Lifesavers with Pride are keen to promote Surf Life Saving as somewhere that LGBTIQ people can feel welcome and wanted. Moreso we want LGBT people to feel safe and secure in approaching their local surf club to become a lifesaver. We have contacts at many clubs around the nation, in every state, with our Club List page showing which clubs have engaged with us in the past. But this doesn't limit any clubs and we welcome you to look for your closest club here. If your club isn't on our list, let us know and we'll add it on.
To become a lifesaver you will need to undertake you Bronze Medallion (BM). Most surf clubs run two courses a season, some more. We encourage you to engage with your local club first by contacting their Education Team or Training Officers to clarify what you will need to do to commence. Whilst each club will structure their course differently, most courses include the following;
You will need to demonstrate a swimming competency beforehand, say a 400m swim in about 9 minutes,
The course will run for a number of weeks, maybe six or so,
The structure will likely involve a weekly dry session of theory (usually 2 hours on a weeknight) and a wet session in the water (usually a few hours each weekend), and
The course finishes with an assessment, and finally being awarded the medallion itself, and becoming a lifesaver.
All we will ask from you, is that as part of your course, you provide LWP with some content for our social media, which may include images, stories, links or thoughts. We'll work with you on the best way to create these, and always seek your permission prior to their release. This will continue to ensure that Lifesavers with Pride are seen promoting lifesaving around the country as being welcoming, progressive and inclusive to their LGBT members and recruits.
Our Proud Beaches Scholarship will enable LGBTIQ people around Australia to overcome the financial cost involved in doing your training to become a lifesaver. We will reimburse your course costs, and get you started on your lifesaving journey. Anyone over the age of 13 can apply for the scholarship (the BM is only available to those over 15yo with Surf Rescue Certificates (SRC) available from 13), and we do not discriminate between gender, culture or physical ability. Plus we encourage applications from all corners of our huge country.
Either you can download the form here and return it to us here, or fill in the details here in advance of the course commencing (identifying course dates and costs) and we'll get back to you with more information.