Q: How experienced are Fairhaven’s Instructors?
A: Fairhaven has a large group of instructors with a range of experiences.
Most of our instructors are senior lifesavers, with most of them fulfilling FALCON roles on our Patrol teams, and many of them holding advanced Lifesaving awards.
Many of our Instructors have attended State and National Leadership Development conferences and have many seasons of experience of instructing lifesaving programs.
The programmes have been developed with hours of input from our instruction team and State and National instruction leaders.
Q: Do I need prior experience to participate?
A: For the SRC, Bronze Medallion and First Aid courses, no prior experience is required and we are always encouraging those new to lifesaving to come and join these courses.
More advanced awards such as Advanced Resuscitation Techniques and the IRB awards build upon the skills learnt in the Bronze to further upskill members and lifesavers on the beach.
Q: Do I need to purchase a uniform before patrolling?
A: No. Fairhaven provides all necessary patrolling equipment. You will need bathers and appropriate beach clothing (we will provide a t-shirt). Whilst not compulsory, we highly recommend a wetsuit. When patrolling you will be expected to wear either Fairhaven or SLSA bathers, which are available from Fairhaven’s clothing range.
Q: What are the supervision arrangements for the candidates in the water?
A: In the water, Fairhaven always exceeds the minimum guidelines for safe management of candidates in terms of safe instructor:candidate ratios.
Fairhaven will always ensure senior experienced lifesavers are present in the water and on the beach to manage all candidates and water safety.
Fairhaven will not put candidates into unsafe surf conditions.
Q: What accommodation options are available for Fairhaven’s squads?
A: For the Pre-Christmas squad, accommodation will be provided at the Bunkhouse and at Angahook Holiday Camp. For all other squads, accommodation is the responsibility of the candidate.