THE MEMORIES OF THE 2014 LIFE-SAVING COURSE (IT HAD BEEN RAINING ALL DAY...)

Question : 2010 SPM English Paper 1 (Continuous Writing), Question No.4

THE MEMORIES OF THE 2014 LIFE-SAVING COURSE

          It had been raining all day and I was just lying on my bed while drifting away in thoughts peacefully. As an average college student of 20 years old, I was a little bored as I had nothing much to do during my term break. So, I decided to search for some of my old files in my bedroom and I stumbled upon a file which contained all of my swimming training documents. I found some of my life-saving certificates of the year 2014 and I started to reminisce about the life-saving training of that year. As I recalled of the training my friends and I went through, I began to smile. I smiled because I remembered the memorable lessons and thrills of the training. I was just 15 years old at that time but I managed to complete the training which even made myself surprised as I did not know I had the strength for it.

          The life-saving course started around late November 2014, sometime after my PT3 examinations. As I was very free, and had nothing better to do, I participated the course because I knew such courses were only held once in a blue moon. The group of swimmers who participated was initially small, but it grew after the SPM examinations. For the swimmers who were standard six until form four, they joined earlier so many of them had the chance to undergo the early physical training. Swimmers from SMK St George, SMK King Edward VII, SMJK Hua Lian, and SMK Darul Ridwan participated. The swimmers were all very eager to pass all the life-saving tests as we were really interested to be the next generation of qualified lifeguards. We were prepared to face a slightly higher level of life-saving training.

          The first form of life-saving training was the method which involved towing the victim using a rope. Though it may sound easy, I wasn’t exactly the best person to throw the rope mainly because I was bad in coiling the rope. After a few attempts, I managed to coil, and throw the rope properly. Apparently, I lost to a twelve year old swimmer from an all girls’ school, which sort of filled my mood with jealousy. Though, the jealously didn’t last long as I had many more tests to go. The next test was the method which involved towing with a non rigid and buoyant object such as a life preserver, a rubber tube and a practice board. Personally, this was my favourite method as it was not a very complicated strategy because all we had to do was swim to the victim and let the victim hold onto the object.

          Either than the life-saving strategies, we swimmers had to undergo a lot of stamina training as well. This included swimming for 100 metres or four laps under 100 seconds, swimming continuously for 300 meters under six minutes and the most lung-aching training which was swimming underwater without breathing for one lap. The 300 meters swim and underwater swim was all about stamina and endurance. With the main purpose of strengthening the lungs and muscles, it was very tiring and energy-depleting. Thankfully, I could pass all the tests and I was really blessed as I could complete the underwater swim. I felt as though my legs were made up of toothpicks attached to heavy stones after I finished a lap of underwater swimming. This training resulted into my improvement of the ability to hold my breath for a long period of time.

          We had about a week break around the time of Christmas, but when that was over, the course resumed. After Christmas, it was the time to undergo the real tests, whereby we had used all the skills and strategies of life-saving we learnt. The toughest test was swimming for four laps, and towing an aggressive victim. I had to use the underarm chin tow, which was basically towing the victim by holding the chin while placing my arm under his arm. I considered it quite challenging because it was the least comfortable position to tow the victim and not to mention the victim must struggle in the middle of the swimming pool. This test required more skill and endurance rather than speed because it was mostly a matter of rescuing the victim for long distances. The victim I carried was older than me by one year and was very tall so I asked myself the question “Why must I tow someone this tall when I was clearly short and weak?”. Though, I never actually got the answer I wanted.

          The following year, all of us received the certificates for the specific examinations we took. I earned the Distinction, Award of Merit and International Life Saving certificates. I stopped recalling about my past, and I realised how many challenges I went through. The memories of the course are still quite fresh in my head even after five years. The course which began in late November and ended exactly on the 31^st of December, 2014 was the best way to end a year filled with ups and downs. I placed the certificates back into my file, and I walked away from my bedroom with a broad smile which showed satisfaction of what I did for the course.