Rescue 2010 awarded to Great Britain
Surf Life Saving Great Britain (SLSGB) was awarded the Rescue 2010 World Lifesaving Championships which will be held in Newquay, Cornwall. This was decided during the Board of Directors Meeting in Portugal at the World Water Safety Conference (WWS2007).
SLSGB is an association of 7,000 members and supporters in more than 60 clubs that provide the rescue force of trained volunteers that safeguard the beaches of Britain’s 7,500 mile coast line.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has joined forces with SLSGB in the bid to host Rescue 2010 as part of the wider strategic partnership agreement between the two organisations to develop volunteer lifeguarding and surf life saving clubs. The RNLI is the biggest provider of paid lifeguards in the UK.
This will be only the second time that Britain will host for the championships. The first of the Rescue Championships organised by the ILS was held 13 years ago in 1994, hosted by Great Britain in Newquay and Cardiff. In that time, the event has grown in size from about 1000 athletes to about 6,000 athletes.
Rescue 2010 will be the largest international sporting event in competitor numbers in Great Britain before the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. An audience of over 40,000 is expected at the Championships plus several million through TV, radio, press and internet.
One of the unique aspects of the event is that both the pool and the beach events will be held at the same location. The athletes do not have to travel between events and the two week programme can be more efficiently coordinated. The picture shows an impression of a potential temporary 50m Olympic pool on the back of Newquay Fistral beach.
Programme
The two week programme will include the following championships:
- National Teams World Lifesaving Championships
- Interclub World Lifesaving Championships
- Masters World Lifesaving Championships
- Surf Boat World Championships
- Inshore Rescue Boat (IRB) World Championships
The opening ceremony will be held at the Eden Project, the celebrated venue for world class events including the Live 8 event “Africa Calling”.