The lifeguards who've swapped the South West for Australia as they compete in World Championships

West Country lifesavers head down under for World Championships
  • Watch Grace Pascoe's report


As the busy tourist season in the South West comes to an end for another year, some of the region's best lifeguards are heading down under - to compete in the Lifesaving World Championships.

The championships see athletes compete in a range of events in the pool, on the beach and, of course, in the sea.

Competitors complete sprint races, manikin carries, take part in staged mass rescues, surf races, board rescues and much more.

This year, 13 of those taking part are from Devon and Cornwall - including Woolacombe, Polzeath and Portreat. The biggest contingent is made up of eight athletes from Gyllyngvase Surf Lifesaving Club in Falmouth.

Club Chair Lois Leonard told ITV News it is a proud moment for the club.

“It speaks volumes to all the hard work and effort that everyone's put in," she said.

The athletes are an inspiration to Gylly’s youngest surf lifesavers like Ernest Rowe.

“I think it's really cool that people from our club get to experience going to a different part of the world and doing a competition," he said.

Gully Wilsher and Ernest and Stan Rowe hope to one day take part in the competition

Many of the athletes work as lifeguards when they are not competing.

Ashley Mann, the Open Team Manager for GB Surf Lifesaving Team says there are a huge amount of events.

“The beach events themselves - there's sprints, there's flags, in the ocean, the sea swimming.

"There's rescues and ski events and then the team events go alongside that as well and in the pool a number of individual events, obstacle events, manikin relays, it goes on and on".

Competing in Australia brings its own set of challenges, according to Nigel Bowden from Perranporth Surf Life Saving Club.

“The one thing that we can't get used to is there's no training after 4pm or 5pm because that's when the sharks feed.

"Up here on the Gold Coast, there's not that many of them. The last sighting on a swim beach was back in December, but Surf Lifesaving Australia have got eight helicopters out here just running the coast, checking for sharks - it's absolutely brilliant.

"We sit here in awe. You know, we've got some fantastic lifeguards in the UK, really good clubs. But the set up out here is just unbelievable.”

It's been a strong start for GB athletes at the Lifesaving World Championships.

The Youth GB team started their Beach and Ocean programme on Kurrawa beach on the Gold Coast.

GB Youth Captain Kiran Gammon from Woolacombe took Bronze in the Board Rescue event with team mate Jayden Beaumont, as well as Silver in the Oceanman Relay, with fellow Cornish athlete Terry Miller from Polzeath.

The Senior GB athletes started their programme in the Pool, with Gyllyngvase member Thomas Trebilcock, finishing 5th in the 200m obstacle race in which a new world record was set. Thomas followed this with a bronze medal in the 4 x 50m Obstacle relay event, with the GB team setting a new British record.

Day two sees the athletes completing their beach and pool programmes before switching over programmes for the following two days.