A STUDENT at Leeds Trinity University will lead the English team at the Commonwealth Lifesaving Championship in South Africa this weekend.

Twenty-year-old Laura Purcell has been involved with lifesaving for seven years, as a participant and volunteer at Leeds Phoenix Life Saving Club. She trained to be a coach and in May 2017, was appointed England Coach by the Royal Life Saving Society, alongside Team Manager Matt Jagger.

She said: "Being an England coach is such an amazing, if not slightly scary, feeling, but it’s such a great opportunity and I’m so excited. My role involves selecting the teams, deciding who swims in which event, organising training camps, designing and securing funding for new team kit, supporting the trip and being in charge of the coaching in preparation for the competition itself."

Initially developed for lifeguards the sport has since grown into an international competitive swimming discipline, combining first aid skills with speed swimming. It tests fitness, rescue and first aid skills, as well as initiative and the ability to adapt and prioritise in different situations.

On Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12, the four teams from England -all with four competitors per team - will compete against national and development teams from all Commonwealth nations at the King’s Park Swimming Complex in Durban, South Africa. They will compete in six different team and individual events, and a team lifesaving challenge which includes a simulated emergency response event, resuscitation test and medley swim. Another Leeds Trinity University student Lucy Howes will be part of the Female National Team.

Laura said: "I feel honoured to be taking some of the best Lifesaving athletes from across the country to represent England, and I’m confident we’ll have a really successful championships. We have selected some excellent swimmers from across England, and we’re looking forward to the competition and hopefully bringing home some medals."