Rules & Regulations

The following is a listing of all lifesaving competition sports regulations.

Lifesaving World Championships & ILS Sanctioned Competitions

In the 2015 update of the ILS Competition Manual, the ILS Sport Commission separated content that addresses the Lifesaving World Championships specifically from content that addresses the rules, procedures and standards for lifesaving sport competition generally.

This resulted in two new publications: the Lifesaving World Championships Handbook and the ILS Competition Rule Book.

The 2015-2019 Edition Revised 2017 of the ILS Competition Rule Book governs ILS championships and ILS sanctioned competitions during this period of time. As necessary before the next edition, changes to or clarifications regarding rules, standards or procedures for ILS competition will be published as bulletins.

For ILS world championships, consult the 2018 Lifesaving World Championships Competition Handbook in conjunction with ILS Competition Rule Book and ILS Sport Commission 2018 Bulletin No. 1.

Bulletins

  • ILS Competition Rule Book Technical Bulletin #1, Q & A – April 12, 2016
  • ILS Competition Rule Book Technical Bulletin #2 – April 12, 2016
  • ILS Competition Manual – Technical Bulletin 2 – Manikin Carry – June 10, 2014
  • ILS Competition Manual – Technical Bulletin 1 – Manikin Carry – November 14, 2013

Records

Most member nations of ILS organise National Lifesaving Championships both pool and beach-surf events. Records can be set if the event organisers comply with the ILS Event Sanctioning rules.

Policies

  • ILS Swim Suit Policy: Dress of Competitors – Costumes, Dress and Style

World Games Rules

ILS publishes specially adapted rules for the World Games.

European Championships Rules

The competition rules of the European Region in ILS are very similar to the ILS Competition rules except for the elements that are typically linked to Regional conditions. The latest rulebook can also be found on the ILS-Europe website.