 Rookies down at the beach
Rookies is a great way for kids to learn lifesaving skills while having fun and keeping fit at the same time.
With a weekly pool session and beach training in the summer, NSVL can offer the full range of activities for our younger lifesavers from age 6 upwards.
Rookies is the perfect training ground for our lifeguards of the future and also provides opportunities to get into lifesaving competitions.
We also have regular social events for the whole family, from pizza nights to pantomimes and bowling trips to barbecues.
Rookies in brief...
- A lifesaving club for children
- Fun pool sessions, with trips to the beach in the summer
- Perfect springboard into Lifesaving Sport and becoming a lifeguard
- Great social events for all the family!
Rookies in detail...
Rookie Lifeguards is aimed at 8-12 year-olds to provide a fun and safe way to learn lifesaving skills and water safety. It is a natural progression from formal swimming lessons and is now integrated into the Amateur Swimming Association's (ASA) National Plan for Teaching Swimming (NPTS) as one of the options in Levels 8, 9 and 10.
 Rookies at the pool. Photo: Sally Hoban
Children can join at any age from 6 upwards (under 8s will join our Nippers swimming section to improve their swimming standard before joining the main Rookie groups), and progress through the Bronze, Silver and Gold. levels. By age 12, children are ideally placed to continue on with their lifesaving activities and move onto the senior lifesaving and lifeguarding awards - all of which are available at NSVL.
Learning doesn't have to be boring! Based in the pool and at the beach, Rookies get to practise skills in a fun learning environment. Sessions usually include a mix of swimming, lifesaving skills, personal safety, competitions and resuscitation.
During the school holidays there are mini-competition nights where the Rookies can put their skills to the test, along with a fun session at the end of each term.
Each group is led by one of NSVL's qualified Lifesaving Trainers who have years of lifeguard and teaching experience. All trainers are police-cleared in line with our Child Protection Guidelines.
Trainers are supported by qualified Assistant Teachers, who are usually ex-Rookies (age 14+). As younger Rookies pass through the system they too get the opportunity to become Assistant Teachers which is an excellent qualification to put on university applications.
 Water Safety Code poster by Sarah Nessfield
To enter Rookies, children must be water confident in shallow and deep water and must meet the minimum swimming requirement of being able to:
- Swim front crawl
- Swim on back
- Swim breast stroke
- Jump in deep water
- Tread water for 1 minute
Children who have passed Stage 7 of the ASA National Plan for Teaching Swimming will have all of the fundamental skills necesary. The distances and quality of swimming strokes required will depend upon the age of the child. All new Rookies will be invited for a swim test in advance of being accepted. If children fail the swim test then they will be kept on the waiting list until they are able to meet the requirements.
Please note - Although swimming is an integral part of Rookies, NSVL is
a lifesaving club and we are not here to provide swimming lessons. It
is essential that children already have a good basic swimming ability
in all strokes before joining Rookies. Our Nippers section can bring children up to the required swimming standard, but our minimum entry standard for this is someone who has achieved at least Stage 4, but this is not a substitute for a full swimming lessons programme. North Tyneside Council and
other companies provide Learn to Swim programmes in the North Tyneside
area.
|
What's new? 
