On February 28th, seven lifesavers from University of London Union joined with another 24 lifesavers from around Britain to compete in the Grand Prix Moravie competition in the Brno, Czech Republic. 

The competition itself was extremely tough with teams from all of Europe competing, and the standard was extremely high. The Simulated Emergency Response (SERC), which tests a team’s knowledge on the safest and most efficient rescues, was based on the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship which sank off the coast of Isola del Giglio in 2012. The only information teams where given was:

"It is an ordinary, calm evening. You are water rescuer and you are patrolling the sea in your boat…but something strange happened at 9 a.m. Mist is everywhere and people are screaming.. The big luxury cruise boat Costa Concordia is sinking. Crew of the boat and all passengers must be evacuated. You must start from the helicopter.”

Teams where lead into a tent where they were told that in two minutes they would arrive on the scene and would have to evacuate the helicopter. The incident began by jumping off a 3m 

diving board, some with a little persuasion, sprinting across the Olympic sized swimming pool to an individual who was signalling with a flare.

Once in the fenced off boat at the end of the pool the team investigated all rooms to try rescue as many people as possible. It was challenging SERC but one everyone from the club enjoyed.

On Saturday and Sunday the competition was purely focused on speeds. The races ranged from Manikin carry with fins, Rescue Medley and Super Lifesaver which is a combination of all races. There was the unusual activity of saving a Manikin by boat and team relay events for Medley and Manikin tow.

In Senior Women’s Line throw ULU Lifesaver  Niamh O’Brien placed 1st, breaking the competition’s record for fastest women’s line throw with a time of 14.54 seconds, and Ellen Moore came in a close 3rd place with her catcher Blair Starnes and a time of 15.04.

In the Men’s Category of Line Throw ULU Lifesavers also excelled, with Giacomo Dentoni receiving silver for catching for a Lifesaver from Nottingham, and Joe Travers-Jones just narrowly missing out on third place by 85/100th of a second with a time of 13.85.

All in all, the ULU lifesavers had a fantastic weekend competing at a European competition and bringing home some more medals to add to the growing collection!

This success continued 2 weeks later back in UK with ULU Lifesaving returning back from BULSCA National Student Championships with one gold, two silvers, two bronzes, two university records and 11 club records. This achievement is reflected in the BULSCA League results, where London currently holds 2nd place, having earned three golds and two bronzes in this years competitions.

If you are interested in finding out more about our club, the competitions we attend and the training programmes we offer please get in touch at enquiries@ulu-lifesaving.org.uk!