The weekend of the 13th and 14th October 2018 saw South Worcester Flood Rescue Unit attend Cardiff International White Water Centre to complete their Swift Water Rescue Technicians course. The course was run by SLSGB Flood instructors and was funded via a grant from the Big Lottery Awards for All Fund.
During the weekend the candidates received a classroom input in the morning followed by practising their skills in the lagoon area, before in the afternoon moving into the Swiftwater with the velocity being increased as they progressed through the required skills.
In addition to the South Worcester team there were members of Lancaster Area Search and Rescue and the Devon Flood teams in attendance, which gave everyone the opportunity to train with each other and get used to that all important interoperability.
As a result of the weekend, we have three newly qualified technicians, Joe Waldron, Jamie Rowlands and Chris Fowler who we would like to say a huge congratulations to and welcome to the team. In addition six other team members renewed their qualification and one other completed their required annual swift water assessment.
In addition to the candidates being put through their paces, two of the instructors Abbi and Alex, continued being assessed as part of their instructor continued professional development.
Thanks to Adrian Mayhew, Adam Milne, Abbi Jones, Alex Bowden, Dave Wilson (York Rescue Boat) and Nigel Bowden (Cornwall) for running the course. Thanks also to the staff at CIWW in particular Chris and Eddy.
