Three Northern Territory surf lifesavers have been selected by Surf Life Saving Australia to deliver lifeguard training in Vietnam.
Darwin SLSC volunteers Jo Gardiner, Sherie Tracey and Sam Creek travelled to Vietnam on Thursday 6 April.
The programme made possible by the Australian Consulate Generalâ„¢s Public Diplomacy and Cultural Relations Programme in Vietnam is aimed to improve the skills of some 30 Vietnamese trainees on the beach at the southern Vung Tau resort city.
Three Northern Territory surf lifesavers have been selected by Surf Life Saving Australia to deliver lifeguard training in Vietnam.
Darwin SLSC volunteers Jo Gardiner, Sherie Tracey and Sam Creek travelled to Vietnam on Thursday 6 April.
The programme made possible by the Australian Consulate General’s Public Diplomacy and Cultural Relations Programme in Vietnam is aimed to improve the skills of some 30 Vietnamese trainees on the beach at the southern Vung Tau resort city.
Jo Gardiner, a volunteer surf lifesaver with more than 15 years experience in Darwin and Victoria says she is honoured to be flying the Australian and the red and yellow flags in Vietnam. Ms Gardiner says “along with helping the local lifeguards with internationally recognised best practice lifesaving skills to assist in saving lives, we will be helping local authorities of Ba Ria Vung Tau province with a plan to increase their capacity for ongoing training and development of their beach safety and emergency services.”
The three Darwin-based lifesavers have all been members of Northern Territory teams competing in past Arafura Games International Lifesaving events and hope to encourage Vietnam Lifesavers to travel to Darwin to compete in the 2007 Arafura Games.
The training ran over three days and concluded with an award presentation ceremony for successful trainees and a rescue demonstration on the opening day of Ba Ria Vung Tau Beach Festival on April 11, 2006.
The project is part of the Australian Consulate General’s Public Diplomacy and Cultural Relations Programme. The collaborative exercise involves the Ba Ria Vung Tau Department of Tourism, Surf Life Saving Australia and the Australian Consulate General.