Happy New Year

Ten of the best from the last decade
Everyone else is doing a retrospective so here's our one – email or text
anything we've missed

Scuba Santa. Hilarious, just hilarious, actually add in Blood Night. it was
never intended to be anything more than a once off, the people in need All
Night Swim, Sthoee Surf, BBQs, Eating Jellyfish, there's hundreds of these

Our Beach Hut, sure it changed the way we visited beaches but it allowed
for the increase in open water gear that was restricted by our ability to
carry kit on the roofs of cars. Its hard to think of a day before we had a
permanent base. Awesome.

DCU, the loss of St Paul's changed the face of Sthoee for the better. Good
job.

AEDs – In the early years of the decade we knew we wanted to do something
with AED. It was extraordinarily difficult to get access to the equipment
donated for use in Ireland, it transpired that this was deliberate but it
actually forced us into thinking bigger. Much bigger. The AED programme now
boasts the largest voluntary kit in Ireland with live AED, programmable
manikins, loads of trainers. Thousands have been trained both with Sthoee
AED and in support of Apache Pizza's programme.

The 2004 Tsunami. Seriously? After the horrific events of the 2004 tsunami
the team discussed the overwhelming devastation caused by the natural
disaster. Traditionally Sthoee has its "last Sunday" fundraiser every year
but we thought this needed something more. The massive donation made by the
club stretched us to the very edge of being broke but is considered by many
to be exactly what sthoee is all about. This also had a very unexpected and
positive side result that saved us a shedload of money and continues to do
so to this day. Speaking of …..

Levies: During this period we were pushed to the pin of our collar and
needed to reduce expenditure (cash flow issue for the accountants amongst
you)  - during our work we discovered we were paying charges on our Pool
Lifeguard Qualifications to an irish business over an above the IQL UK
rate. It transpired that this was a BMC member charging us per candidate
qualification. We never discovered what it was for nor did we get a refund,
discussion on the issue and requests for refund were blocked at local,
national and International level.  Needless to say we do not pay levies to
irish businesses for any of our voluntary activities any more.
We hope that one day no Irish member will have to pay charges on society
qualifications.

sthoee.com / blog: we've had a website for a very long time, the early
nineties to be exact , with over 100,000 visitors sthoee.com is when we
came of age online

Birthdays: All of them, favourite comment was at the 18th (Sthoee 18
celebrating 20 years of bad statistics!)

Protection: did you know we have issued over 500 face masks in the last
1000 days. staggering

The People: Thousands of people have been though Sthoee  some for a short
time, some for a very long time as swimmers, lifesavers, lifeguards,
supporters and as we have said year on year for nearly (over) 2 decades –
you know who you are, you know we appreciate it  - go raibh maith agaibh.


What's next? Check out the website in the new year  - we are going to be
busy

And with new years resolutions remember that the only thing you really need
to change is your socks. Often.

Happy new year to you and yours, the thousands of sthoee alumni and all our
friends everywhere, take care

Yes we are swimming tonight ! Back Jan 10th

From everyone here to everyone we met this year, everyone we swam
with, did courses with , trained with, assessed with, you name it.
Thanks !!

Have a peaceful safe & happy Christmas and a prosperous new year

From all the team @ sthoee

Seniors and staff

Drinks tonight from 8/9 market bar

Directions ;

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=53.347349,-6.25474&daddr=S+Great+Georges+St%2FR114+to:14+Fade+Street,+DUBLIN+2,+Co.+Dublin+City,+Ireland+(Market+Bar+%26+Tapas)&geocode=%3BFcbvLQMdcGig_w%3BFUTvLQMdImqg_yGCIexVvvlJMSlP4hGtnQ5nSDFwWeCmxrm6Ag&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=15&via=1&dirflg=d&sll=53.343925,-6.26035&sspn=0.018678,0.038495&ie=UTF8&z=15

Something under the Christmas , signed sealed delivered

Christmas, pool lifeguard, defibrillator and trainer assessor courses

Update

Staff training sunday 29th. Swim as normal

Advance notice

Special toyshow night planned this weekend

meep

Happy 18th live from the pool

500 helium baloons
1 40 foot screen
500 choc bars

It's our 18th

Thank you everyone for all your hard work

Thank you Thank you Thank you

Edit: November is birthday month. Anything can and will happen. This week we have received mails and texts from all around Ireland and the world from friends / members everywhere. If u r reading this & spent time with us in the last 18 years say hi by text /email - its all on Sthoee.com

Take a bow everyone. You deserve it.

People say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one.

Sthoee ¹⁸ - looks good written down

Birthday Month

Not Birthday Night
Birthday Month
18 Years To Celebrate
Takes Time

Open water @ 1 on the beach

Doing an exam ? Bring the same clothes as your bronze, long sleeved
shirt pullover trousers or skirt

Big full tide

(ab)normal service has been resumed

It's the first time we ate ten boxes of chocolates

We're back

We’re filling the pool, we've padded the couches - we're back Sept 6th

DCU Sundays are back from Sunday 6th August 2009 for Season 18 for all
existing members – as always if you are away we need to know to keep space.

We hope to do a lot of shuffling and free up some lane space for new
members late September -

No theory/ dry sessions until October unless arranged with your trainer

New Starts – will be available later in the month - we will have
application forms and the like available on-line this weekend. You can fill
out a priority application at the pool from Sunday.

Your new forms and swim passes are in the post this weekend

Pool Lifeguard
October 2009: Intensive course, Applications @ door

Swine Flu:
- Please leave any pigs at home, no pigs under any circumstances.
- Alcohol hand wipes etc are available throughout DCU and at all access
points. Special stocks have been purchased by Sthoee for theory
classes
- If you are not well please stay at home and take the time to get
better - we will hold your space just email us on
iamsick@sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com
- If a serious outbreak takes place and schools/ universities are
impacted we will update information on our
o blog @ Sthoee.com
o Website @ www. sthoee.com
o Our voicemail on 086 15 95 422
o By automatic return email - mail us @
dontpanic@sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com for an immediate response


FAQ Answers to frequently asked questions
1. No
2. Yes
3. Daft Dave /Monkey
4. Yes

Other Questions
If you have any questions on activities, awards, progress, just drop down
on Sundays. Remember our team are volunteers and already give two nights a
week up – we can be kinda slow responding to emails but we do go on Sundays
and we do go to open water swims - just drop down we don’t bite (except
Keith, we keep him on a lead)
Open Water Swims will continue into September

Swim Wednesday this week - postponed ! ! ! ! !

UPDATE 26/8/09 - Assesments and swim today Wednesday and tomorrow Thursday have been postponed due to a no swim notice in place on North Dublin Beaches - apologies for any inconvenience caused

Slight change to this week- we will be swimming this Wednesday at
seven on the beach - cancelled

Big powerboat event in howth this weekend if you are free

Swim confirmed thus thur 19 th at seven on claremont

Thursaday swim will be confirmed by 2 today :-)

"Sthoee swims this week thur @ 7 & Sat to be confirmed

You don't need a weatherman ........

... to know which way the wind blows

http://www.sthoee.com/lifeguardsdublin-html/beaufort.htm

read to the bottom ...... "How to end the argument ..........."

We are back ! on the beach Thursday @ 7

Good News is we are back home on the beach this Thursday at 7 - hope to see y'all there

Beach Lifeguards your time is getting close - make sure that you have your assessment dates

No swim Thursday 30/7/09

Due to the volume of no swim notices on Fingal County Councy Beaches following the heavy rain there is no Thursday swim this week.

:-(

update: the notice for Clarmont was lifted but not in time to get the team together for tonight - have a great bank holiday - see you all next week :-)

If you have internet access take up the time to set up your google account !

BEACH LIFEGUARDS : Please ensure you have spoken to your trainer about assessment dates - you are running out of time

Google a Lifeguard

Did you know that if you have a google account or gmail / google email address you can add our calendar to your account for free.

So what you ask?
for starters try out free texts to your mobile and emails of updates as and when they happen , if you are a tech the world is your oyster

the calendar is called www. sthoee.com and is available here

its free, its simple and it rocks

Thursday swim will be confirmed by lunchtime Wed

Live from the beach

Dramatic rescue on Dublin beach !!!!!

www.sthoee.com

Thursday Swim Change of Venue hole in the wall

how to get there : its listed as Burrow / Sutton / Hole in the wall on the Dublin beach guide

Sutton Station / Howth both 20 minute walk

more to follow

The moon does it

With all the moon landing celebrations we should point out just how important the moon is to us

It regulates the tides and gives us the magic rule of twelfths that makes it all predictable.

if you want to learn more about how it all sits together check out our website;

Learn why the moon is so important to tides


next swim Thursday @7 - watch this space as venue may change! ! ! !

Capsize drill

jedi got good and wet this evening- capsize drill is about as much fun
as you can have on a boat - in and out constantly boat flipped and
righted constantly

It's easier than it looks and tonight we had a virgin crew go from
belly up and wet to righted and dry in 26 seconds.

It will be a long time before we see that time broken, a very very
long time.

No sat swim this week . next swim Thur at seven, monster tide sat week - event planned !

Dublin emergency services sea swim 2009

So normally we have Rlss lifeguards and lifesavers on the beach

Today Coastguard, RNLI, Ambulance, Dublin fire brigade, Gardai,
Beaumont A&E, Airport police and fire pretty much anyone with a blue
polo shirt.

The event was moved to our home beach on Claremont for logistal
reasons. A great day had by all.

Never before have we had so much rescue on the beach and in the water
with perhaps the best start possible from Howth lifeguard

Well done to the organisers- it was an impressive event - pictues to
follow on www.Sthoee.com

Weekly update 6/7/09

Events:
Thur 9th 7pm Claremont
Sat 11th 1pm Claremont - big event
Sun 12th last Sunday in DCU 7.30
Thur 18th 7pm Claremont

All members welcome @ all swims

Live from the BBQ

Summer timetable

This week we move to summer schedule

Sunday swim for EVERYONE is at 7.30

Theory only for pre-exams and NBLQ

Beach BBQ Saturday July 4th

11am swim followed by BBQ - free for all members

The longest day

Beach Thursday @ 7

Lots of awards for bronze and beach now available ~ just ask

And spread the word July 4 morning swim and BBQ

Have a good week

Open water lifesaving in Dublin

Open water Lifesaving for all members, all summer long

Rookie Lifeguard : All ages - from snorkelling to swimming, from paddleboards to lifeguard equipment – the ultimate all rounder qualifications

Assistant Beach Lifesaver / Beach Lifeguard : For the young teens a great introduction to lifeguard skills with some serious swimming and skills work – a great fin qualification

Bronze Cross : The first formal Lifesaving qualification for lifesavers after their bronze medallion.

Silver Cross : our favourite lifesaving award – it follows directly on from the RLSS bronze medallion and BronzeCross

Beach Lifeguard : the total qualification for people who want to supervise safety on beaches

And if you don’t want a qualification, no problem, keep your lifesaving skills up to date and you can even update your logbook


All summer long –
June: Thursdays and occasional weekends
July: Thursdays and every weekend
August: We go mad, multiple weekday & Weekend swims
September: Thursdays and occasional weekends
October: Weather permitting

Join us: Back to the pool life saving September 2009
6/9/09 for existing swimmers
13/9/09 for new swimmers


Bring: A brightly coloured swimming cap, old runners or booties
Be Sun aware: Slip on a Shirt, Slap on a hat, Slop on sun block

Members can subscribe to sthoeetext by emailing your name & mobile number to sthoeeetxt@sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com or leaving it on the sign on sheet at the pool

You can find more information on our Irish Lifeguard website or Irish Lifeguard Blog
Dublin Lifeguard
Dublin Beach Information
Irish Jellyfish Information
Contact us


DYK: did you know #4; The Sthoee “Last Sunday” programme has been in place for nearly 20 years and has supported programmes as diverse as orphanages in Romania, Clean water programmes in Africa, drowning prevention programmes, famine and Tsunami relief. – last Sunday runs in July every year.

Live from the beach

Water safety and lifesaving sessions in glorious sunshine ......,

More soon

Quick update for Dublin Lifeguards

We are publishing advance dates on the blog -

June 15th looking for all members to attend a watersafety event for a large group = all members welcome

Open Water / Beach Lifeguard Training This Thursday @ 7 on Claremount (behind Howth DART station)

and we aim to do some work on the beach hut Wednesday at 7 - if you are free and can lend a hand it would be great !

#2 sthoee did you know?: boogie boards don't get kit numbers like the other gear - they are named after Santa's reindeer with one exception, Tow-B was a gift on the condition it was named after the mascot

links
Irish Lifeguard Information
Dublin Beaches Information & Directions

The Lifeguard Blog

Pool swim 6 June 2009

Open water swims this weekend ! Full programme starts here

Big Dublin beach lifeguard event Monday 15th - spare hands of all ages needed - info at the door

chill lanes: for school exam people - god knows you need it

# 1 did you know?: spare sun block is kept on top of the first aid kit on the beach

quick links
Dublin Beaches
The Lifeguard Website

It begins. 27 May 09

June Bank Holiday - It's summer in case you hadn't noticed

wooooooooooohooooooooooooo

its summer !

First things first -

Doing exams ? - Good luck, take a chill, spare lanes available during swims for chill time and when they are over we have a treat especially for you

Away for the summer or longer? - yup, ;-( , some of our friends are moving to foreign climates for short (and long) periods. Good luck, stay in touch, and you are always welcome back, we love you even if you are going into witness protection...

June Bank Holiday - no pool swim, with large events in Galway we may not make a weekend swim but stay in touch on the site anyway.

and if you are, like 90 % of the people visiting sthoee.com right now, looking for lifeguarded beaches check out the Dublin beach guide here or here .

Lifeguards are provided by local Authorities, normally weekends in June and full service in Juy and August but with tight times and reduced budgets this year there may be reduced service, check out
North County: fingalcoco.ie
City: dublincity.ie
South County: dlrcoco.ie

and everywhere else : click here

and remember

> take safety advice
> never swim alone
> learn how to help

thanks for stopping by

Sthoee Lifeguards Dublin

Dry gear access

Howdy

To make things a little easier we have new secure cages in place to
protect the lifeguard resuscitation gear

Trolley one: 14 adult mannekins,

Trolley two: box babies, box juniors, babies bag, juniors bags.
Skillmeter baby skillmeter junior, choking charlie and eataloteddi

Trolley three: resusci annes, trauma Anne, arms and legs, bandages,
training first aid kits, moulage, make up and blood

Trolley four: aed training kits, black aed bag,blue "course in a bag",
power reel, skeletor (Davy), blood night support kit.

The support trolleys remain in place but need no longer travel, a hand
trolley is now available for shifting gear to cars / off site

All gear must be signed in and out

And as always - wear it out!

Update: open water sat 23rd May 2pm

NBLQ early start, anyone on courses, interviews or exams just join us
after

M

Its summer.....

Astute eyes will have seen lifeguard huts leaving their winter home on the estuary this week and moving around the county to their summer homes. This weekend also sees a lot of interviews and Lifeguard training happening.

Beach Lifeguard course continues tonight in DCU and over the weekend on the beach

Open water swim will be confirmed as soon as details available - there was some confusion as to the day ! Will update the blog this evening or as soon as confirmed.

Some background work done on gear storage over the week - you will see changes to kit storage from this weekend - all improvements :-)

We are liklely looking to put together a team of swimmers to be in charge of gear week to week to make sure there is good access to the higher end gear (when was the last time you used one of the skillmeters ! )

If you are interested mention it Sunday all hands greatly appreciated

and sthoeetxt is back shortly - b in touch !

Sea fever

That does not look too bad does it?a little rain. a little cloud, a little sun.....

Weather impacts on all our activities and watching the news is not a strong enough source for info - so what do we use?

Well for a start we would be fans of Met Eireann - this gives us a definitive and accurate source of data. So looking for today we have some serious weather to contend with :-(

But there is more - as forcasting gets more acccurate we can predict the exact imppacts on the beach - given that we have a great big hill behind us wind can sometimes be sheltered when the rest of the city is in a mess. Three great sites that are used by members are magic seaweed, wind guru and accuweather. these are great because they give specific and time based weather predictions - want to know what the wind will be like at three - check out sutton/burrow on windguru and you get everything you need to know , water state check out magic seaweed, rain - well accuweather's hourly predictions are pretty much on the money.

so how bad is today - looking out over Barnageara strand now its not great and getting worse- predications for the afternoon are bad and getting worse. Thats laymans terms. the tech.....

Met Eireann: East to southeast gales today on Irish Coastal Waters from Malin Head to Carlingford Lough to Wicklow Head and the Irish Sea north of Anglesey will veer south to southeast. 2) Southeast gales this morning on Irish Coastal Waters from Wicklow Head to Hook Head to Valentia and the South Irish Sea will veer south to southwest and increase to strong gale force.
Issued at 05:00 on 16-May-2009. There is also a blight warning (so no fish OR chips)

Meteoalarm has us at a yellow warning (low to high- white, green, yellow, orange, red)

Gale warnings make swimming unlikely even though the wind may just favour us - but we will work on gear and find somewhere dry and warm for beach lifeguards. Don't cycle anywhere today - it may just be the day to keep numbers low

how bad is a gale? - check out the lifeguard site here


and check out Sea Fever: TG4 on May 16th 2009 at 6pm

> Urgent: all members

Hi All, - can you please circulate this message to all sthoee people (item 3 to old members too)

1. Open Water 2pm Claremount (gear check from 1 ish)
2. Beach Lifeguard from 2pm Claremount ( beach @sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com )
3. We are looking for any photos of the 40 yamaha that you might have from the launch of Jedi (or TowB) - mobile phone pics, people sitting on it - anything that has the engine in it - please text 0861595422 / email urgent@sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com as soon as you possibly can - now or tomorrow best

thanks

MC

> beach lifeguard course

Remember Keiths course starts this coming sat @ 2 pm

Open water for the rest of us too !!!!
>

> it's open water time

Open water Sunday @ 2

Call it a prequel , chill on the beach, maybe try a boat or two.
Spread the word

No Sunday night swim

Are rules of the road at sea the surf cross code?

Greetings from a busy weekend •

Teams working AED in Cork and beach lifeguard in Dublin as well as a
full pool session next week

Open water kicks off next weekend

(prize for best caption for the picture)

RLSS Bronze Medallion Update

Some changes for trainers !

With immediate effect there are some significant and positive changes to the bronze process !

> Trainer led assessment of the Bronze Medallion and Life Support Awards

> Renewal assessment option for Bronze Medallion candidates

These are intended to simplify the process for trainers and will be of great assistance to clubs where they have to pay charges to assessors (yes seriously that happens) there is also reduced rates for Bronze medallion renewals

& Trainers if you want personalised BM forms so you dont have to handwrite details just ask - no problem !

Some documents outlining the changes attached - make sure you read them before implementing !

RLSS Bronze Medallion Renewal Information

Bronze Medallion Trainer (TA) Led Assessment

and of course if you are just here because you want to do a bronze medallion - just email us on bronze (at) sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com

Easter

After one of the busiest weeks we have had for a while we are taking a
break for Easter.

One member spot free for nblq as of today

Have a great break

Back to the beach

Seasons change

We are back on the beach from today

Been a long winter and the beach shows it. Summer awaits

Sweet

St Paul's Re-opens

St Paul's College today confirmed that the former pool will reopen in July 2009.







Sthoee Lifeguards confirmed that they have booked two full days in July following the opening and will be returning twice weekly for the entire summer season.

Speaking in Dublin trainers noted the return to our beginnings and told local journalists that this will be a significant addition to the Clontarf area.




Members expressed delight with the news and looked forward to many beach lifeguard courses at the venue this summer

;-)

Beach Lifeguard : new course aplications from tonight

Newsflash!

next beach lifeguard starts April

Applications from tonight

Defibrillator Courses (AED)

We have increased availability on both Defibrillator (AED) courses
next weekend (sun afternoon/ Mon evening)

Both courses are open to members, familly, friends, local groups and
the public

For joining information:
TEXT: 0861595422
EMAIL: aed (at) sthoeelifeguardsdublin.com
WEB: www.sthoee.com

Lifeguard xtra: busy week; new beach and pool courses

Beach Lifeguard
Course starts this Saturday
Due to the phenomenal demand from members we are taking applications from Sunday for course 2 - that right bookings for the next beach course are this Sunday

Pool Lifeguard
Congratulations on everyone that passed this week. You wanted more and we say YES check out the noticeboard this Sunday

Lifeguard xtra
Continues Sunday @ 9 for all trainers, lifeguards and members that want to get some extra training in. Remember it's free and all you need to do to join is bring a bottle of water

AED / Defibrillator Courses
Next courses Sunday and Monday 5th and 6th April
These courses are OPEN ACCESS : non members can apply for places as can local sports groups interested in defibrillation, and remember sthoee can help you fund for a defibrillator in your local community centre, sports hall or scout den.

Dates for you diary! Remember lifeguard job apps this week!

St. Patricks Weekend

No Sunday Night Swim St Patrick's Weekend (15th)

Pool Lifeguard Course Swims Sat & Sun as per course times only

Next Pool lifeguard and balance of beach applications Sunday next.

Have a good break !

How tides work? its as simple as 1:2:3:3:2:1

When we hit spring senior members start looking at how the summer’s tides will affect us.

On the east coast the vast majority of beaches are greatly affected by tide with three notable exceptions Killiney Beach, 40 foot & Capstains Skerries, all of which you can get a swim on pretty much anytime. Claremount Beach in Howth is very tidal.

Knowing how tides work allow us to plan good timings for the boat launch, laying lines and anchors for buoys and plan training sessions for example you are more likely to run when the beach isn’t full of water, or more likely skim-board when the tide is at its lowest ebb on Claremount.

Everything you need to know about tides is contained in our tide section, take a look and see if you can answer the following three questions

How do I get the tide times for Dublin?
What does tidal height mean?
What is the rule of twelfths?

Dublin tide timetables available for all members at the door on Sunday.

Dates for your diary
Sat June 20th – DART run to the 40 foot to celebrate the end of exams
Sat June 27th – “Island Raid ‘09” when we take Ireland’s Eye for our own

This weekend the Dublin Beach Guide by sthoee.com will have its four thousandth visitor

BTW did u notice our new logo's first outing ? more soon

Social Circuit - spread the word

soiwantmybandtobefamousandwehaveasinglereleasedonsaturday@sthoelifeguardsdublin.com

or in Englisg sthoee's Seán Arthur & Conor Mckenna's band Social Circuithave a big weekend

Social Circuit are launching their first single this Saturday (21st) in Radio City.

€10 at the door or €8 for a ticket off a member. There are three support acts playing The Side Street Doormats, The Buck Mulligan Band,The Belafonts and the gig will be followed by apremixed Dj set by Eberhart.

Our single will be on sale for the first time that night. For further information and a preview of the single check out www.bebo.com/socialcircuit or www.myspace.com/socialcircuit.

Lifeguards - Just add water

Winter is nearly over and its time to build towards summer.





Extra swims for all members wanting to build fitness, improve skills and train for Lifeguard courses & jobs

Every Sunday from 9 , for all sthoee swimmers and volunteers .........

....... all you need to do is bring a bottle of water and a little enthusiasm

The rest is on us

x x x
sthoee

Australia Day : Sthoee, a year in the life.......

A year in the life

Through 2009 we are publishing information on Lifesaving internationally

To mark Australia Day on 26th January here's a link to our friends in RLSS Australia

Enjoy !

Dublin Lifeguard Courses

Firstly congratulations to everyone on an exceptional years awards as published in the RLSS Annual Report.

Winning the KMcC Trophy was well deserved and remember this does not include all the Pool, Beach and AED we did during the year, nor does it include all the public AED sessions we held all over the country.

In February we will be launching Lifeguard Lanes for members who are interested in picking up their times and skills ahead of the summer lifeguard Jobs.

Lifeguard Lanes are from 9 every week starting February 09 and will run alongside our lifeguard courses