Lifesavers test skills at national comp

Secret Harbour lifesavers will flex their muscles in a competition designed to test the fitness, strength and reaction in an emergency at the Australian Pool Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast this week.

Siblings Siobhan Hall, 15, and Michael, 13, are thrilled to be representing WA for the first time and hope to take out top honours, despite huge competition from east coast squads.

The championships are a display of pool lifesaving techniques with an added twist to make it more of a challenge and a race.

Some of the individual sports include swimming, towing and carrying water-logged mannequins through the water from one end of the pool to the other.

WA coach Sarah Hamilton, of Secret Harbour, has competed at the championships as an athlete in the past and is excited to be leading the "underdog" team of eight into battle against squads of 20-plus competitors.

She said WA's competition was Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania, as the bigger States had more experience.

"It's good for the kids to see the other states' level and what they can strive for," Miss Hamilton said.