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Safety and Rescue Training

Safety and rescue skills are vital to any river user. An awareness of hazards and a 'paddling safe' approach will hopefully allow us to enjoy our river time without incident. On those occasions when things do not go as planned rescue skills prove vital.

The National White Water Centre has been leading the way in the provision of safety and rescue training, both for recreational paddlers and the emergency services, for a number of years. State of the art facilities, including a section of river specifically developed for safety and rescue training, combine with some of the most experienced trainers in the country to ensure that you receive relevant training regardless of your background or experience.

Courses include:

BCU White Water Safety & Rescue
Swiftwater Rescue Technician (SRT)

Training is offered all year round and technical equipment as well as PPE (drysuits, helmets, wetboots etc) are provided on all courses, there is a hire charge for the use of PPE on the White Water Safety & Rescue and the White Water Safety & Rescue Advanced courses (please see below for these charges).

BCU/ UKCC Safety & Rescue Training

Under the new BCU/UKCC coaching scheme there will be 2 different White Water Safety & Rescue Courses. One will look at Safety & Rescue skills and techniques needed for the new 4 Star Awards and the other will look at more advanced Safety & Rescue skills and techniques to support the new 5 Star Awards.

That does not mean that these courses are only relevant for those interested in coaching others. Safety and Rescue training is vital for all river runners. The techniques learnt on these courses could enable you to save a friend’s life on the river some day!

BCU White Water Safety & Rescue (Ran by Rescue 3 (UK))

This two day course is designed for white water paddlers who want to gain or improve their white water Safety and Rescue techniques. This course is suitable for both open boaters and kayakers and also fulfils the Safety and Rescue training requirements for the BCU/UKCC 4 Star Awards.

The course deals with incidents associated with white water kayaking and canoeing with an emphasis on simple, low technology solutions to common river emergencies.

Course content includes:

Boat-based rescues
Aggressive & defensive swimming
Throwline use
Harness use
Cinches, stoppers & entrapments

Drysuits, buoyancy aids (with chest harness), helmets and wetboots are available to hire from the centre, there is an additional cost of £12 INC VAT per person per day to hire these.

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	There are no pre-requisites for this course however you must be a minimum age of 16.	2 Days	10th - 11th March 14th - 15th April 2nd - 3rd June 4th - 5th August 3rd - 4th November	£170 EX VAT

BCU Advanced White Water Safety & Rescue (Ran by Rescue 3 (UK))

This course builds on the BCU White Water Safety & Rescue course, covering more advanced techniques. The new syllabus for this course will be available on the BCU website shortly, we envisage this to include the following:

Pins and entrapments
Steep bank access
Casualty transport and evacuation
Technical portage techniques

Drysuits, buoyancy aids (with chest harness), helmets and wetboots are available to hire from the centre, there is an additional cost of £12 INC VAT per person per day to hire these.

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	You must have completed a foundation WWS&R course. You must be a minimum age of 16	2 Days	TBC	TBC

If you wish to book a contacted course for any of the above then please contact the Rescue 3 (UK) office on; 01678 522035 or email:- info@rescue3.co.uk.

For more information on the new syllabus, please contact the BCU:

Website: www.bcu.org.uk
Tel: 0845 370 9500

Rescue 3 Courses

Rescue 3 International Inc. is a California based organisation that has been providing state-of-the-art courses in swiftwater, flood, rope and other technical rescues for many years. Rescue 3 (UK) is the UK and Irish agent for Rescue 3 International and is based at The National White Water Centre. We have been leading the way in the provision of safety and rescue training for river professionals and the emergency services in the UK since 1997.

Rescue 3 (UK) provides training from Awareness level through to Technician and Instructor qualifications plus specialist courses such as Swiftwater Rescue Boat Operator and Rescues from Vehicles in Water.

Details of the full range of these courses are available from Rescue 3 (UK):
Website: www.rescue3.co.uk
E-mail: info@rescue3.co.uk
Phone: 01678 522035

All Rescue 3 (UK) courses are internationally recognised and are valid for 3 years (awards can be re-validated by either re-attending the same course or progressing to the next level of training).

All personal protective equipment (drysuit, buoyancy aid, helmet & wet boots) will be provided on Rescue 3 (UK) courses.

All prices below are for non-residential courses, if you wish to book one of the below courses fully residential then please either visit our website; www.rescue3.co.uk or call the Rescue 3 (UK) office on; 01678 522035 for our prices. The accommodation will be in one of our local 3* hotels.

White Water Rescue Technician (WRT)

This three day course is specifically designed for the Outdoor Professional with existing river experience. The core course knowledge and skills is per the SRT 1 course but the emphasis is on white water river situations rather than swiftwater and flood rescue, as such the emphasis of the course is equipment light. Course content includes:

Foot & body entrapments
Vertical pins/unpinning boats
Defensive & aggressive swimming

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	There are no pre-requisites for this course however you must be at least 18 years of age.	3 Days	17th - 19th February 13th - 15th July 17th - 19th August	£375 EX VAT

Swiftwater Rescue Technician Unit 1 (SRT Unit 1)

This training course is designed for those who will be required to carry out rescues in a swiftwater environment – Raft Guides, Emergency Service personnel, Mountain Rescue Teams etc. The course is based on a philosophy of self-protection and application of low to high risk solutions.

Course content includes:

River hydrology & hazards
Rescue team organisation
Defensive & aggressive swimming techniques
Throwline rescues
Contact rescues
Tethered boat rescues
Rope based rescues

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	There are no pre-requisites. You must be at least 18 years of age.	4 Days	10th - 13th January 6th - 9th February 27th Feb - 1st March 26th - 29th March 14th - 17th May 11th - 14th June 9th - 12th July 1st - 4th October 5th - 8th November	£420 EX VAT

Swiftwater Rescue Technician Advanced

This course builds upon Unit 1 and covers the skills necessary to work in advanced conditions and to manage rescue teams in a swiftwater environment.

Course content includes:

Re-cap of SRT Unit 1 skills
Water rescues at night
Casualty care, handling & transport
Search techniques & management
Technical rope solutions for water rescue

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	You must have completed an SRT Unit 1 course in the last 3 years. You must be at least 18 years of age.	5 Days	13th - 17th February 17th - 21st September 3rd - 7th December	£505 EX VAT

Swiftwater Rescue Technician Level 1 Instructor

This is the first level of Instructor qualification and allows successful candidates to teach classes up to and including SRT Unit 1.

The process of qualifying as a Level 1 Instructor can be split into 3 phases; Pre-Requisite Acquisition, Training Course and Post Training Development. This 5 day assessed class covers the Training Course phase. Before attending this course candidates must have gained the necessary pre-requisites and at the end of the course they will be provided with an action plan which outlines their Post Training Development (this usually involves working/assisting on a number of courses to gain further experience).

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	You must have completed two SRT Unit 1 courses, one of which must be current. You must have completed one SRT Advanced course which must be current. You must be at least 18 years of age.	5 Days	20th - 24th August	£825 EX VAT

Rope Rescue Technician

This 5 day course covers the concepts and techniques required by small teams undertaking technical rope rescues. The course progresses from key concepts through to rigging and operating full systems, with one day focusing on highline rope systems.

Main content areas include:

Working at height regulations
Knots, technical gear, anchors & belays
Mechanical advantage systems
Ascending & descending and passing knots
High angle raising and lowering systems
Low & high angle litter management
Pick off rescues

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	There are no pre-requisites. It is recommended that you have prior experience working with ropes to gain the most from this course. You must be at least 18 years of age.	5 Days	21st - 25th May 24th - 28th September	£505 EX VAT

Swiftwater Rescue Boat Operator – 4 days including RYA Level 2 Powerboat Award

In addition to covering the skills required to helm powerboats in a Swiftwater environment this course builds upon skills already learnt in SRT Unit 1 and applies them to working from boats in swiftwater and floods. Days 1 & 2 will cover the RYA Powerboat Level 2 Award whilst days 3 & 4 will look at the application of bank-based rescue techniques from boats and motorboat handling in swiftwater conditions.

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Plas Menai, Bangor	You must have completed an SRT Unit 1 course in the last 3 years. You must be at least 18 years of age	4 Days	6th - 9th May 16th - 19th October	£1070 EX VAT (Fully - Residential)

Swiftwater Rescue Boat Operator – 3 days (students must already hold RYA Level 2 Powerboat Award)

In addition to covering the skills required to helm powerboats in a Swiftwater environment this course builds upon skills already learnt in SRT 1 and applies them to working form boats in swiftwater and floods. The course is 3 days duration for candidates who already hold a RYA Level 2 powerboat certificate. The first day of the course will be a powerboat operator refresher day in preparation for the rest of the course.

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Plas Menai, Bangor	You must have completed an SRT Unit 1 course in the last 3 years. You must hold an RYA Level 2 Powerboat award. You must be at least 18 years of age.	3 Days	17th - 19th September 2nd - 4th December	£820 EX VAT (Fully - Residential)

Rescues from Vehicles in Water

Rescues from vehicles in water are a growing hazard faced by UK emergency services. Whilst generic ‘Swiftwater Rescue Technician’ skills and techniques can be utilised for these rescues, current training does not provide realistic and specific exposure to these incidents.

The first UK practical ‘vehicle rescues workshop’ was run by Rescue 3 (UK) at the Watersafe 2004 Conference and with the success of this workshop, Rescue 3 (UK) and Water Wise have continued the development to produce a two day specialist course.

Course Content includes:

Theory input on in-water vehicle behaviour and hazard assessment
Hands-on practical exercises using in-water training vehicle
Night time vehicle rescue exercise

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Tees Barrage, near Middlesbrough	You must have completed an SRT Unit 1 course in the last 3 years. You must be at least 18 years of age.	2 Days	11th - 12th January 2nd - 3rd February 5th - 6th March 24th - 25th April 23rd- 24th May 17th - 18th September 16th - 17th October 18th - 19th December	£375 EX VAT

Management of Water and Flood Incidents

This 4 day course is designed to meet the need for incident commanders at water and flood incidents to have the underpinning knowledge and skills to successfully manage such operations. Whilst it is not envisaged that such managers will need to have the same level of technical knowledge and skills as specialist water rescue teams it is imperative that managers have a level of specific knowledge to be able to manage the event plus sufficient personal skills and experience to safely operate in the ‘warm’ zone at these incidents

Location	Pre-requisites	Duration	2012 dates	Cost
Bala/ Llangollen	There are no pre-requisites. You must be at least 18 years of age.	4 Days	20th - 23rd February 10th - 13th September	£850 EX VAT (Fully - Residential)