Brave young boy awarded for life saving rescue

When a family friend found herself out of her depth in a backyard pool, Tyler Guelfi, who was just eight years old at the time, knew exactly what to do. “Tyler’s been brought up around water,” his dad Andrew explains. “I’m a scuba diver, and we go out on the boat a lot. It’s a condition that the kids can’t come out on the boat unless they can swim.”

In January this year, Tyler was swimming in his grandparents pool when a family friend, Dale Bolin, entered the water. Not a strong swimmer, Dale quickly realised she was out of her depth and began drifting further towards the deep end of the pool. Dale’s head slipped underneath the water, and Tyler asked if she was okay.

With no other adults outside at the time, and realising Dale wasn't OK, Tyler performed a reach rescue. "I just grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the shallow part where she could stand."

A bit shaken about the ordeal but otherwise fine, Dale made her way out of the pool. Being brought up around the water, Tyler knew exactly what to do when the situation arose.

Tyler’s dad is incredibly proud of his son’s response, and is glad to see that his water-safety lessons have sunk in! “We try and teach our children resilience and courage, and it was great to see Tyler not be overwhelmed by this situation,” Andrew says.

Tyler Guelfi recently received a Bravery Commendation for his heroic act at our annual Royal Life Saving Bravery Awards. He's a great example of why it's so important for children to take part in swimming and water safety education early in life, providing foundation skills for enjoyment of water activities. Tyler is a true reflection of our motto that "Everyone Can Be a Lifesaver!"