Post-Competition Report: Nottingham 2017

King Yee Cheung
Oct 31, 2017
4 min read

We waited 6 months for this... Fresher comp finally arrived! This was an important event in the BULSCA calendar, as it marked the start of the competitive season, and gave our newly recruited freshers a chance to try out some of the different events.

On Saturday 28th October, we took a bunch of lifesavers down to Nottingham. After a cramped minibus ride (driven very kindly by Michael) and some questionable song requests, we arrived at the University of Nottingham sports village.

The first events that took place were the SERCs. These tests lifesavers' ability to control a situation, whilst working together to treat and rescue all the casualties. Sheffield B team were out 10th, C team were out 13th, and after a long wait in isolation (roughly 4 hours), A team were out 26th out of 33 teams.

B team consisted of Elliot, Evan, Megan, and their captain, Michael. The dry SERC took place in some sort of pizzeria, with casualties ranging from having a heat stroke, to bleeds and unconscious non-breathing. With some good treatments and captaincy, the team came an impressive 4th out of 33!

Ellie, Imogen, Dimitris and captain Lucy made up C team, and Niall, Jonathan, King Yee and captain Ewan were in A team. After both teams unfortunately made the mistake of not pressing the button on the 999 phone call (even though communication devices are all simulated), they came 32nd and 30th in the dry SERC respectively. There is still a lot to work on for the next comp, so better luck next time guys!

The wet SERC took place in the University of Nottingham swimming pool (no imagination needed there) was generally more successful! B team came 13th, C team came 12th, and A team came an amazing 6th place. It was also fun to watch the rest of the teams complete the SERC, and seeing teammates cheer for one another.

Now on to the speeds events! A team was in the 3rd heat, whilst B and C were both in the 5th heat (a bit of friendly competition). 12m rope throw relay - you either love it or hate it. After weeks of practising, it was time to see whether we had all mastered the coiling and throwing techniques. A team managed to get 3 ropes out (placing 10th), and both B and C managed to get 2 ropes out each (placing joint 20th). This was still a big achievement and hopefully with time, we will all be more confident with our ropes.

The fourth event varies from comp to comp. This time round it was the 4x25m manikin relay. It may look easy, but them big manikins are extremely heavy when dragging through the water! A team was up first, clocking in a speedy time of 1:58.68, winning their heat as well as coming 10th overall. B and C teams were very consistent all the way, and managed to get a time of 2:06.66 and 2:17.66 respectively, coming 1st and 2nd in their heat, and 16th and 23rd overall. Well done to everyone, as you all managed to exceed everyone else in your heats!

The final, and most dreaded event... Swim & tow relay. By the time the swim & tow relays started, it was already around 6:30pm. We'd already endured a minibus ride, a long wait in isolation, the stress and pressure from the SERCs, AND the tiredness from the first two speeds events, we were definitely in no optimum physique to perform our best in this last event. However, we all gave it our best shots, and the hard work definitely did pay off! A team were neck and neck with Loughborough E team pretty much throughout the whole race, and after a tough last length of overtaking and maintaining a high speed, they eventually won the heat by just under 1 second! Their final time was 7:34.74, finishing 10th overall. Impressively, B team also won their heat with a steady time of 7:46.32 whilst finishing 16th out of 33. (C team time tbc).

And then that was it! All competition events completed! We headed to the social dressed as heroes and villains (featuring some very creative and convincing costumes), ate our burgers, and then patiently waited for the results.......

*Drumroll*

The fresher league was announced first, and out of 19 teams, our Sheffield B team came 2nd! They did really well, everyone was so proud of their hard work, and they had a shiny silver medal to show off too! Overall, C team came 21st, A team came 12th, and B team (smashing it again) came 8th. A really impressive performance from all competitors. It was tough as it was the first competition in 6 months, and everyone was relatively out of practice, however we all had an awesome time and that's all that matters.

A long night of partying awaited us (it seemed extra long, as the clocks went back one hour that night). Everybody busted a couple of moves, King Yee did a flawless Hoedown Throwdown, and we all took off our tops for the Baywatch theme tune too. As well as celebrating successful results, it was lovely to see all of the BULSCA family again and meeting new lifesavers from different universities.

At the end of the night, we retired to St. Mary's Church and slept in a long row on top of somebody's grave - certainly was quite an experience! (Fresher Evan was the first to snore). A stop off at McDonald's later, we were off, headed back home.

Last weekend was definitely one to remember. We hope all our freshers enjoyed it and are keen to come to more competitions! A special thank you to Michael, who drove us there and back (AND dropped us off at our doorsteps), our volunteer helpers, Rachel, Harith, and Bethan, the BULSCA officials, and the competition management committee who ensured that the day ran as smooth as possibly. Thank you for having us Nottingham!

Next stop: Bristol.