Hi all and welcome back to Ballito on the KZN north coast.

Our course work is almost over for good!! Just a few more assessments to go and we’re finished.

The Life Guarding course is all but done; with only a few more of the guys needing to complete the timed swim as well as the guys who opted for the upgraded course to do their final test on Monday.

For the assessment riders needs to demonstrate their skills and knowledge by being placed in a mock accident scenario. The assessor then watches to see how each rider handles the situation and what sort of treatment gets administered to the patient until help arrives. There are also a number of signals and protocols that get tested to ensure that each rider can communicate effectively with other lifeguards and rescue personnel.

On the surf coaching side, the guys have already finished the course work as well as their presentations, pre-course workbooks and written exam. All that’s left to do now is the final ABC lesson assessment.

The pre-course workbook aims to prepare each rider for the course by laying down some basic foundations so that everyone is on an equal footing when the course starts. The written exam is based on material covered in the course, while the presentation is a research topic that each rider needs to teach back to the class. Topics include, safety in surfing to types of wetsuits to board design and repair. Finally, the ABC assessment is where riders demonstrate their competency as a surf coach by performing a beginner lesson in front of an assessor.

With so much work on the go we’ve definitely been enjoying our off time! Yesterday we made our way down to Clayton’s factory for a coaching session with the man himself! He went over a slide presentation and gave our guys a more advanced lesson on surfing. He discussed power pockets in the wave as well as how the body works when performing various manoeuvres. It was really great lesson and one that got everyone very amped to get back on their boards and out into the surf.

Later in the afternoon we went go carting at Gateway. The competitive spirit was alive and kicking, not to mention the road rage! With some really close races we eventually got organised into a final where the drivers with the fastest times made it through. Holly showed all the boys by getting into the final races with one of the fastest lap times, but in the end it was Byron who drove off with the prize.

The next few days in SA are looking quite packed as we have Super 14 rugby, paintballing, the wavehouse and much, much more to look forward to.

So until next time…

Take care,
Bevan and Byron