Kian Gadsby
The benefits of sport are thoroughly documented and regularly recited. It plays a crucial role in our physical and mental health, while also teaching us skills that cannot be taught in a classroom, including leadership, accountability and respect.
However, few sports offered at the University of Nottingham teach skills that are relevant beyond the sporting arena quite like Lifesaving.
The Green and Gold have a team that competes in the British Universities Lifesaving Clubs’ Association (BULSCA) National Championships. Although the discipline’s status as a sport is hotly contested, the intensity and the rigour of the sport means it is not one to be underestimated.
In BULSCA competitions, teams compete in a variety of lifesaving categories, with participants expected to save lives on land and in water. The team trains three times a week, although the unpredictable nature of lifesaving makes preparations tricky as teams are never sure of what they will face. One championship might see them dragging weighted mannequins from the pool floor, while another would see them climbing over mock electrical wiring to treat a casualty while officials judge their every move.
After enjoying a record-breaking campaign last year, the UoN Lifesaving team are looking to build on their success when the 2025/26 season gets underway on 8th November, with the University of Nottingham hosting the opening competition.
As part of our Students’ Sporting Stories series, Impact caught up with Emma Divall, captain of the University of Nottingham’s lifesaving team, to find out about their preparation and ambitions ahead of the tournament.
Last season was a superb season for the Lifesaving team, as the Green and Gold obliterated a plethora of their previous records on their way to a fourth-place finish in the championship.
When asked about the successes of the year, Emma grinned, before proudly expressing that she was delighted with the performances and hoped that they could continue their momentum into the new season.
“The end of last season left us with nine new club records, so to say I am happy with our performance would be an absolute understatement, especially as it was many of our competitors’ first year of lifesaving. I would love to try to emulate the success of last year, so we can motivate our freshers to break some new records and keep our alumni humble.
“I’m so excited for comps to be back, Notts is definitely the best start to the season. We also have two freshers teams competing, so I really can’t wait to see how they go!”
Last season, Nottingham’s A Team started the season by finishing in 8th place in their home competition. That turned out to be their second-worst performance of the campaign, and, although they eventually recovered with higher finishes in the other competitions, their start to the season ultimately hindered their final standing.
A positive performance on home territory could be vital to ensuring improvement this year, and Emma is fully aware of the importance of starting the season strongly, stating, “A strong start at home is always ideal,” before explaining that performing well in this tournament will be crucial to inspiring new members of the team to continue competing.
“The main objective of the competition is to showcase competitive lifesaving for any new members. We also have a few alumni volunteering, so it’s important to show that they’ve left the club in good hands.”
Emma paused, thinking ahead to the tournament, before saying that she feels like the prospect of raucous home support and then celebrating victory afterwards would be amazing for team morale.
“The atmosphere of Notts competitions is always unmatched, and the social afterwards has always made that much better after successful results.”
“The support we have for each other is really admirable” – Lifesaving looking far beyond competition
Unlike most sports, there are other priorities for the Lifesaving society that go far beyond the competitive arena.
The club teach valuable skills that could genuinely make a difference in life-or-death situations, while they also train their members to help them receive the qualifications and certificates needed to progress in the discipline.
This aspect of the club creates a team spirit unlike most seen in the sporting environment, with the entire squad roaring each other on to succeed throughout competitions. Emma expressed that maintaining such a bond will be critical if the team is to succeed over the course of the year.
“Lifesaving is a very close-knit club, and the support we have for each other, whether on poolside or out of training, is really admirable. Not to be a total cliché, but I think that keeping up the incredible team spirit from last year would be one of our greatest accomplishments for the year ahead.”
With the first tournament of the BULSCA taking place at David Ross Sports Village on Saturday 8th November, the Green and Gold are bidding to get their season off to a perfect start and continue the momentum established with their success last year. More information on Lifesaving can be found on their Instagram page, as they provide updates throughout the season.
Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of UoN Lifesaving. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @uonlifesaving via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @uonlifesaving via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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