National Surf Coach Lifesaving Award (NSCLA)

RLSS UK has teamed up with Surf Life Saving Association (SLSA) Wales to offer the NSCLA - a specific Lifesaving course for surf coaches. The RNLI were consulted in the development of this award along with Surfing England endorsement of the NSCLA. On completion, candidates will have the skills and knowledge to keep participants safe during a surf session.

If you’d like to learn more about the Surf Coach Lifesaving award, click here.

The NSCLA course requires a minimum of 20 hours of training followed by a practical assessment.

Course Pre-Requisites:

Every candidate attending a NSCLA course must:

• Be 16-years-old or over at the time of the assessment
• Have a good level of fitness
• Surface dive to a depth of 1.5 metres
• Tread water for two minutes
• Climb out of deep water unaided and without steps
• Be competent at swimming in the sea
• Before the course, candidates must be able to swim at least 200 metres in a pool (of recommended length 25 metres, but no less than 20 metres).
• For the assessment, candidates must be able to swim 200 metres in a pool (recommended 25 metres, but no less than 20 metres) in five minutes or less using a continuous front stroke and showing urgency.

Course Content:

The course covers: element of group management and supervision, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, pool skills and open water skills and is physically demanding and will include swimming to set times and lifting.

There are four modules, and a candidate must pass all four to attain the qualification.

Module 1 – The Beach enviroment, hazards and supervision
Module 2 – Rescue in Sea enviroments
Module 3 – Life Support and First Aid