Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships provide a unique opportunity for international competition as well as development and mentoring opportunities for athletes, coaches, officials and managers. The Royal Life Saving Society has an ethos of development and seeks to foster development opportunities in all forums. The Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships are not solely about providing a world-class sporting event, but also features development initiatives to encourage greater engagement and participation of lifesaving organisations across the Commonwealth.
RLSS Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships are intended for bona fide lifesavers who have demonstrated a commitment to lifesaving – people who are lifesavers first, competitors second.
To mark the Centenary of the Royal Life Saving Society in 1991, a Commonwealth Lifesaving Championship was held in Coventry (UK). The following is a list of all Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships:
· Coventry (UK) 1991
· Dandenong (Australia) 1994
· Coventry (UK) 1996
· Eastbourne (UK) 2001
· Durban (South Africa) 2003
· Edmonton (Canada) 2009
· Durban (South Africa) 2011
· Durban (South Africa) 2017 [part of a Festival of Lifesaving]
· Leeds (UK) 2019 [part of a Festival of Lifesaving]
Since 2001, the RLSS Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships have been sanctioned by both the Commonwealth Games Federation and International Life Saving Federation (ILS).
The Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships consists of National Team and Development Team competitions. The HRH Prince Michael of Kent Salver is presented to the winning National Team and the John Long Trophy is presented to the winning Development Team. In addition to these trophies, the Langland Bay Cups are presented to the highest point scoring female and male at the Championships and the Mrs Henry Cup is presented to recognise an individual from a RLSS developing lifesaving sport branch.
