End of 2023 Season

All Members,

Thank you all for another great year. We have held over 50 beach sessions this year! This could not have been achieved without all the volunteers and coaches who gave up their time.

Also, 12 of our members have also completed and passed their Lifeguard award, so a big congratulations to them.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you either on the beach or at the pool training sessions in the new year.

Thank you for all your hard work. 
Bantham SLSC

Hi All Members

We are excited to announce our first training session will be held on Sunday the 14th of May until the 17th of December.

We are looking foward to a great new year of training and hope you are all too! 

Hopefully see you soon

​Bantham SLSC

We are at the end of our winter Training for the 2022/2023 season. We have trained over 50 Nipper and Youth members. 

It is so pleasing to see their water skills and technique progress and we are very excited to start the summer training - coming soon in May!

A big thank you to all our volunteers, both coaches and parents. We could not have done it without you! 

Look foward to seeing you at the end of Spring!

Bantham Committee

Reminder!

Wednesday winter swim training is now in progress!

Nippers and Youth swim training runs 7.00-7.45PM - you should have signed up to this before attending and paid subs for this please!

Seniors swim training runs 7.45-8.30pm and is reserved for seniors only - It is available for ALL senior members, just turn up and make the use of your club membership! You can swim at your own pace or work out a set with other seniors, just come and make use of the pool whilst its available! 

Everyone at Bantham SLSC is really looking forward to a great, fun filled summer on the beach!

Welcome back all our Nippers and Youth - and a warm welcome to this years new Nippers - we hope you have a fantastic season on the beach and in the water!

Youth and Nipper training starts on Sunday May 19th: Youth at 1pm, Nippers at 3pm sharp - make sure you are signed in, with your rash vest and well fitting, full length, wetsuit on ready to go! 

You should receive an email informing you which session to attend.

Don't forget the big smile, lots of energy, and (hopefully) the sun cream! 

Bantham SLSC is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

Bantham SLSC is one of the groups on the shortlist!

We are requesting funding for new surf rescue boards which are crucial equipment for training our developing lifeguards and helping to provide a safe beach environment for all beach users.

“Bantham surf life saving club trains and develops current and future lifeguards using rigorous junior, youth and senior training programs. Qualified club members also volunteer to patrol the beach on Sundays during the summer, when on peak days there can be up to 4000 people on the beach. 

Surf rescue boards are a crucial piece of rescue equipment but have a limited lifespan and need replacing every few years. They are used by lifeguards to rapidly reach casualties and deliver them safely back to shore, often in challenging surf conditions. 

Youth and senior members train regularly using the rescue boards, with the goal being for members to achieve nationally recognised lifeguard qualifications and volunteer to patrol the beach on Sundays, as well as providing a pool of qualified lifeguards for the RNLI. Many young members go on to work with the RNLI on beaches across the South Hams.

Having funding to purchase 4 more rescue boards to replace boards which are nearly at the end of their usable service, will enable the club to continue to provide regular, effective training to our members and ultimately increase the likelihood of saving lives on our beaches” 

Voting is open during November and December - Get a token and vote every time you shop!

The Bantham SLSC coaching team are looking forward to our first fun session on the beach on Sunday!

Welcome back all our Nippers and Youth - and a warm welcome to this years new Nippers - we hope you have a fantastic season on the beach and in the water!

Remember - Youth starts at 1pm and Nippers starts at 3pm sharp - make sure you are signed in, with your rash vest and well fitting, full length, wetsuit on ready to go!

Don't forget the big smile, lots of energy, and (hopefully) the sun cream! 

Loic is planning on running the following SLSGB IRB courses from early May to early June:

IRB safety boat driver 
http://www.slsgb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Inshore-Rescue-Boat-Inshore-Safety-Boat-Driver-Award-Specification-2017.pdf

IRB safety boat crew
http://www.slsgb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Inshore-Rescue-Boat-Inshore-Safety-Boat-Crew-Award-Specification-2017.pdf

These are great courses for seniors to expand their skills (and have lots of fun!)
Interested candidates could contact Loic Doison through the club Facebook page.     
https://www.facebook.com/groups/149832327215/​

Course inscription closing date: 30th of April, exam 30th of June or 1st of July   
Cost: £30 course + £30 manual

With the recent gloomy weather summer may seem many months away, but the wheels are already in action to plan the voluntary Sunday patrols which the club provides over the summer.

Please get your application in ASAP so you can be allocated to Casualty Care courses and we can start planning a fantastic summer on the beach!

Remember all seniors and graduate lifeguards are encouraged and welcomed to sign up for this rewarding experience and opportunity to give back to the club. Follow the application links here and get your forms in!

Volunteer Lifeguard
https://jobs.rnli.org/vacancy/volunteer-lifeguard-kingsbridge-blackpool-sands-to-challaborough-338123.html
 
Volunteer Lifeguard Support 
https://jobs.rnli.org/vacancy/volunteer-lifeguard-support-kingsbridge-338666.html

Keep your diaries free for the planned RNLI Induction Dates which are as follows:

Wednesday 30th May:  
Swim testing @ Kingsbridge pool. 7pm

Saturday 2nd June: 
Casualty Care requal (for those who have done a course last year) 1 day course @ RNLI Kingsbridge support centre, Torr Quary.

Sat/Sun 16th and 17th June: 
Competencies, health and safety and all craft and vehicle requals  @ Bantham.

​ 

​Hi all,

As the long summer days drift away and autumn takes hold, I’ve been taking time to reflect on the past season’s activities at the beach.

It’s been a very busy season this year and it’s been great to see so many new and familiar faces in the crowd, enjoying the training opportunities for both kids and adults.

We’ve also welcomed aboard some new members of both the training, and lifeguarding teams to support our activities and I take this opportunity to thank you all for your support. You all make this club tick, whether it be by coming along to training, by bringing your kids to the beach, cleaning up afterwards, making the tea, you name it, we couldn’t function without you so thanks again for the part that you play.

Looking ahead to next year, I would love to see more of you involved with patrolling on a Sunday. You don’t need to be a lifeguard as there are plenty of support opportunities too, but we really need your help to be able to provide full cover on a Sunday throughout the July/August peak season.

I’m aware that many of you are enthusiastic, reliable and may have transferable skills from the emergency services, armed forces, medical professions and by being good watermen and women. You are just what we need. Don’t be shy, get in touch and let me know if you would like to help out. Any commitment, large or small would be greatly appreciated.

Now I would like your thoughts on something. Would it help if we moved the Nipper and Youth training to Sunday morning? This would allow some of you to support lifeguard operations in the afternoon when we are at our busiest. Please let me have your thoughts on this and if this would work for you and your family.

I would also like your thoughts and opinions on what has gone well and how we could make things better. 2016 has been a fantastic season and I’m passionate about ensuring the club goes from strength to strength. So please, drop me a line at [email protected] or give me a call on 07988 268420. I’d really appreciate your feedback.

Finally, our AGM will be in January this year and I hope to see you all there. The date and time will be confirmed soon.

See you at the beach or in the water, and thanks once again for your continued support of Bantham Surflifesaving Club.

David Payne – Chairman