over to the club.
We do not want members being dropped off and left down there when no one is around due to the session being cancelled and you have not seen the WhatsApp messages etc
We will not allow our members to leave us after the session and walk to a car or out to the road for obvious Safeguarding reasons.
If you have arranged for someone else to collect your child/children then please let us know via the Club Members/Parents WhatsApp group.

Dates and Times

Training will take place fortnightly on Thursday evenings from 23rd May to the 22nd August.
Dates in Sept will be used if weather has caused delays in progress for assessments.
There are two evening sessions:
Early session: 18:00hrs till 20:00hrs
Late Session: 19:00hrs till 21:00hrs
Both sessions will aim to be ready to start at 18:30hrs and 19:30hrs respectively
Club Members will be pre-allocated to sessions and groups.

Kit required

Sun Screen / Protection to be worn and applied.
It is mandatory that all members are required to wear a wet-suit – preferably a full length wet-suit during June. Without a wet-suit you will not be able to take part.
Wet suit boots
Warm Clothing
Warm Coat / Woolly hat are advisable (we don’t want members getting cold after they exit the water.

Club Identification Kit (supplied by club)

Members will be required to wear a hi vis orange bib at all times during beach training sessions
Members will be also required to wear an orange silicon hat during water activities.
Each Member will be issued with a club orange club kit bag which will contain a hi vis orange bib and a silicon swim cap. The bags will be numbered and will contain a numbered hi vis bib and a numbered swim cap. These numbers will be logged against kit and the person it is allocated to.
It is your responsibility to look after these items, take them home, wash and dry them after each use.
You must take them to each session. You will not be able to take part without them.
You will be expected to return the kit bag and contents at the end of the beach training season.
Failure to return the complete kit at the end of the season, will result in a charge of £20.00 to cover the cost of replacement items (Bib=£15, Swim Cap=£4.95 Bag=£1.5)
We will have spare bibs and hats at the beach if you forget to bring your kit bag and it’s contents, but:
- on the first occasion we will let you use our spare kit and you will be given a warning, to bring your allocated kit with you for future sessions.
- failure to bring your allocated kit thereafter, will incur a £5 charge for every occasion that you require the use of our spare kit.

NOTE: the reason for the above charges, is to try and get members to look after their issued kit and be responsible for it. The club has spent a lot of money on this kit and we need it looked after, so it can be to be used in future years.

Location

Beach Training will take place at Sandbank.

please note the drop off and collection point

Changing Area

We have very limited changing facilities so we recommend that members come dressed in wet-suits and wet-suit boots and go home in their wet-suits with a towel or dry robe type coat over the top.

Valuables

Unfortunately, we cannot accept responsibility for any valuables brought to the beach and as such recommend that none are brought.
We do have a small safe in in one of the garages should members want to leave a mobile phone in it, whilst they are training on the beach.

Weekly Go – No Go Checks on Wednesday Evenings

Due to the fact that Open Water Training Sessions can be adversely effected by sea conditions and weather, the club will carry out checks leading up to each beach session and will notify our club membership on the club Parents WhatsApp group on Wednesday evening prior to the beach session, as to whether or not, the session will go ahead on the Thursday evening.
If the Beach Training Session is cancelled, then we will fall back to our normal pool sessions and normal group times at the Dolphin Pool.
Please keep an eye on the club members Parents WhatsApp group for the notifications.

Cancellations during Thursday

As is the nature of beach activities things can change very quickly, so even though we will R/A on the Wednesday evening and hopefully Give the Go Ahead, it may become necessary to cancel/amend the training during the Thursday, in which case Instructors will be notified, and they in turn will contact you via their own Trainers WhatsApp groups to ensure that you all get the message etc.
We can’t ring or message every single person every time, so please take the responsibility of checking the WhatsApp groups for any notifications.

Medical Conditions

As current members of the club you should would have already declared any medical conditions that we as a club should be aware of However if you have not done so, or things have changed then please update us with any relevant information ASAP.
Please also ensure that any medication needed – like inhalers / epipens are taken to the beach and the group trainers are made aware of where it is.

Weeks not at the Beach

The week that there is no training at the beach you will be at the swimming pool.
Normal swim time sessions will remain at the Dolphin Swimming Pool.

Parental Help

We are desperate for Parents to help with each beach session as we cannot provide these sessions without you as there is a lot to organise – so please volunteer to Andy Smart so we can add you to the Parent Rota.
We would need a min of 5 per week to help else it will be come too much for 2 or 3 trainers to cope with. But more the merrier etc
The following is an idea of what we need help with.
- looking after personal belongings in changing areas.
- carrying boards/kayaks and other equipment to and from the beach.
- washing kit down and putting away.
- Assisting with members in general.
- Setting up event shelters if required.
Potentially, during school holidays, setting up a BBQ to have a burger and bun afterwards
The Parent Rota can be located at the bottom of this page.