Pilbara youth take on the Bronze challenge

In April this year, 11 determined young people from Port Hedland completed their Bronze Medallion at the South Hedland Aquatic Centre.

The Bronze Medallion is considered the pinnacle of lifesaving awards and has been operating in Australia for over a century. Completing this aquatic achievement provides participants with a sense of pride and accomplishment as well as the ability to protect the lives of people in, on or around water.

Royal Life Saving WA Trainer Cameron Eglington put the participants through their paces to achieve the award over the weekend of 17th and 18th April. Participants learnt defensive techniques, contact tows and spinal management techniques, just to name a few of the components covered during the two-day course.

Cameron also happens to be the current President of the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, but he is often seen travelling to areas like the Pilbara to deliver aquatic courses to our regional youth. Joining in Cameron’s passion for training our youth is Royal Life Saving WA Senior Manager Community Development Tim Turner.

“It is always a great day to be in the water when you see young people taking on the challenge of our famous Bronze Medallion,” said Tim. “I am reminded of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s quote about building our youth for the future.”

“The best thing we can do is to be consistently engaged with a commitment to equip our young people with the skills and confidence needed to be empowered and empathic human beings for both now and the future!”

Well done to our young Port Hedland candidates for taking on the Bronze Medallion challenge and learning new skills for life. The course was funded by Principal Community Partner BHP. “Thank you to BHP for their generous sponsorship and commitment to our children’s future,” said Tim. 

Learn more about how BHP is supporting the work of Royal Life Saving WA in the Pilbara and other regions here. If you’re interested in taking on the Bronze challenge yourself, learn more at the link below.