Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Lifeguards in Action at The Games
20 September 2022
You cannot fail to have been inspired by the Commonwealth Games that was hosted in Birmingham over the summer. It was particularly exciting for swimming teacher Mrs Hayward and a group of our pupils who all played an important part in the sporting event, acting in an official capacity as Lifeguards for the Games.
Back in April, Mrs Hayward received a telephone call from Miss Roye asking if EHS could provide lifeguards for the ‘Prep the Pool’ event prior to the Commonwealth Games. Miss Roye’s husband was the contractor who built the pool at the Sandwell Aquatic Centre, which was to be the official home of all Commonwealth Aquatics events.
Another telephone call, this time from the Games Organising Committee, led to an exciting journey for Edgbaston High School’s lifeguards.
Along with a number of other volunteer lifeguards, our lifeguards, Isabel Jones, Marie-Eve Kavanagh, Georgina Day, Diya Hanji, Afia Malik and Charlotte Meek, went along to the Competency session and were delighted to pass their assessments and 5 metre depth test with flying colours. This led to a formal invitation from the organisers and the girls were thrilled to be a part of the official Prep the Pool event in May.
Several weeks later, Mrs Hayward was contacted by Swim Safety, lifeguard providers for the Commonwealth Games. After some assessments and interviews, both her and the girls were invited onto the official lifeguarding team, the girls lifeguarding and myself as Lifeguard Supervisor. Over the duration of the Games, there were 60 lifeguards on a rotation, for four weeks in total.
Mrs Hayward said: “We had an absolutely amazing experience and I am sure the girls would agree with me! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch such a high level of swimming and diving from poolside: the atmosphere was incredible, whether it was a heats session or finals. All our lifeguards did themselves and EHS proud, and we have some amazing memories of summer 2022.”
LIfeguarding the Common Wealth Games
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