Royal Life Saving reactivates training after COVID shutdown
Royal Life Saving WA's training team is busy getting our courses back up and running, following the shutdown in late March due to COVID-19. Courses were temporarily suspended from the 23rd of March after regulators, Federal and State Governments decided the risks of COVID-19 were such that it was not safe for this training to be conducted.
However, with the Federal Government recently announcing a road map to recovery, and the State Government announcing that stage two of our state's recovery with begin on Monday 18th May, Royal Life Saving is now able to reactivate a number of training courses, including CPR and Pool Operations, with a variety of extra safety measures in place.
Pool Operations for Group 2,3 and 4 pools was the first cab off the rank, allowed under Stage One restrictions with numbers limited to less than ten. A course was held this week, with nine participants, from Christmas Creek, Newman, Shark Bay and the Perth metro area taking part as they prepare to get their aquatic facilities back up and running following the lockdown. Course trainer Leanne Coverley-Brandis says it was great to see the trainees so keen to get back into it.
“Now over the cooler months is a perfect time to gain a Pool Operators qualification so people are prepared and ready to go for the summer season.”
Royal Life Saving will conduct a Pool Operations course for Group 1 Pools from the 25th May, with registrations currently being taken at the link below. This course will assist those managing larger aquatic facilities to be ready for when more of them are expected to reopen as Stage Three of the roadmap to recovery is implemented in a few weeks’ time.
CPR courses will recommence from next Wednesday 20th May, with a number of courses scheduled at Royal Life Saving headquarters and other venues across the metro area in the coming weeks. The courses will be run with special safety protocols in place to protect those taking part, including limited class numbers, extra hygiene and sanitisation measures, modification of training activities to ensure social distance is maintained, and each participant provided with their own CPR manikin face and lung bag.
You can register for these upcoming courses at the link below.
Over the coming weeks, as regulations around Stage Three of the recovery become clearer, Royal Life Saving WA is looking to reintroduce a range of other courses, including Bronze Medallion, AUSTSWIM, Pool Lifeguard and First Aid. We're currently working with regulators and the aquatic industry to determine when these will be reactivated, with courses currently scheduled to recommence from late June / early July.
Royal Life Saving WA CEO Peter Leaversuch says it will be great to see this vital training once again available to the WA community. “There are few in our industry who do not want a return to normal operations in the weeks ahead. Balancing public health measures with our strong desire for a roadmap back to aquatics has been challenging but we are pleased to have made a start as we know the positive health and social impacts of aquatic centres and learn to swim schools is significant”
You can keep up to date with courses as they are scheduled at the following link.
