Published on Wednesday, 23 February 2022 at 9:09:02 AM

Held on February 17 at the Armadale Fitness and Aquatic Centre, the 2022 Pool Lifeguard Challenge is the ultimate skill test for teams of professional lifeguards.

Facilitated by Royal Life Saving WA and sponsored by the Leisure Institute of WA Aquatics, the event gives lifeguards the opportunity to test their physical fitness, reaction times, teamwork and first aid skills.

14 teams from aquatic centres across Perth competed for a coveted trophy and bragging rights, tackling seven events over the course of the (very hot) day.

This year, two teams of four represented Beatty Park; Team Bravo – Reilly, Brie, Xandy and Amber, and Team Papa – Emma, TJ, India and Kaiden.

The day kicked off with a bang; a 50 metre swim and 50 metre tow relay. Team Bravo had the fastest time here, beating LeisureFit Booragoon by 6 seconds.

The second event was an entertaining throw rope challenge, in which lifeguards had attempt a rescue using a throw rope bag. If the rope didn’t reach or got caught on the pool flags, they could use another rescue method.

Event three was a rescue and resuscitate team challenge, event four tested their first aid skills and event five was held around the indoor pool, with the teams assessed on their communication skills while presented with a number of distractions.

The last event, called ‘CPR on the Run’, started with a fitness test to raise their heart rates, followed by a mock CPR challenge. The assessor was secretly evaluating them for COVID safety – with Team Bravo pulling top marks.

At the end of the day, the final scores were close – so close in fact, the winner was decided by who had the fastest time in Event 1.

Team Bravo (Brie, Amber, Reilly and Xandy) took out first place with 689 points (and the fastest Event 1 time) while Team Papa (India, Emma, TJ and Kaiden) took out second place, also with 689 points. LeisureFit Booragoon finished in third place with 668 points.

We’re incredibly proud of all of our lifeguards – finishing in first and second place is a testament to their individual skills and how well they work as a team.

Congratulations to all 8 lifeguards and to Centre Supervisor Kevin, who trained the teams and provided guidance and encouragement throughout the day.

Kudos to Armadale Fitness and Aquatic Centre for hosting such a fabulous event and to Royal Life Saving WA and Leisure Institute of WA Aquatics for continually challenging our lifeguards and developing their skills.

Bring on 2023!

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