The Grey Medallion program is a Royal Life Saving water safety and lifesaving skills initiative for older adults. It aims to encourage a healthy, independent and active lifestyle through the development of essential skills in order to participate in aquatic recreation activities safely.
The LSV pilot project ‘Helping Older Adults Become Everyday Lifesavers’ was awarded Community State Winner at the 2015 Resilient Australia Awards.
About Grey Medallion
About Grey Medallion
The Grey Medallion is a practical program that provides adults with personal survival techniques, improved swimming skills, knowledge to deal with emergency situations and a thorough understanding of water safety, in order to reduce the likelihood of drowning. The program is inclusive of all abilities, including non-swimmers.
The four Grey Medallion modules are:
Water Safety Knowledge (theory)
Resuscitation and Emergency Care (theory and practical)
Aquatic Exercise (theory and practical)
Personal Survival and Lifesaving Skills (theory and practical)
Identify instructors and organise a Grey Medallion Instructor Workshop with LSV (see below).
Before each program, complete a LSV Grey Medallion Claim Form to register the program and order Grey Medallion resources & participant awards (see below).
Grey Medallion Instructors:
All instructors are required to complete a Grey Medallion Instructor Workshop (approx. 3 hours) to deliver the Grey Medallion program.
The instructor workshops are recognised by AUSTSWIM re-registration hours
The Grey Medallion program can be conducted by a combination of instructors including Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety, Aqua Aerobics instructors.
Instructors should be well versed with water safety, lifesaving, basic resuscitation, rescue skills and working with adults.
Resources & Participant Awards:
Resources available to assist in delivery of Grey Medallion include:
Instructor Workbook and PowerPoint presentation
Participant Workbook
Marketing materials
At the completion of the Grey Medallion, providers are required to reward their participants with:
A Certificate of Participation
A Medallette (pin)
Get involved - Find a Grey Medallion provider
Get involved – Find a Grey Medallion provider
Upcoming programs: None
Testimonials from past Grey Medallion participants:
“As a group we had lots of fun together. I experienced joy in the water, which I felt when I was many years younger. This makes me feel keen to start aquatic exercise (fun) again and continue doing it.”
“It was great to increase my knowledge and learn new skills. I have much greater confidence in my ability to help others in difficulty. The socialisation was fantastic, sorry the course ended.”
“The course was great, instructors were patient and understanding and well organised. Were aware of fears and other issues participants faced. I feel much more confident about being around water and learning new skills. We have certainly proved that ‘you are never too old to learn something new’.”
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