Mission Statement

The Free Lifesaving Society provides free survival swimming and lifesaving training materials via the Internet to lifesaving teams worldwide, especially in developing countries where they are needed most.

We turn non-swimmers into swimmers,
and swimmers into lifesavers.

What's News?

We're currently expanding our lesson plans to help teachers with their lifesaving and survival swimming classes.

You can spread these lesson plans over as many sessions as you like, depending on the ability and size of your class, and how much pool time you have.

Start each lesson with a warm-up and stretching. Finish with some exciting water games.

HM Coastguard Stations

Our management signed the National Petition to Save HM Coastguard Stations petition (signature #1820). We think it is silly to close most HM Coastguard stations and hope to run it all from just two stations. Please, add your signature to stop this nonsense. www.petitiononline.com/SHMCGS/

The work of the Free Lifesaving Society is done through the efforts of volunteers who develop relationships with appropriate organisations and leaders to provide services where they are needed. Please support our teams worldwide or start a local team. Get people involved.

Education Prevents Drownings

Drowning is a serious threat to world health. An estimated 400,000 people drown every year, often due to lack of water safety education. Population projections mean that the problem is going to get worse. About 80% of the casualties are men, so we especially focus on educating them.

Free Education Saves Lives

We’re motivated by our mission for openness, innovation and opportunity on the Internet, rather than politics or business concerns like the price of our training materials (guess what: they are all free).

The training materials are free to use for your lifesaving or swimming team. Learn proven training methods for survival swimming and lifesaving.

Some new concepts here may seem unusual at first, but give them a try and see what works for you and your team.

Sharing Knowledge

We share technical expertise and training programmes to help communities and countries reduce unnecessary loss of life through drowning, help to establish independent lifesaving teams, provide teaching assistance, and support the global exchange of free lifesaving information and resources.

As a non-profit public benefit organisation, we define success in terms of building communities and enriching people's lives. That is why we provide free training materials to teams worldwide. All content on this website is published under the Creative Commons License and is free for non-commercial use. This means you may use it in your training classes wherever you are.

Global Reach

Most lifesaving societies work regionally, raising funds through the sale of memberships, courses and training materials. However, most of this is way beyond the reach of lifesaving teams in developing countries. We use the power of the Internet to help teach lifesaving skills to everyone, everywhere.

The Free Lifesaving Society shares technical expertise and support programmes to help communities and countries reduce unnecessary loss of life through drowning. We establish and develop independent lifesaving teams, provide teaching assistance, and support the global exchange of free lifesaving information and resources.

Sponsorship and Funding - A Big Thank You

The Free Lifesaving Society is a non-profit organisation and doesn't charge membership fees or fees for online training resources. Funding comes from donations, sponsorships and advertising.

We wish to say "Thank you" to our sponsors and all those who have sent us their encouragement and support. Without you this web site might not have happened.

Leadership

Our leadership is organised by a worldwide collegium of equals, linked by the Internet. There is no boss. Decisions are made by consensus, not majority rule. We have an attitude of friendly acceptance, a way to resolve any problem and accomplish any goal through sharing, similar to the African "Ubuntu" philosophy.

No Governing Body

The Free Lifesaving Society is not a governing body that rules the way members and clubs have to work. There is no membership either, only links of cooperation. We believe in our independent team's ability to manage their own affairs. They use our free training materials, put it into practice and send us feedback. Everybody wins.

Support this Website - Your Help Could Save a Life

Our website gets better with your help. If there is anything you would like us to add to this site please let us know about it. Please send in any additions or amendments you have for this website. Imagine 100 hundred people send in just one good idea or contribution each, everyone gets 100 new ideas back. We all win, especially our teams in the developing world. Come on! You may help save someone's life.