Gyllyngvase Surf Life Saving Club

Our Mission: Saving Lives and Serving our Community

Gyllyngvase Surf Life Saving club is a volunteer-run charity dedicated to promoting water safety around Falmouth and Cornwall. We are a friendly, diverse and inclusive club with a mission to train the lifeguards of the future and prevent drowning around our coastline.

• We offer important training and qualifications in water safety, rescue and first aid. 
• We support the local community by providing patrols, offering safety cover for local sea-based events, and by working as lifeguards on beaches around Cornwall. 
• We bring pride to our community by competing in lifesaving sport to the highest level locally, nationally and internationally.

What is Surf Life Saving?

Surf Life Saving originated in Australia over a century ago in response to drownings on local beaches. Lifeguards wanted to provide patrols, and support the skills, fitness and knowledge needed to work in this demanding job. It came to Cornwall in 1953 and has grown massively since then in both its sport and professional strands. At its core, Surf Life Saving is humanitarian; our members better themselves to promote the welfare of others.

Training the Lifeguards of the Future

We take great pride in training the next generation of lifeguards. We equip our members and others with the fitness, skills and confidence needed to save lives, respond to emergencies, and stay safe in the water. This includes building valuable life skills, such as communication, teamwork and leadership.

Excellence through Sport

We believe in the power of sport to build resilience, motivation and self-belief for our ~300 members. We offer over 15 hours a week of coached sessions in Sport surf lifesaving year round. From the ages of 7 to over 60, our clubbies are trained in physical fitness, skills and rescue techniques across a variety of exciting pool, beach and ocean events. Everyone is encouraged to compete at local, national, and international level, in a wide range of age groups. We are especially proud that many of our athletes represent Great Britain in World Championship competitions.

Our Community, Our Success

Our club is more than a place to train lifeguards and win medals; it’s a community where individuals form lasting connections and dedication to the cause. We believe in using our expertise to help others; in 2024 we provided 1700 hours of training and enabled over 800 individuals to safely take part in 11 ocean events. We run voluntary patrols on our local beach to when they're needed, like during COVID, in stormy conditions or on hot summers evenings when locals flock to the beach.

Our Goals for the Future

Since humble beginnings in 2007 we have grown and developed year on year; in 2023 we won the national "Super Club" award! We want to continue providing exciting and rewarding opportunities for our members and improving our provision of water safety to the Falmouth community and visitors in the following ways:

• Enable more people of all ages to train with us
• Continue to be a leader in lifeguard training in Cornwall
• Provide water safety outreach education to the community
• Provide enhanced patrols on local beaches
• Extend training and qualifications for our coaches
• Continue offering subsidised competition fees to members
• Refresh our training and safety equipment

How Your Donation Helps

Our club is run by volunteers, so all the funds we raise go directly to delivering our mission to promote water safety and save lives:

• Training and qualifications for our coaches
• Safety and rescue equipment
• Training and race equipment
• Inshore Rescue Boat costs
• Subsidised competition fees
• Pool and facilities hire
• Insurance

Get Involved

There are four simple ways you can help us achieve our goals:

• Donate some money. You can make a one-off donation on this page or make a pledge on one of our projects. Alternatively, you can run your own fundraiser for us – it’s very simple and you don’t need any bank details. 
• Spread the word. Share this page and our fundraiser projects on your social media and ask the world to back us! The more people we reach the more support we will get.
• Offer rewards. You can help by donating goods or services as raffle prizes or as rewards on our Crowdfunder projects. Alternatively, your business can provide goods or services that are useful to the club.
• Join us! You can join the club as a supporting member, coach, volunteer or to train. No previous experience necessary – just lots of enthusiasm!

Thank you for Your Support!

Thank you for taking time to learn about Gyllyngvase Surf Lifesaving club benefits its members and the local community. We are entirely volunteer-run and your support is huge motivation for us to keep providing our services. Thank you!

Contact Us: [email protected]