Become a lifesaver at Tamarama

Attaining a lifesaving award will enable you to become part of one of Surf Lifesaving Australia’s Foundation Clubs, and being part of Tamarama’s iconic lifesaving heritage.

The Bronze Medallion (Certificate II in Public Safety and Aquatic Rescue) or the Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC) are the qualifications you need to wear the famous Red & Yellow uniform and patrol the beach to keep Tamarama safe.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The 2022/23 season is over and our next Bronze Medallion course will start in October 2023 (dates tbc). The information below is for indication of what to expect and may slightly differ from the actual course.

If you are interested in joining, please RSVP at the bottom of the page and we will be in touch with you when we set up the dates for the next course.

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Pre-requisites for the Bronze Medallion:

• Be able to attend 8 consecutive Saturday mornings, 2 Sunday's and 2 Wednesday evenings
• Aged 15+ on the date of the assessment
• Be able to complete a 400m swim in the pool in under 9 minutes
• Be available to patrol Tamarama Beach after the assessment

Dates (for the Summer 2023 course, Spring 2023 dates to be confirmed)

This is a 8 week course that requires a high level of commitment outside the Saturday sessions, including self-paced modules, 1 x shadow patrol (commitment to a full patrol during training), and 2 x Sundays for First Aid and Advanced Resuscitation. 

Optional weekly swim training, surf skills and boards training are offered throughout the week.

Each Saturday training session will start at Tamarama SLSC or Bondi Beach at 8am (depending on conditions). 

There is a minimum attendance requirement, and missing more than one session will put you at risk of falling behind. Much of the assessment is team based and therefore if you’re not up to standard, you’d be putting the success of your colleagues at risk. Where a candidate has missed more than one week’s training, the Chief Instructor and Deputy Chief Instructors will make a case by case determination whether that candidate can complete the remainder of the course.

We will teach the skills, techniques and theory knowledge, but you will also need to revise and read the course manual. Expect to spend an hour or so reading the course manual between classes to revise. We will hold a couple of optional revision sessions nearer the assessment dates.

Tamarama has a very dedicated volunteer education team who give up a lot of their free time to train the courses, and we have a 100% pass rate. We’re confident that you will also pass if you apply yourself to the course.

What you will learn

•     Surf skills and awareness
•     Surf rescue skills
•     Emergency first aid and resuscitation
•     How to create a safer beach environment for our community 

Benefits

•     improve your general fitness
•     improve your surf swimming and board paddling
•     become a valued part of a friendly and supportive team
•     once qualified: use club equipment: racing boards, surf skis, surf boats, gym
•     once qualified: group training for surf swimming, rowing, surf skis.  
•     once qualified: compete in surf club carnivals.

Essential requirements

• The Bronze Medallion course is not a light undertaking and requires commitment, however we know you will find it rewarding and enjoyable.
• The course requires you to spend some of your own time during the week reading and revising the course materials, and working on your swimming and general fitness throughout.
• We cover a lot of classroom and practical material during the course and experience tells us you cannot miss more than one class or you will fall behind and risk not being able to sit the assessment. Before signing up, have a think about your ability to actively participate in the entire course

Ongoing Patrol Commitment

On successful completion of the course you will be allocated to a patrol and be on duty at the beach for one weekend morning or afternoon (4-5 hours) approximately every three weeks. The more members we have the lighter the patrol requirements will be. As a small club with limited training resources we prefer to train those who want to become part of our surf club and help patrol the beach for many seasons to come.

Fees

(2022/23 season fees - 2023/24 season fees under review and may differ)

The following fees include all training and materials for the Bronze Medallion or SRC course, patrol uniform, keys to the club.

Includes 2 Years of Membership Fees and uniform.

Tamarama is committed to gender diversity within our inclusive club. We offer a 2 for 1 deal to all groups of 2 women, and to any trans or non-binary folks and their friend. We are also offering all new members under 30 to take advantage of our student rate of $250.

* Full time student, pensioner or unemployed, please bring proof of concession with you. Parents or Guardians of Children who are Cadet Members or enrolled in Tamarama SLSC Nippers may access this concession rate.