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The Lifesaving Foundation Collection: Welcome

Print and electronic resources for The Lifesaving Foundation Collection

'Open Water Swimming in the Mix' - Webinar 17th June

Adrian Mayhew, Director of National Operations & Safety Surf Life Saving GB will deliver a webinar at 7.30pm BST on Tuesday 17th June titled 'OPEN WATER SWIMMING IN THE MIX'. Attendance is free for Foundation members and €10 for non-members. For further information please visit www.eventbrite.ie

Adrian Mayhew has 20 years in the Fire & Rescue Service and has served as an officer in Fire along with completing a six year secondment to National Resilience running an Urban Search and Rescue Team. Whilst serving, he was part of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) working group that was tasked to improve water safety to the rescue service after a firefighter lost his life in an incident in 1996. This led to the development of the National Flood Rescue standards now set by DEFRA Concept of Operations for Flood Rescue through the Flood Rescue National Enhancement Project.
Since then on behalf of CFOA he has been the lead in running water/flood rescue master classes with the colleagues in the USA from North Carolina Emergency Management and Charlotte Fire Department since 2004. In 2009 Adrian was part of the organising team (UK) that brought the biggest non- operational flood disaster exercise which brought 5 nations together to examine the preparedness for Europe at a coastal inundation flood event (FloodEx09). 
Operationally Adrian has attended nearly all the major flood disaster vents in the UK whilst both in the Fire Service and as part of the management team for Surf Life Saving GB.  In the 2007 floods, the biggest operational event in the UK for over 80 years, over 7000 lives were either saved or evacuated. 
Now the National Director of Operations for the charity Surf Life Saving GB. The charity provides the national and international standards for lifeguards, inshore rescue boat. Along with training flood rescue teams to provide 24/7 service for the UK in times of national or regional disaster. Recently Adrian has supported with the development of Australia’s flood rescue services in Tasmania with both training and national policy and has supported South Africa and Portugal with early flood disaster preparedness. 
Adrian has diplomas in search management and technical rescue and has been formally acknowledged for his contribution towards national water safety by the HM Government in 2008.

A frequent lecturer for the University of Leicester's Diploma in Mountain medicine covering drowning and water survival, and regularly works with Portsmouth University on studies that include the new  publications such as Float to Live, Minimising Risk on Cold Water Therapy and also for flood responders ,the thermodynamics and energy consumption during hot and cold climates which he has presented findings to both the World Occupational Physical Standards Conference in 2018 and the first International Flood Research Conference in Portsmouth. 

International speaker at Flood/SAR Conferences in the UK, Europe,  USA and Australia, along with supporting the International Life Saving Federations WDPC in such subjects.

Adrian sits as an advisor to the UK National Water Safety Forum, International Lifesaving Federation Rescue Committee and ILSE  Civil Protection & Disaster Committee, and finally a committee member of the United Kingdom Search & Rescue Operators Group and Medical Group. 

Water Competence Webinar - Recording Now Available

The Lifesaving Foundation hosted a very special webinar on Wednesday 14th May in conjunction with SETU on the areas of 'Water Competence'. 

"Tradition and expert opinion are no longer enough. Science can now help us select essential competencies."

Stallman, Robert Keig; Moran, Kevin Dr; Quan, Linda; and Langendorfer, Stephen (2017) "From Swimming Skill to Water Competence: Towards a More Inclusive Drowning Prevention Future," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 10: No. 2, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25035/ijare.10.02.03
Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol10/iss2/3

This webinar was hosted both to honour the wonderful work of our Ireland Medal Recipient and to celebrate the value of research, to a global online audience.

Online Public Lecture by Erik Abrahamsson - Swedish anthropologist, writer, and photographer

Waves of being : a phenomenological journey with the Bajau Laut An online Lecture by Erik Abrahamsson, Swedish anthropologist, writer, and photographer

Wednesday 2nd April 2025, starting at 9.15am

Please email kieran.cronin@setu.ie to reserve your place and receive your link to the webinar.

Presentation Overview:

The presentation will focus on the Bajau Laut, often referred to as the “people of the sea,” living in Southeast Asia. Erik Abrahamsson will discuss their lifestyle, a bit about their history, and their deep connection to water. He will explore both their cultural and physiological connection to the sea, emphasizing how their lived experience shapes this bond. This includes how they embody the concept of "blue mind," which refers to the meditative, calming state that being in or near water evokes, fostering resilience and a unique relationship with their environment. This connection influences their daily lives, their approach to the sea, and even their ability to stay relaxed in the water—an essential aspect of drowning prevention. Additionally, the lecture will touch on the present challenges they face, as well as discuss the aquatic ape hypothesis, linking their way of life to broader evolutionary perspectives.

 

Short Bio: 

My name is Erik Abrahamsson—a Swedish anthropologist, writer, and photographer with a focus on indigenous cultures, maritime lifestyles, and human evolution. Since 2010, I have been studying the sea nomads Bajau Laut in Southeast Asia and have lived with them for extended periods in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. My fieldwork has resulted in academic papers, several articles, radio programs, and photo exhibitions about the Bajau Laut—“The People of the Sea.” I am particularly interested in the intersection of their cultural and physiological adaptation and connection to the sea.

Website: https://theaquaticape.org/

The Prevention of Suicide by Drowning Webinar

The Prevention of Suicide by Drowning Webinar took place on Wednesday 13th November from 8pm to 9.30pm (Irish time). If you would like to find out more about this event please email suicidebydrowningwebinar@gmail.com.

 

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifesaving Foundation Collection subject guide.

Browse the tabs along the top of the screen to learn about library resources for the Lifesaving Foundation Collection.

Download Why Swimmers Drown ebook by clicking here

HOW TO SAVE A COPY OF THE BOOK
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You will not have to print the book.
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Humans and Stress - Professor John Wells

The Lifesaving Foundation


The Lifesaving Foundation is an international charity devoted to saving lives from drowning. Membership is open to adults and organisations supporting its aims. The Foundation's primary aim is to promote and support evidence-based research into drowning prevention and rescue.

The Lifesaving Foundation has formed a drowning research partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology’s School of Health Sciences.
The long-term aim of the partnership is to establish a permanent world class drowning research centre at WIT. The immediate aim is to reduce drowning death numbers through researching the concept of self-rescue in life threatening situations. This is being undertaken in co-operation with An Garda Síochána and An Garda Síochána Retired Members Association. Initial funding will be provided through the Doherty Police Research Fund.

Announcing the partnership WIT President Prof Willie Donnelly commended the work of The Lifesaving Foundation to date and added that the Institute looks forward to developing world-class drowning research including priority areas such as self-rescue. Professor John Wells, Dean of the School of Health Sciences, welcomed the new partnership saying that the Institute’s research capability combined with the Lifesaving Foundation’s drowning expertise would make for a symbiotic relationship benefitting all at risk from drowning worldwide.

On Thursday 1st February 2018, a large donation of drowning books was made to WIT Libraries by John Connolly, Honorary Chief Executive of the Lifesaving Foundation as part of the launch of a research partnership between Waterford Institute of Technology’s School of Health Sciences and The Lifesaving Foundation. This donation of books and audio visual materials will be known as the Lifesaving Foundation Collection. WIT will continue to work with the Lifesaving Foundation in building and developing the collection which will become a pivotal hub for drowning research in the South East of Ireland and which will in turn act as a beacon for national and international audiences focused on saving lives from drowning .

Library Contact

Kieran Cronin
Special Collections, Heritage & Outreach Librarian
Luke Wadding Library
SETU Cork Road Campus
Waterford.
051-302839
Email: kieran.cronin@setu.ie

Lifesaving Foundation Contact

John Connolly
Honorary Chief Executive
The Lifesaving Foundation
Registered Office: 11 Iveragh Close, Lismore Lawn, Waterford City, Ireland.
Telephone: (086)8128671 / (051) 376773
Email: john@lifesavingfoundation.ie