Gaining Your Bronze Medallion
(Certificate II in Public Safety – Aquatic Rescue)
Miami Beach Surf Lifesaving Club
FAQ’s
Prerequisites - the only prerequisite that you need is the ability to swim freestyle continuously 400m (8 lengths of Olympic pool) in under 9 minutes. This is to ensure that you have the necessary fitness level to undertake the course.
If, at the beginning of the course your swim time is over 9 minutes (but under 10) the expectation is set that by assessment day you will have brought the time down to less than 9 minutes. If you exceed 10 minutes, we suggest that you keep training and join us for a subsequent course.
All levels of surf experience are catered for, from nil to those who have surfed for years. As long as you can swim within the required time, we will teach you the rest.
Several courses are held over the summer months, all on Sundays.
Start time is 07.30 for 08.00, concluding around 11.00 a.m.
Please confirm course dates when enquiring.
It is a requirement that all participants attend all days. 1 days absence is permitted if unavoidable circumstances prevent attendance (work, weddings, and bereavement are the usual).
Please advise your trainers of your inability to attend
Costs
NEW BRONZE MEMBER - $120.00
This includes probationary membership, patrol cap, patrol uniform & blue book/workbook.
EXISTING MEMBER - $50.00
This includes blue book/workbook, patrol cap & patrol uniform.
BLUE BOOKS (your text book) included in above costs $35.00
CLUB SWIMWEAR (compulsory) female $45 - $50 /male $25
As at October 12, 2009 South Coast Branch (our governing body) requires “all participants to wear caps for identification (ours are red) and that club togs and rash shirts are to be worn. T- Shirts and board shorts are NOT to be worn.” Non club skins are also not acceptable. What this means MEN, is that you are required to wear the club “brief style” togs (DT’s / Budgie Smugglers) or club skins during all beachwork. No one is looking at you! You are part of a team all wearing the same uniform.
Payment -Please organise a time with the office to make payment and complete all membership paperwork. The club currently does not have EFTPOS facilities.
All fees and membership forms need to be completion prior to your attendance. If swimwear is to be purchased this can be done now as well.
What do we do? - Day 1 will consist of your timed pool swim ($5 entry), overview of course, OH/S, tour of club, and first run swim run. You will be unable to participate in this course if your timed pool swim has not been completed or your swim time exceeds 10 minutes.
The remaining sessions over the coming weeks cover signals, communication, teamwork, surf swimming, identification of rips, sweeps, currents and other beach hazards, patrols, board paddling, assortment of rescue scenarios, basic first aid, administer oxygen (basic), CPR with manikins.
Workbooks are also completed during your training, in a classroom style situation.
This is not as difficult as it sounds. Your trainers are there to assist you through to assessment day, so if you are unsure of anything – please ask.
Assessment - will be run by your trainers with branch Assessors looking on. It is run the same as any other training session that you have been involved in. As well as the technical aspects, the assessors are particularly looking for TEAMWORK COMMUNICATION CONFIDENCE. These are 3 words you will not only hear during your course, but by assessment day, they will be second nature.
After assessment has been completed, the club supplies a light lunch with the presentation of patrol uniforms and a welcome speech by the Club Captain and Club president.
As well as the activities on Sunday, you are encouraged to join the Club’s board and swimming session’s weekday mornings, to further enhance your skills.
Radio communication is run parallel to the bronze (on another day) and all bronzies are expected to attend this 3 hour course.
WHAT TO BRING –
Day 1 and all subsequent sessions –
Club togs
Sunscreen (30+ water resistant)
Zinc (optional) for noses, lips and ears
Water bottle
Towel
Pen (blue or black only – no pencil)
Warm clothing (dependant of season)
Food (snacks – sandwich, fruit, muesli bars, biscuits etc)
A BBQ is available to purchase food from when, as well as Piccolos Coffee Shop. These are both on a cash basis.
The below is a Bronze Squad session plan used and written by Annisa Colley, a trainer who is well respected at both Club and Branch Levels
Hi All,
I hope you are all well and excited for the soon approaching Bronze Course at Miami Beach. Just giving a little more information and detail regarding what will be happening, induction to the club, club tour all OH&S etc (if you are under 18 we will need a signature from either a parent or guardian). Bryan Durham will then take you all through you ROC – Radio Operators Course – Chapter 7 and 8.
Once the ROC is completed we will then head to the pool to complete all 400m swims in under 9minutes. Once this is complete we will then be ready for the following weekend to begin water work.
You must be present on the first dayt as it is extremely important that you are all up-to-date with the SLSQ OH&S, all of your paper work is completed and your pool swim is complete so that you are able to participate the following weekend in the water using the equipment. Remember that you must have Miami togz – girls they come in bikini or one-piece style and boys they come as DT’s or the skins.
We will supply both a rope and a red cap – the red cap must be worn each week. This is important as it distinguishes that you are a training group and so all trainers and water safety can easily see the group.
Each week you will need to bring a pen, towel, lunch, goggles, Blue Book once you get it and also your workbook. You will also need to bring $5 for entry into the Pizzey Park pool at Miami. Below I have attached a completed draft that gives an indication of the content that will be covered weekly.
Weekly Outline
Week 1 – Induction, ROC, Pool swim
(During the week read over Chapter 2 – Surf awareness and skills and Chpater 3 – the human body – you can also complete this section in your work books, we will go over the sections still as a group and check the answers of the questions, however the more you go over the information the better you will be for assessment day. Also learn your signals – page 119 – you must know all of them)
Week 2 – Warm up to the top of the rocks – check out the surf conditions. Signals. Water work – to find what level everyone is at in the surf, complete the run-swim-run, in’s and out’s, tube work etc. Up to the club to go over chapter 2 and 3, and completed these sections in workbook. Introduce chapter 4 resuscitation and chapter 5 defibrillation and basic oxygen.
(During the week definitely go over chapter 4 and 5 – you must be very good at resuscitation – practice on someone/something eg. Pillow, what you have learnt, fill out this section in your workbook – you must remember to practice two important parts of resuscitation – head tilt and pistol grip – assessors always check that these are correct)
Week 3 – Patient assessments – Resuscitation: introduce oxygen and putting defib pads on chest – Body Checks – chain of survival – manikin work – Beach work, signals, chapter 9 rescue techniques (tube, board) and chapter 10 carries and support.
(During the week keep practicing everything that you have learnt thus far, also look at Chapter 6 First Aid)
Week 4– Beach work – run-swim-run, rescues, carries, scenarios – these are when you are put into a situation such as an unconscious patient rescue etc. Look at a patrol and how it works. Go over more manikin work and also chapter 6 - first aid.
(Go over anything that you are having troubles with, email, call anytime with whatever you need help with)
Week 5 – Go over absolutely everything!!!
Week 6 – See above!
Week 7 - See above !
Week 8 - Preliminary Assessment (must pass to be assessed hopefully the following weekend)
You MUST attend this day in order to be eligible for assessment
Week 9 –Assessment day – presentation and lunch (definitely save this date as you get a free feed!!!)
This does look a little intense however it is easy and I will give 100% of my time on ensuring that you all know all of the information and when it comes to assessment day we will show the assessors how good we all are. Don’t let the information for the weekly outline worry you and the stuff you need to complete at home – I do understand that you would all have busy lives and we will be going over all of the chapters and through the workbook as a group, I just think it helps if you do a little bit of extra reading, that way it gets stuck in your head.
If you know of anyone else who would like to participate, forward the email to them, the more we train the more lives that we will save.
With kind regards
Annisa