West Aussie lifesavers heading to Europe

WA Pool Lifesaving Team members Jake Smith and Maddison Howe are off to Europe soon as part of the International Lifesaving Squad.

20 year old Jake, from the Breakers Swim Club at Craigie Leisure Centre, and who is also a swim coach at St Mary’s Anglican Girls School at Karrinyup, was a key member of our state team at the National Championships in January, bringing home four silver and two bronze medals. 16 year old Maddison, from Perth City Swimming Club at Perth College, has also performed exceptionally well this year earning a spot in the Junior Barras for Under 16s after winning 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Nationals.

The pair competed at the Commonwealth Festival of Lifesaving in Durban, South Africa, in August, taking on 86 athletes from six other nations including England, Scotland, Canada, Mauritius, Hong Kong, and South Africa. They have recently returned from the New Zealand Pool Lifesaving Championships where Maddison co-captained the Aussie youth team while Jake was part of the senior team. They both won gold medals at the event.

Jake’s now made the International Lifesaving Squad, which is set to travel to Germany for the German Cup on the 25th & 26th November, and then on to the Netherlands for the Orange Cup on the 2nd and 3rd December. Maddison will also travel to Europe as part of the International Youth Lifesaving Squad. These events will test both Jake and Maddison's pool-lifesaving skills against the best in the world before the Lifesaving World Championships in Adelaide in 2018.

To be selected in these national squads is the highest honour in lifesaving, and we wish Jake and Maddison the very best of luck in Europe!