North Berwick SLSC

13/04/2026

We're excited to announce a taster session (25 April) for those aged 13-15 who are interested in the Graduate Lifeguard Programme that we are starting next month.

The GLP is targeted at 13-15 year olds and is a nominally 3 year programme training participants up to be fully fledged beach lifeguards by the age of 16.

You can view the planned training schedule, and sign up, on our website (nbslsc.org/training, click the google doc, link in comments).

GLP sessions will run roughly every two weeks, on a Saturday afternoon 1300-1500. This is due to trainer availability, we hope to train up some adult members as coaches this year, which will mean that we can increase the frequency of the sessions going forward.

More information will be shared at the session.

01/03/2026

The intrepid young swimmers at North Berwick Swimming Club recently took part in a sponsored distance swim. We've been told the coaches have calculated that between them, the swimmers swam 118.5km - with 27 each swimming 2km and 4 making it to 3km (120 lengths).

Not only that, but they've £1,832 for us here at NB SLSC. We'll put that towards some lighter boards for our Graduate Lifeguard sessions we are aiming to run this year for 13-15 year olds.

A huge thank you to the swimmers (and organisers) for their efforts, and for everyone who donated to support them.

09/02/2026

Some intrepid young swimmers at North Berwick Swimming Club are currently undertaking a sponsored distance swim to raise funds for us!

The swimmers taking part range in age from 7 to 15 years and will swim distances of between 500m to 3000m.

We'll be popping along in Wednesday to cheer them on. You can show you're support on their fundraising page here:

Help Harriet Mathie raise money to support NBSLSC

25/01/2026

🛒Shopping at Tesco North Berwick?
🔵Grab a blue token and vote for us in the Stronger Starts boxes as you leave.

We have been selected as one of three local causes to be awarded a grant of either £500, £1,000 or £1,500 in the Tesco Stronger Starts scheme.

The money will be put to use purchasing rescue and training equipment so that we can run Surf Life Saving GB's Graduate Lifeguard Programme this year, bringing the sport of Surf Life Saving to 13-15 year olds. It'll also help as we look to expand into a nipper programme later.

The 1st North Berwick Scout Group and Fidra Hockey team are also in the running, so if you're a regular visitor, share the love! 🔵

The scheme is open until the end of March.
Jessica Ennis-Hill sent this message to Matt, chair of NBSLSC.

30/12/2025

Planning a dook to welcome in the new year? Read on for our steps to DIP SAFE.

It's something of a Hogmanay tradition here in Scotland to welcome in the new year with a chilly dip into the sea. However if in doubt about the sea conditions, don't go out. There will always be another day for a safe and enjoyable swim.

If you’re entering the water, be it an organised event or just with friends, follow the below advice to DIP SAFE.

🇩 Do your checks
Check the weather (wind direction and strength), tides, sea conditions, water quality etc. Understand how the conditions will change and how they might impact you during and after your dip.

🇮 Immerse slowly
Walk in, splash your body, control your breathing.

🇵 People & Phone
Never dip alone, always carry a waterproofed phone. Brightly coloured swim caps and tow floats make you easily visible.

🇸 Stay within your depth
Sight your exit from the water, swim parallel to shore, get out before you get cold.

🇦 Aftercare
Bring warm, windproof clothes, and get into them quickly; your core body temperature continues to drop for around 30 minutes after immersion. Sipping a warm drink will help warm you up, but don’t jump straight into a hot shower.

🇫 Float to Live
If you get into difficulty, stay calm; tilt your head back, submerge ears, spread your arms & legs to float.

🇪 Emergency?
In any coastal emergency dial 999/112 and ask for the Coastguard.

More advice can be found on the RNLI website via the link in the comments.

17/10/2025

We ran our first taster session for young people this morning.

On a calm October morning the water may have been a fresh 12°C but the overwhelming feedback from our young people involved was "more time in the water next time please!".

We're planning to run some more sessions before the end of November. Please drop us a message if you're interested.

This way we can give people a taste of what they could get out of membership to the club as we head towards the start of the membership year in January.

A shout out to Richard from Dunbar Surf Life Saving Club who led us on some great fun games!

13/09/2025

Calling all 13-15 year olds!
We're launching Surf Life Saving GB's Graduate Lifeguard Programme!
(Okay we understand that most 13-15 year olds aren't on facebook these days, so please pass this on). Register your interest via 🔗 in comments

The Graduate Lifeguard Programme is a 3 year programme for 13 – 15 year olds, teaching and embedding not only lifeguard skills and techniques but important skills and attitudes that support future opportunities both in education and employment.

We've opened an "interest list" so that we can work out the logistics of the sessions.
Initially places on the programme will be limited to 12 due to volunteer numbers.
Places will be randomly assigned. If there are more than 12 interested, a wait list will then be created.

If you're an adult willing to volunteer your time to enable the programme to run, please get in touch ([email protected]), and spread the word!

30/08/2025

We recently completed a Surf Life Saving GB National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification for SLSC members across the south of the Firth of Forth including Dunbar Surf Life Saving Club, EUWSC - Edinburgh University Windsurf and Surf Club and Porty Surf Life Saving Club.

We couldn't have done it without the support of RNLI Lifeguards Scotland and the generous donation of CPR Manikins by North Sea Volunteer Lifeguards.

The Surf Life Saving community in this part of the country is growing into something great!

Want to get involved? Like the page, visit our website and keep your eyes peeled for information on the Graduate Lifeguard programme we intend to put out shortly, for young people aged 13-16.

More adult courses soon.

12/08/2025

On the 5th of August our Chair and Surf Life Saving GB trainer/assessor, Matt, took part in a community CPR awareness event at Fringe by the Sea.

Over 250 people came along, rolled up their sleeves, and learned lifesaving CPR along with how to use a defibrillator. 💪❤️

Volunteers from agencies including BASICS Scotland , Together in Health, North Berwick Community First Responders, Scottish Ambulance Service, RNLI North Berwick Lifeboat and others were present.

11/08/2025

Did you know that over 400 local Co-op members have supported us as part of the Co-op local community fund. Thank you!

This has helped us buy equipment to run our Surf Life Saving GB courses for adults, setting us up for being running the Graduate Lifeguard Programme for 13-16 year olds. More info on that soon!

In August the Co-op are boosting the funding with a prize draw!

Members choosing us as a cause, could win £500 for themselves, but they could win £5000 for us!

All you need to do is:
⬇️ download the Co-op App
📲 click the ‘Discover’ tab at the bottom
🎁 tap on Member Prizes
💳 scan your member card when you spend £5 in store

27/07/2025

🌊🛟 Another fantastic day in the water with some more members gaining their Surf Life Saving GB Tube Rescue and Rescue Board Paddler Awards!

This was especially special as Arran (first from left) and David (third from left), two of our trustees, were able to take part. After many hours of hard work over the last two years, they finally got to enjoy the results!

The momentum behind our plans is building with a National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Course starting on Thursday (31/7) and running throughout August.

We hope to soon be offering regular club training nights, and opening up a wait list for 13-16 year olds to take part in the Graduate Lifeguard Programme.

Hit the link in the comments to become a member, hearing about new developments first!