Post-competition report: Southampton

It's that time of year again - fresher comp!

The journey down to Southampton in the minibus (captained by Michael) began on Friday evening. Everything started smoothly - a Pop Tarts playlist was found, we managed not to get lost, we only got stuck between a wall and a car once, and we arrived in Southampton around 5 hours later. Things were looking good.

Saturday morning. After a good night's sleep on a Soton lifesaver's floor (thank you Charles), a quick stop off at Sainsbo's for pastries, and a long wait in isolation, 2016's freshers comp had begun.

Team #22 to attempt the SERCs was Sheffield B (freshers Lucy, Joe, and Arne, captained by Michael). In the dry, the teams put their first aid skills to the test and treated all the casualties, placing 13th overall and 5th of all the fresher teams!

Next was the wet - a trip down to the beach gone pretty badly, since there were four people drowning and one already underwater. Our freshers demonstrated some excellent rescues, Joe making excellent use of an inflatable beach ball and Arne going with the capsized canoe, whilst Lucy treated the guy with the bleeding arm masterfully. (Shoutout to the captain who temporarily forgot how umbrellas work.) B team placed 17th overall and 6th of the fresher teams. Really good job, B team!

Then it was A team's turn (captained by Helen). There was a speedy rescue with the beach ball by Jon, Ewan carried out some excellent bandaging, and there was an inventive attempt to rescue the locked swimmers with an oar as demonstrated by Niall. A last second attempt to send Jon out for the phone call was made by the captain, who threw the (not fake) car keys halfway down poolside (before they landed in the water). This all added some much needed drama to the SERC - top stuff, A team.

Next up, rope throw. An excellent attempt form A team led to them pulling in all four casualties and finishing in 3rd place. A valiant effort was made by B team, who pulled two of their casualties in. Good job, everyone!

Finally, obs. Both teams successfully completed the 50m swim (ft. some beautifully demonstrated dives) and managed not to swim over, through, or around the gates. With the competition now over, it was time to leave the pool and head for burgers and results.

Sheffield A managed to finish 7th in the A league, whilst our B team placed 8th out of the 20 fresher teams - a great effort from all. Congratulations to Nottingham, Bristol, and Birmingham who all medalled! It was great to see another big turnout at this year's first competition and to see all the new faces who've joined the sport this year. Yay for lifesaving!

Dancing, drinks, and the BULSCA tradition of the Baywatch theme with t-shirt swinging followed (of course), until we were all danced out and headed for our sleeping bags.

Sunday morning. After a brief stop for carbs and coffee at McDonald's we all piled into the minibus, followed signs for 'THE NORTH', and headed for home.

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Lessons learnt from Southampton:

1. Always check behind sofas for CPR manikins.

2. Practise throwing keys and opening umbrellas.

3. "Perfectly good canoes" are excellent rescue aids.

4. The M1 is really long.

This was the first time our fresher team had ever been to a BULSCA competition, so a massive well done goes to Lucy, Joe, and Arne! We're incredibly proud of how hard you've worked and how well you did at your first time competing. Looking forward to having you with us at future competitions!

Thank you to Southampton for a fun start to the BULSCA calendar! Now to start getting ready for Warwick ...

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