World's best lifesavers converge on Adelaide for Rescue 2012

The world's best lifesavers including a host of Olympic gold medallists have converged on Adelaide this week for the largest World Life Saving Championships in history.

Rescue 2012 is attracting more than 3,900 lifesavers from 42 National federations and 268 clubs who will take to the competition venues at Glenelg and Christies Beaches and the South Australian State Aquatic and Leisure Centre for two weeks of lifesaving action which started on Wednesday 7th November

This week also saw the staging of a Sport Development Program featuring 14 teams from developing nations Malaysia, Phillipines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Macedonia, Latvia, Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji, Cameroon, Kenya, Brazil and Argentina.

Surf Life Saving Australia in conjunction with the South Australian Tourism Commission hosted the three-day coaching program, designed to improve skills and techniques of developing athletes and coaches and help prepare them for the National Teams competition which started with pool events on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and which will culminating at Glenelg for the Ocean and Beach events on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th November.

Australia and New Zealand are expected to dominate the battle for the National Teams honours along with South Africa, Japan and the USA with Italy, Germany and China among the other dominant nations in the pool rescue events.

Four-time Australian Ironman champion Shannon Eckstein will be joined by fellow Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman and Australian board champion Hugh Dougherty in a strong all-round Australian team that also includes the experienced former Australian ironwoman champion Kristyl Smith and former Commonwealth Games swimmer and reigning Australian Ironwoman champion Rebecca Creedy.

Eckstein led the Aussies to a narrow victory over Australian coach Scott Bartlett's Kiwis in Egypt in 2010 and was a member of the team in Germany in 2008.

Bartlett is a former Australian swim team member and Australian surf teams gold medallist with Manly and he knows any Eckstein led Australian team will be determined to take the crown on their home sands.

Eckstein explained "it's a great honour to captain your country and to lead the team at home is even more special.

"We have an exciting team with a host of new, exciting faces, especially in the men's team and I'm really looking forward to it."

The National Teams events for Open and Youth will be interspersed with Inter-Club Masters (Christies Beach), the IRB Competition (Glenelg) and the Long Distance Ski events (Christies-Glenelg).

The Inter-Club competition will start on Tuesday 13th November with the pool events and continue all week at Christies (Ocean) and Beach (Glenelg) with Masters and Open Boats also at Christies.

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