Surf Talk Episode 3 - Community Programs
Surf Talk host, Ross Smith, is joined by VACSWIM instructor and West Beach SLSC member Marley Fairclough.
This week, they discuss the importance of SLSSA’s community programs, such as VACSWIM, Surf Babies and Rippers, in providing water safety education and lifesaving skills.
Marley also reveals how this knowledge and skillset allowed her to complete the rescue of a child at Point Sinclair in 2020. Her heroism and lifesaving efforts were recognised with Rescue of the Year at the 2020 SLSSA Awards of Excellence.
This episode is sponsored by FHTS - Firehouse Technologies.
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Ross Smith:
00:00-00:51
Hi, I'm Ross Smith and welcome to Surf Talk, Surf Lifesaving South Australia's podcast. Every fortnight we'll release a new episode of Surf Talk. This is episode three of 10. We'll be talking everything Surf Lifesaving South Australia, what we're about and what we do, and on the way we'll be interviewing some amazing people, from club members and their achievements to outstanding rescues and everything in between. Before we start, episode three is proudly sponsored by FHTS, one of South Australia's leading technology firms. You'll hear more about those guys a bit later in our episode. Our special guest today is Marley Fairclough. Marley has been involved with Surf Lifesaving for many years and certainly a champion of our community programs, with her skills transferred into a saving a life. I'll let Marley talk more about that later in the program. Hi Marley, welcome to Surf Talk.
Marley Fairclough:
00:51-00:55
Glad to be on the podcast with you today.
Ross Smith:
00:55-00:58
Thank you. Yeah. Now, where are we talking to you from today?
Marley Fairclough:
00:58-01:06
Today I am in Streaky Bay, actually, on the Eyre Peninsula. So just driven down from where I grew up, but I work down here during the week.
Ross Smith:
01:06-01:09
Nice, nice part of the world. Nice oysters over that way, isn't there?
Marley Fairclough:
01:09-01:12
Yeah, there are a few nice oysters, that's for sure.
Ross Smith:
01:12-01:21
Marley, look, I just want to have a chat about your involvement with Surf Lifesaving. So can you tell the listeners, you know, your story of what you've been involved with Surf Lifesaving?
Marley Fairclough:
01:21-02:43
Yeah, okay. I guess I've had a really unique entryway into Surf Lifesaving in various forms. I grew up in the far west coast of South Australia, so as far as you can go from Adelaide, pretty much. However, throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to be involved in surf through VACSWIM. When I started, I was five years old and went down to my local beach. And so Surf offered that as a program for many years. And you know, it's around in the summer holidays, so we go down, all the local community kids and are involved in that. When I was a little bit older, I seen that opportunity to be a instructor myself. And fortunately, Surf Lifesaving offer surf rescue programs to come to regional areas in South Australia. And so my mum taught aquatics and I seen that as an opportunity to go, all right, I'm going to do that as well. I think I started VACSWIM when I was about 12 or 13 in a volunteer role and progressed to be an instructor in charge. And I was thinking the other day, I went, well, if I was 12, I probably am a bit older now. I've definitely been involved in that for a fair chunk of my life.
Ross Smith:
02:43-02:48
You said the age of five, initially, you were involved with your mum and stuff. That's incredible.
Marley Fairclough:
02:48-03:36
Yeah. Basically in the Eyre Peninsula, you know, we have lots of different programs when it comes to swimming, but the VACSWIM definitely stands out out of all of them because it promotes surf safety. And we live on a coastline that we have a lot of dangers and factors in the water that we need to be aware of. And so it gives that opportunity for young people, but also families, because when Vaxwim runs, there's a lot of families that, you know, your parents, caregivers bring their kids down to the beach. And so that gives that opportunity for a range of different ages to be involved. And I guess that's sort of at the core of it all. It's all about everybody having those knowledges and skills around the water and around ocean safety.
Ross Smith:
03:36-03:45
It's absolutely vital. There's no doubt about that. But what are some of the, you know, the programs that you deliver? I know there's VACSWIM and there's surf babies. What are you involved in mainly?
Marley Fairclough:
03:45-04:33
I guess I've been involved in surf in various capacities. So I talk about VACSWIM because that was my entry point, but I've always wanted to be a teacher. And so when I was 17 and finished school, I moved to Adelaide and that was daunting in itself. But I had always had family friends around surf that were, you know, encouraging me when I moved to Adelaide to get involved. But I didn't really know what that meant, really, you know, coming from a regional town. I definitely knew what surf was, but I didn't. I'd seen it on TV in different, you know, surf sports capacities and, you know, we all know the red and yellow. But when I moved to Adelaide, I didn't realize how much of a community I would become involved with.
Ross Smith:
04:33-04:35
Big family. Yeah.
Marley Fairclough:
04:36-06:14
A big family, basically. So I went to Adelaide. And I had a family friend, Tony Dalton, who had always come over and run the surf rescue courses. And so I mentioned my mum earlier and how she taught aquatics. I would do the run, swim, run ever since I was a kid. And he basically told me, when you come to Adelaide and you want to do teaching, you've got to get a job in surf education. And I went, all right, well, that sounds good. Teaching kids on the beach, I'll definitely be involved in that. And so I started teaching surf ed. I met a lot of people and began working at Emanuel College teaching swimming. I'd always taught swimming in the pool setting, so I had my on-swim qualifications as well. So I started working there, met a range of people, and all of a sudden I joined the West Beach Surf Club. And it all sort of spiraled from there. I have, you know, so I've definitely competed in surf in various of the surf sports and been involved in that setting. But what my main sort of thing has always been working with Surf Lifesaving in that surf education role. And so I helped run the surf rescue courses for a number of years with Andrew Henry. So we go to lots of different areas around South Australia, regionally and remote. One that stands out to me is trips to the APY Lands, which is Aboriginal communities located in the top of South Australia. And people say, oh, you'd surf Lifesaving, go to the APY Lands. How on earth would you go? That's in the middle of the country.
Ross Smith:
06:14-06:28
Yeah, and I hear that too. It's like they've got the Rippers program for the river land. Water safety is water safety, isn't it? It's even indigenous communities have their swimming pools and their rivers and the like. So it's just as vital everywhere.
Marley Fairclough:
06:29-07:21
Water doesn't just extend to the ocean. Yeah, the APY Lands definitely stands out. We would go to communities and each community has their own pool. And so essentially our role is to deliver first aid fundamentally to not just the kids in the community, but teachers, community members. So we'd run the surf rescue courses, first aid, and then deliver the surf programs to the kids in the pool. I reflect on that greatly because where I grew up in the far west coast of South Australia, we have a largely predominantly Aboriginal community. And from all my life, I grew up, you know, going out to community and working in that setting as well. And we have a couple of communities where kids come and come to the ocean in aquatics, and they've never seen the seen the ocean before.
Ross Smith:
07:21-07:25
And just the excitement of that, just seeing.
Marley Fairclough:
07:25-07:27
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Ross Smith:
07:27-07:28
It's thrilling to be there, to be part of it.
Marley Fairclough:
07:28-07:38
Definitely. It's something that you don't realize how it affects you until you go, wow, you stand back and you go, we're actually doing something for a purpose. And it's, yeah.
Ross Smith:
07:39-08:26
Very powerful and very important purpose. I'm very passionate about water safety myself. I was a former paramedic for 20 years and unfortunately witnessed way too many drowning events. And you think that we can promote water safety, hence I'm now involved with Surf Lifesaving in this capacity. But yeah, the work you guys do is just it's fabulous. You know, it's the best skill that children can have. It's A, to save themselves, learn how to swim. And some of the first aid skills are just brilliant as well. They can take it home with them and amongst their friends. It's just the best. So the VACSWIM program, for some of the listeners that may not be aware, I mean, we've got club listeners and corporate listeners and members of the public. Tell us a bit about what a child, you expect a parent to, you know, tell a parent, what a child would expect to learn in that, in that setting.
Marley Fairclough:
08:27-09:14
Yeah, so I guess it ranges from the basics of water safety from a young age. So kids, well, fortunately in recent years, it's actually been below the ages of five that have been involved in that. And so not only water, like water awareness really at its core and being, feeling safe and comfortable in a, in a aquatic setting, you know, that can be really daunting. I think that is definitely the core. And then as those year levels progressed, obviously it's very swimming based, but, but mainly focused on water safety. And if things were to occur in a quick setting, how you go about that, how that plays out. Do you, you know, look at the, assess the dangers? How do you actually deal with the situation if it arises?
Ross Smith:
09:14-09:29
And I think you said before, you know, I mean, everyone needs water safety skills. Everyone needs first aid skills. You know, every child should know how to swim, but there's some more challenges. I think you briefly touched on it in a regional area, you know, you just, can you explain a bit more to our listeners a bit about the regional challenges you see?
Marley Fairclough:
09:30-10:23
Well, there's a variety of regional things, but I think because we are so remote and, you know, you think about our coastline, I mainly go between Port Lincoln on the far west coast and along from there further west. And within that area, there's, there's nothing really, if things were to go wrong and they have gone wrong and they do go wrong all the time, you're the only person there. You don't have that easy call up. You are the person that has to deal with that situation. And if you're in a setting where you have to help, it is a major challenge. And so it's you. Yeah, for that setting and that, you know, that reason, I think kids knowing from a young age how things can impact them and having the skills to be able to deal with that situation if it was to happen.
Ross Smith:
10:24-10:49
Well, the vital skills of water safety and as well, just simple things like saving a life, you know, how to stop bleeding, how to do CPR, all those things that, you know, particularly in a regional area, like your ambulance is not going to be right next to you, you know, like in a metropolitan area. So, yeah, such an important skill to have. And I always say it could be very challenging in fairly remote areas to stabilise someone and wait for that ambulance to arrive. You're it, you're saving their life.
Marley Fairclough:
10:49-10:50
Yeah, you are it.
Ross Smith:
10:50-10:51
You're absolutely it.
Marley Fairclough:
10:51-10:53
Yeah, very, very daunting if that has to happen.
Ross Smith:
10:53-11:09
Marley, we're about to take a short break and listen to a few words from our sponsors. And when we come back, I want to talk about that you were that person, that your skills and knowledge that you had to save someone's life in a remote area. It's a fascinating story. So listeners, please hang in there. We'll be back straight after this break from our sponsor.
Sponsor Message:
11:11-12:31
This episode of the Surf Lifesaving SA podcast is proudly brought to you by FHTS, one of South Australia's own and leading technology firms. FHTS develops innovative software solutions to solve real world business challenges using safe AI and data analytics. Whether it's about understanding your own data to make better decisions or enhancing operations with your own AI co-pilot, FHTS has the expertise to deliver. With an extended team of over 100 qualified engineers and consultants, FHTS track record includes successful collaborations with private and public sector clients globally, including notable projects like Morta AI. FHTS's team holds hundreds of certifications, ensuring the delivery of the highest quality solutions, no matter the complexity of the challenge. If a problem can be solved with software, FHTS will find a way. FHTS wants to be your long term partner and grow together with your business. Reach out today and discover how they can transform your business through great software. Visit them at www.fht.services for more information. FHTS, safe AI and data analytics.
Ross Smith:
12:32-12:41
Welcome back, Marley. Just a couple of other things. So what ages can get involved in your water safety program through Surf Lifesaving South Australia? Where do they start from? I think you touched on it before.
Marley Fairclough:
12:42-13:13
So it used to be five was the starting age. And in recent years, they've been able to change that funding to do those younger year levels and upwards to the age of 12. And they get lifelong skills. Their families get they get a chance to be out and down the beach and, you know, enjoying that summer. Most of the VACSWIM programs are running that first week of January, first couple of weeks of January. So a lot of families in their peninsula in particular will factor that around their annual holidays and that time.
Ross Smith:
13:13-13:17
Yeah. So holiday plus the children learn something really important.
Marley Fairclough:
13:17-13:18
Exactly, holiday with a purpose.
Ross Smith:
13:18-13:26
And it's not all just learning. It's a lot of fun, too. I mean, I've seen the VACSWIM program in place. I've had a look at them on the beach when they're there. And kids are just kicking it. They're loving it.
Marley Fairclough:
13:27-13:28
Yeah, they are, definitely.
Ross Smith:
13:28-13:34
Running around in the sand, swimming, it's well supervised, but they're just loving it, which is, you know, what a great environment to learn in.
Marley Fairclough:
13:34-13:36
Yeah, exactly. Very, very true.
Ross Smith:
13:36-14:05
So look, I talk about and I know there's been lots of amazing rescues through a whole range of Surf Lifesaving people around Australia. And we'll probably hopefully talk to some more in South Australia a bit later on in our podcast. But your skills of being a VACSWIM teacher, you had to put into action one day. Can you tell us a little bit about what happened? And I know that you, for that year, got Surf Lifesaving Rescue of the Year award, which was incredibly fantastic. What happened?
Marley Fairclough:
14:06-15:12
Yeah, OK, so it was a few years ago now and, you know, I reflect back on that particular day quite often. I was teaching with my instructors at the beach, which one happened to be my brother. We were just a normal day at the beach. I'd taught the older kids earlier that morning and then we went to, you know, have the younger year levels. And I was standing at the base of our local jetty where the program is ran, ironically talking about jetty safety. Standing at the base of the jetty, looking at the sign, essentially, that everyone sees and all the jetties around anywhere. And all of a sudden I heard just this screaming from the kids on the jetty and a bunch of the older ones, as kids do, were, you know, playing on the jetty. They'd had their lesson for the morning and it was free time. We've all been a kid before. That's just, that's the nature of play and kids. And unfortunately, one of the girls had fallen off of the jetty. And so the screaming came from the kids that were around trying to, you know, call out.
Ross Smith:
15:12-15:12
Yes.
Marley Fairclough:
15:12-18:36
For help and assistance. And so I immediately, with my other instructor, ran up the jetty and the kids were already in the water holding this girl up who had become unconscious in the water, which for one, it shows that they have the skills that they've learned in that program earlier in the day and jumped in the water and obviously performed spinal rescue. We were a hundred kilometers from the nearest town where the ambulance would be coming from. This particular day actually was the last day of the program. So we traditionally, for the last day of the program, all of the community, I live in a really small community, we come down to the beach and have the presentations, a morning tea celebration for finishing the Vaxman program. It's been a tradition for as long as I can remember. And so everybody in the community was down at the beach this particular day. I always reflect back on the fact that, yeah, I may have got this big award for this particular rescue, which, you know, that's amazing. But I also think and I go, well, all of the people who actually helped on that day and contributed on that day, that should never go unrecognized because in a situation where you're there and then you've got people around you that support you in every different way from ringing an ambulance through getting, you know, equipment on the beach, all of that, it flowed. And fortunately, this particular girl, she was OK and we were able to get her to emergency services as quick as we could. We had to put her in the back of a car and drive amid the ambulance halfway on the highway, which, you know, it's never just even thinking about that setting. You go, oh, geez, you can't even put it into words how stressful and for families. And, you know, that whole family had siblings and grandparents and parents involved in that. Yeah. But one of the things that I think about all the time when I think about that situation and in particular is how the kids responded, you know, like I'm trained in that situation. That was all of my training put into one little event. Yeah. But these kids who were able to react and respond, how they did and, you know, jumped immediately in the water, call for help, all of those things. They held this girl up for the time it took me and my instructor to get up to help and help in that situation. And after, you know, following, I think they really gauged the importance of the program, you know, like it's one thing to go to the beach and do the water safety program. It's all fun. But I think they really seen the value of it afterwards. And it was even a month or two, even longer after where I, you know, chat to some of the kids who were involved. And fortunately, they're kids I've known for my entire life. I've known them from, well, not my entire life, their entire life. Yeah. From when they were a kid to, you know, this particular girl has just finished and graduated her high school. So, you know, reflecting on that. But they asked so many questions about, so how do you do this and how do you do that afterwards? And I think that that's probably the value of, you know, horrible things.
Ross Smith:
18:36-19:28
Because I expect sometimes, Marelyy, that the kids do it and they go, yeah, you know, what's the reason for this? What's the purpose for this? And then it must have been such a scary moment for them, but incredible that they put their skills into action and above water. All the basic, simple things that make a difference to save a life. The outcome, like you said, she's now moved on and doing well. The outcome could be a lot worse if those children weren't there, didn't have the skill that you guys teach these skills to keep their head out of water and to immobilize that spine. That's just, it's just incredible. It really is an amazing story. Look, and I would say to anyone that's listening right now, any parent in particular, get involved, get down there and get your kids involved in VACSWIM or one of the water safety programs that SURF have, because, hey, you're the classic example of when that can come into play and when you may need those skills.
Marley Fairclough:
19:28-19:29
Yeah, exactly.
Ross Smith:
19:29-20:19
We're just about out of time, but look, thank you so much. What a wonderful story about your rescue. I'm sure a lot of listeners that haven't heard this will appreciate that story. So thank you, Marley, for it's been a pleasure talking to you and what amazing rescue and what amazing work you do. So thank you so much for that. Thank you, listeners. This is Surf Talk and our sponsor today is HFTS. You can find them at www.hft.services. And if you want to learn more about our community programs, you can call Surf Lifesaving on 83546900 or go to surflifesavingsa.com.au and click on water safety programs. So if you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and you get all episodes free. Please feel free to pass this podcast on to as many people as you know. So I'm Ross Smith. You've been listening to Surf Talk. Get inspired and get involved.