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World Week 2017

King Yee Cheung
Oct 30, 2017
2 min read

World Week 2017 is coming to an end!

Lifesaving may be smaller than other university clubs but the sport is growing internationally, with lifesavers competing across the globe.

We have members who study abroad spreading their knowledge of lifesaving from Spain to New Zealand to Singapore! As a sport, lifesaving has the power to create friendships across the world - every year we welcome students from across the world into our club, each with different experiences of lifesaving sport and knowledge of first aid.

To mark the end of World Week, we've put together stories from 2 of our members, and what the #WeAreInternational campaign means to them. Arne, an incoming exchange student from Germany, and King Yee, a Sheffield student who last year studied in Singapore, share their experiences below - thank you both!

First up, we have King Yee. She is this year's Speeds Training Officer and Publicity Officer: "To me, We Are International is a very meaningful campaign. As someone who is from an ethnic minority background born and raised in Sheffield, I appreciate how important ethnic diversity is in all sorts of environments - whether it be in school, university, or in a sports team. Even though lifesaving is a lesser known sport, our club maintains to be very multicultural and is suitable for people of any level of experience. Our committee members put in extra efforts to ensure that all our club’s events (such as socials, training, and competitions) are all inclusive and accessible for all. Last year, I was lucky enough to have the chance to study abroad at the National University of Singapore. During my time in the lifesaving club there, I felt very comfortable with my new teammates, as they were all very welcoming and inviting. Not only that, I had such a fun time training with new people from different countries. It was then when I realised that ‘We Are International’ and ‘Sport For All’ are bigger than just Sport Sheffield campaigns. They are in fact crucial mottos to sports clubs and work forces all over the world. As a club, we are very proud to be supporting these campaigns, and celebrating the wonderful students we have here at our university."

Next is Arne talking about his experience with our club as an exchange student last year: "Lifesaving is - and has always been - a "team-thing". And the team you get to know in Sheffield is awesome. I have started doing lifesaving many years ago in Germany and when I came to Sheffield last year, I quickly made new friends. Besides usual swim training which is pretty similar to the German one, we often practiced so-called "SERCs" (Simulated Emergency Response Competition). Basically, you are confronted with an emergency and have to help and take care of various casualties. This hands-on dry training was new to me and taught me to not hesitate but act. Last but not least: the socials. Great thing. Do not miss! (Way more intense than in Germany) Lifesaving love, Arne"