The European Branch of ILS and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) -Blue Flag Campaign “ agreed a common approach to the Beach Management Criteria in conjunction with the Blue Flag. The ILSE Rescue Commission has developed a strategic system, a standardisation of risk assessment, which will make a significant contribution to the safety at European bathing areas.

The European Branch of ILS and the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) -Blue Flag Campaign ” agreed a common approach to the Beach Management Criteria in conjunction with the Blue Flag. The ILSE Rescue Commission has developed a strategic system, a standardisation of risk assessment, which will make a significant contribution to the safety at European bathing areas.

The organisation shall be in the hand of ILSE, carried out by qualified members of the National Federations. The Risk Assessment shall be tested at several European beaches for the first time in 2005 and shall come into force in 2006.

A special training course was organised in the DLRG Training School in Bad Nenndorf/Germany from 25 to 27 June 2004. 13 ILSE Member Federations from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain (SLSA), Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and RLSS (United Kingdom) have sent their experts. The course was run by the members of the ILSE Rescue Commission Brian Sims (RLSS UK), Danny Bryant (SLSA GB) and Ortwin Kreft (DLRG) as well as Peter Franz and Thomas Rippel (both from the DLRG). We now have in Europe 38 qualified national Risk Assessors. Other training courses for interested Member Federations shall follow in the next year.

(Author: Dr. Klaus Wilkens)