North Berwick SLSC

19/10/2026

Fundraising news!
We're excited to announce that North Berwick Surf Life Saving Club has been chosen as a cause for the Co-op's Local Community Fund.

Co-op members can help us receive a share of a £3.5m grand by choosing us as your local cause.

Not a member? No issues, just become a co-op member for £1 and choose us as a cause. You can do that on the Co-op App or website.

Link in the comments. The more people who choose us as their local cause, the more money we get to fund our training courses for young people.

30/08/2026

Last weekend 54 young people aged between 7 and 14 took part in our first SwimSafe sessions enjoying fantastic conditions on North Berwick's West Beach.

Our volunteers taught participants how to keep themselves safe on the beach and in the water through a variety of games, structured around Water Safety Scotland's water safety code:

1. Stop and Think, Spot the Dangers
2. Stay Together, Stay Close (Float)
3. In an Emergency, Call 999

Wetsuits were provided and participants left the sessions with a certificate, safety booklet, cloth badge and a brightly coloured swimming cap.

SwimSafe in North Berwick was made possible with assistance from East Lothian Council's countryside team, and volunteers from RNLI North Berwick Lifeboat, RNLI Lifeguards Scotland and Chill East Lothian. The sessions were funded by club funds.

SwimSafe will return in 2027.

📷: Tom Kerley

10/08/2026

Our Chair Matt is a crew member with RNLI North Berwick Lifeboat and the production team filmed one of our taster sessions last year as part of this episode.

We'll be watching next Tuesday to see if we can spot ourselves!

📺TV appearance alert ‼ BBC Two's Saving Lives At Sea returns on Tuesday 18 August, 8pm, and our volunteers Tom and Matt feature in the first episode!

Viewers will get a crew's eye view of the rescue of a capsized kayaker last July, along with rescues from Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat, RNLI Dungeness Lifeboat Station and Scarborough Lifeboat Station.

A strange quirk in BBC Two's Scottish programming means that you may not be able to watch us live on TV, but you can via BBC iPlayer, live or on demand.

Series 11 of the fantastically popular documentary series has 10 action packed episodes following our lifesaving volunteers as they tackle challenging rescue missions around the UK and Ireland.

Through onboard footage, interviews with crew members and those they’ve rescued, and narration from Steven Mackintosh, the show highlights the dangers posed by the sea and the incredible bravery of RNLI volunteers.

📷: Phil Broadhurst/Blast Films

Will you tune in?

20/06/2026

It's warming up again! When the weather is warm, more people enter the water. Do you know how to keep yourself safe?

Recent research has clearly demonstrated the link between rising air temperatures and an increase in accidental drownings, and sadly this was reflected during the last heatwave.

- The Royal Lifesaving Society has identified a correlation between periods of hot weather and increased drowning incidents.

- Research from Bournemouth University shows that when air temperatures reach 25°C or above, accidental drownings increase fivefold.

- Over half (57%) of those who drowned during these heatwave periods were swimming, rather than accidentally entering the water.

- Teenagers and young adults are disproportionately represented in these incidents.

If you find yourself struggling in the water; Float to Live.
👂Tilt your head back with ears submerged
🫁Relax and try to breathe normally
👋Move your hands and legs to help you stay afloat
🦵It's OK if your legs sink, we all float differently!
🙋🏽Once you're over the initial shock, call for help or swim to safety

If you see someone struggling at the coast:
📞 Phone 999 for the Coastguard
🗣️ Tell them to Float
🛟 Throw them something that floats – don’t go in.

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

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.