Surf Instructor and Surf Coach pre-requisites
To become a Surfing England Surf Instructor and to further develop your skills as a Progression and then Performance Coach you must have a suitable rescue or lifesaving qualification.
There are two types of award. The first and easiest to attain are the awards focused purely on delivery of surf instructing for beginner groups. These qualifications are designed for people working within a structured surf school environment delivering ABC lessons in the white water zone. Typically they will be delivered over three days and include some basic fitness and swimming requirements. These awards work well for instructors, but are not suitable for progression and performance surf coaches and do not qualify the individual to oversee over types of water sports activity or to operate as a beach lifeguard.
The second type of award is the full National Vocational Beach Lifeguard. These awards cover a wider syllabus and have more stringent fitness and swimming requirements, but allow the holder to take any level of surf coaching award and provide a platform for taking qualifications in other beach water sports as well as being the recognised foundation award for beach lifeguards employed by the RNLI.
This table lists the the different qualifications we accept for each of our surf instructor and surf coach awards.
Choice of pre-requisite rescue of lifesaving qualificationsRLSS National Surf Coach Lifesaving Award
To become a qualified surf coach in the UK, you must initially undertake a suitable lifesaving award before enrolling on the instructor/ coach course.
The NSCLA was developed with support from Surfing England and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RLNI) to ensure surf coaches adopt the highest standards of beach safety.
The NSCLA course length is a minimum of 20 hours, followed by a practical assessment on group management/ supervision, First Aid, Life Support, swimming pool and ocean skills.
Upon qualifying with the NSCLA, the certificate is valid for two years from the date of successful completion.
To check you meet all the prerequisite requirements, find out more about the course and find your nearest training provider, head over to the RLSS website
Royal Life Saving Society UK
National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification (NVBLQ): Designed specifically for surf instructors, this award gives you the skills and knowledge to keep participants safe delivering structured surf lessons. Typically delivered over 3 days it it will enable you to become a Surfing England Surf Instructor. The qualification won’t enable you to be come a beach lifeguard or to become a higher level coach, however holders of the award can take additional training to upgrade to the full vocational beach lifeguard qualification at a later date.
National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification: The national standard for beach lifeguards, this award gives you the skills and knowledge to become a surf coach at any level and / or a beach lifeguard. Typically delivered over 6 days.
Surf Life Saving GB
Surf Coach Rescue Award: A new award specifically for surf instructors delivering beginner lessons within a surf school environment. Typically delivered over 3 days it will enable you to become a Surfing England Surf Instructor. The award won’t enable you to become a higher level surf coach, deliver other watersports such as coasting or SUP or become a beach lifeguard.
National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification: The national standard for beach lifeguards, this award gives you the skills and knowledge to become a surf coach at any level and / or a beach lifeguard. Typically delivered over 6 days.
International Awards
These are the only UK based awards Surfing England recognises as the pre-requisite requirements for Surf Instructors. For Progression and Performance Surf Coaches only the National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification is accepted.
For anyone with an international beach lifeguard qualification, we accept all those with equivalency to the National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification as listed by the International Lifesaving Society
We also recognise and hold equivalency* of the “ISA/ILS Surf and SUP Water Safety Course” for: surf coaching of beginner surf lessons in waist depth water, as in line with the scope of RLSS National surf coach lifesaving award.
NB We don’t recognise it’s use for any other activity than the above. Ie.
*not for SUP
*not for surf coaching intermediates or above, out of waist deep water /out of surfer or coach wading depth
https://www.ilsf.org/certification/isa-ils-surf-and-sup-water-safety-course/
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