What the Tuks Lifesaving Club lacks in numbers they certainly make up with guts and determination.
They are possible at the moment the smallest sports club at the University of Pretoria with only nine swimmers, but that does not prevent them from impacting internationally. In fact, nearly half of the club can boast with national colours.
Johan Lourens who won a gold medal at the South African Championships has been selected to represent South Africa at the World Lifesaving Championships in Australia.
Tové van Zyl, Deborah Dredge and Chrisna Venter represented a South African Development Team at the recent Orange Cup in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The South Africans finished third in the team competition.
During the competition the swimmers had to compete in the following six events; 200m obstacle swim, 50m manikin carry, 100m rescue medley, 100m manikin carry with fins, 100m manikin tow with fins and the 200m super lifesaver.
Van Zyl impressed by finishing second in the women’s 200m obstacle race. It requires a swimmer to swim under eight immersed obstacles.
Dredge was a member of the junior 4x50m obstacle-relay team that finished third. She also finished seventh in the manikin tow with fins. It entailed her to fix a rescue tube around a manikin floating at the surface edge and tow it to the finish.
A definite highlight for Tuks was finishing third in the team competition during the South African Championships.
Doing lifesaving is not just about competing. Annelie Lourens explained that each member is required to voluntary work for 20 hours a year as a lifeguard. They also have to be retested every year. That includes a theoretical as well as a practical test.
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