Swiftwater Rescue Technician Programmes
This accelerated training course is intended to give cost effective training for the outdoor professional who may be required to carry out rescues in a swiftwater environment.
The gold standard in this area is the swiftwater rescue technician programme which trains individuals to a high standard and allows them to operate alongside other agencies within an agreed protocol and enhances water safety.
The programme is run by Howie Crook who has extensive experience in water rescue having trained outdoor technicians, police, fire, paramedics, rnli and mountain rescue teams from across britain; he is also a qualified mountain instructor and kayak instructor/assessor with over 20 years of moving water experience, howie also sits on mountain rescue’s advisory panel for water rescue.
The programme is offered in an accelerated 3-day format, for those with prior experience of ropes and the outdoor environment, in this format costs are kept down over the standard 4 day programme; you will have some pre course work to complete. Participants receive a certificate of attendance.
Full ppe is provided for the programme including top of the range drysuits, helmets, rescue buoyancy aids , knifes and throwlines. You will need to provide boots with good grip and ankle support, fleece clothing to wear underneath a drysuit and a packed lunch each day.
The programmes is split between classroom and practical sessions, be prepared to get in the water, lots!
The course will cover:
- the principals of moving water rescue
- hydrology
- equipment searches
- medical considerations
- swiftwater swimming
- throwlines
- rope systems
- entrapments
- incident management
- shallow water crossings
Pre-requisites for attending this course
- confident swimming in moving water
- river / whitewater experience recommended
- proir throwline experience
- to be able to tie the following knots:
italian hitch, tape knot, alpine butterfly, figure 8 (single, on bight, rethreaded), larks foot, overhand, prusik, french prusik, klemheist, classic triple wrap prusik.
