Surf/Windsurf/Lifesaving Professional Traineeship - Australia

Product Details

The essence of Australia beach life, this course combines serious professional training and a great surfing adventure. It leads to qualification as a surf instructor, surf lifesaver, windsurf instructor and rescue boat driver. A four week section of the traineeship is devoted to post-qualification instructor development, including teaching practice with a Sydney surf or windsurf company.

Three elements combine to create a great training adventure: fitness, training, surfing and lifesaving techniques. Physically demanding, you will train hard for the level of fitness required of a beach lifeguard.

It's not all hard work though, one week of the course is spent travelling north exploring the best breaks between Sydney and Byron Bay. On land you will be based just seconds away from one of Sydney’s famous surf beaches but if you want to dry off for a while, Sydneysiders enjoy non-stop entertainment and fantastic shopping (not to mention the hundreds of great bars and restaurants...)

Course content

The traineeship is a physically demanding programme and you will work hard to achieve the level of fitness required of a beach lifesaver. The fitness training is geared to getting you through the SLSA Bronze Medallion. During the assessment there is a run, swim, run test. This involves a 200 m beach run and a 200 m swim, out and back through the surf, followed by a further 200m run. This has to be completed in 8 minutes. This is a tough challenge but we have an excellent pass rate on this course.

Rescue techniques using board and tube, resuscitation, carrying techniques for spinal injuries, radio and flag communication, first aid and beach safety theory are some of the subjects you will cover.

Surfing itself is an excellent training regime and you will spend hours in the surf every day.

By the end of the six-week surf instructor/lifesaving section of the programme you will have good coaching and communication skills as well as a practical understanding of all the safety issues needed to operate effectively on a surf beach.

On receiving the SLSA lifesaving certificate, UK residents will be able to convert a Surfing Australia surf instructor qualification to its British equivalent, for use in Britain and Europe.

The six-week windsurf section follows the same programme as our Windsurf Instructor Basic Traineeship at Balmoral. The first two weeks provide intensive foundation training in windsurfing, including personal coaching, first aid and rescue boat driving. The second two-week period is devoted to on-water skills development. You windsurf every day, under the guidance of expert coaches who guarantee to improve your performance.

Next you move into a two-week period of instructor training. You will focus on the coaching skills needed to teach beginners and develop an imaginative approach to practical teaching, as well as all the underlying theory. We make sure you have time to learn and practise all the necessary techniques before being examined.

To gain your instructor qualification in windsurfing you will need to demonstrate RYA Intermediate Non-Planning windsurfing skills (Level 2-3), good communication techniques, an understanding of the training schemes, in-depth theory knowledge, group management ability, safety awareness and an effective coaching style.

Flying Fish training ensures you enter your instructor assessments expecting to pass.

Following one of your instructor assessments you undertake a period of professional development, where you consolidate your instructional skills on a three-strand programme. The first strand focuses on improving your performance on the water. As a newly-qualified instructor you will understand the importance of continuing personal development. We help you to achieve your best.

The second strand is supervised teaching practice. You will have experienced short periods of teaching practice before qualifying; now we give you the opportunity to plan and deliver complete training sessions. An experienced instructor is on hand for advice and assistance throughout.

The third strand is extra-curricular. We make sure there is time for other activities outside your student-contact periods.

You can choose a PADI dive course or go abseiling and canyoning in the Blue Mountains.

The traineeship is based at Balmoral and Manly. Your accommodation is at Manly, near one of Sydney's most famous surf beaches. One week of the course is spent on surfari, exploring the best breaks between Sydney and Byron Bay.