Bronze Medallion

The Royal Life Saving Society Bronze Medallion is an award used extensively across the Commonwealth by our Member Branches.  The utilization of the award is one of the benefits of membership to the Royal Life Saving Society. 

The RLSS Bronze Medallion was initially introduced in the early to mid-1890s as the ‘proficiency medal’ which then became the ‘proficiency bronze medallion’ then in the early 1900s simply bronze medallion. 

Each branch has the autonomy to use the RLSS Bronze Medallion award and design a curriculum to suit its own demographics, environmental conditions, and national circumstances.   

The RLSS Bronze Medallion teaches how to respond in a variety of water rescue situations.  The focus is on developing water safety and rescue knowledge, water proficiency and swimming skills, physical fitness, and decision-making judgment skills.  

The RLSS Bronze Medallion is a personal performance award for the safety of self and others. This award is normally taken by members of the community, youth groups, and school students during secondary and post-secondary studies. 

The RLSS Bronze Medallion often provides foundation knowledge, skills and competencies for further studies and training for roles such as a lifeguard. 

The RLSS Bronze Medallion is in some jurisdictions used as a pre-requisite for entry to a vocation (i.e. qualification for employment) such as entry to a Police Force. 

RLSS recommends that those RLSS Members using the Bronze Medallion have as part their respective award curriculum the following minimum skills and competencies. 

  1. Knowledge of Aquatic Safety – Provide knowledge of aquatic environments, potential hazards and water safety principles, and measures to prevent injury in, on, or around the water. 
  1. Self-Rescue, Defences & Releases – 2a) Demonstrate the ability to survive an unexpected entry into the water.  2b) Demonstrate the ability to avoid and to release a grasp by a victim in the water. 
  1. Swimming Skills – Demonstrate 400m continuous swimming, in multiple strokes such as lifesaving kick on back or side, back crawl, breaststroke, and front crawl. 
  1. Resuscitation Skills for a Drowning Casualty – Demonstrate 5 cycles of CPR on an Adult, Child or Infant, for approximately 2 minutes. 
  1. First Aid Skills – Perform appropriate treatment for external bleeding, shock, and choking for Adult, Child, and Infant.  
  1. Rescue Skills – 6a) Perform a land-based rescue.  6b) Perform an assisted shallow water rescue of a casualty 5-10m from safety. 6c) Perform a deep-water rescue of an injured casualty 15-20m from safety. 
  1. Aquatic Emergency Response – Perform a rescue with two or more casualties using skills appropriate for the situation, and utilization of a second rescuer for assistance. 

RLSS has developed the RLSS Bronze Medallion Award Guide and a companion Instructor Handbook to assist those RLSS members who wish to introduce a RLSS Bronze Medallion. 

The Award Guide and Instructor Handbook are prepared to help Instructors, Teachers, Trainers, and Assessors to plan, teach, and evaluate lifesaving items. Member Branches can access the Bronze Medallion resources by logging into our Members area.