Mission Statement

The Free Lifesaving Society publishes free survival swimming and lifeguard training materials for teams worldwide, especially in developing countries where they are needed most.

Lifesaving is a skill to save lives on land or in water. Do not depend on others to save your loved ones. Learn Lifesaving Now!

This website provides free lesson support for your lifesaving classes and water safety training, read by over 120,000 unique visitors every month (January 2025). You may copy and share our content for educational use if you quote us with a backlink. For your classes, just print any pages as handouts. The design is mobile friendly, so you can use it in your lessons if you have a waterproof device.

Survival Swimming

Survival swimming comes before lifesaving skills. Learn this first, so you have the basic skills to stay alive in the water and not pose a danger to yourself or your team during aquatic activities. You'll be able to survive in water for a prolonged period, perform tasks and negotiate obstacles.

Survival swimming has been adapted for civilian use from tough military ROTC training. During lessons, you learn to be prepared for dangerous situations in open water. Training exercises simulate real emergencies and teach how to deal with them. This can be quite tough at times.

Are you going to save yourself so you can rescue someone else? Read more

Lifesaving Practice

Good lifesaving practice lets you perform an effective rescue and live to tell the story. It is a valuable community skills for everyone and more fun than swimming up and down.

Teaching lifesaving as a separate skill is outdated. It needs to become an integrated part of all aquatic sports.

Today most people are looking for fun, or extreme sports, where they can explore their limits. Lifesaving and survival swimming can offer this in a safe environment.

Let's keep lifesaving realistic. We bring you training materials that help you run exciting lifesaving lessons. Read more

Reader Question

Why do you fools swim in clothes? Isn't that dangerous?

Yes, it can be dangerous if you're not trained and fully prepared to handle this. In Japan, according to police statistics, ca. 80% of drowning victims (4 in 5) are fully clothed and couldn't cope with this when they accidentally fell into deep water. Lifesavers have to always be ready to rescue these people and may not have time to put on swimwear.

That's why we put such an emphasis on swimming in clothes and integrate it into our training to build confidence, strength, and endurance. We recommend that you and your team include this into your regular sessions to get everybody ready and able to cope. Besides, it adds a lot of fun to your lessons. Read more

If You See Someone in Trouble

1. Keep calm and think before you act.
2. Try to get help. Shout "HELP, HELP!" as loud as you can.
3. Reach out with a stick, a pole, a towel or clothing to pull the person to the edge of the water. Lie down and hold onto something to make sure you don't get pulled in.
4. If you can't reach the person and no-one comes when you shout for help, find the nearest telephone and ring 112 in Europe or 911 in USA.
5. Avoid jumping into the water yourself. This is only the last resort if you're fully trained.