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We now have 24 full team members, and have had a busy year with 8 callouts and 2 further standbys not resulting in any action during the last 12 months - there were also 16 flood alerts for the Scottish Borders region! Three of the callouts were in response to flooding issues in both Hawick and Peebles, and the remainder were to missing persons both here in the Borders and as far away as Livingston.
Regular training has included 5 team members completing their Rescue3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician refresher training.
During the course of the year, team members have provided safety cover at a number of events including Tough Mudder, Total Warrior, the Spartan Race and the River Rat Race. These events are great fun to do, and help with both fund raising and our profile. Our crowd-funding page has been launched, towards a team vehicle, and seven grant funding applications have now been submitted. We have been successful with one of these to date, securing £10k!
Membership of the Borders Water Rescue Team has now risen to 20, and there has been only one callout during the past 12 months, although several standbys. We have completed many hours of in-water training, including a night exercise in the River Tweed during October.
All operational team members have now received Rescue3 accredited First Responder training thanks to help from Charity Begins At Home in Kelso.
The Team was asked to provide safety cover for the ladies from Cornhill Village Shop who took part in a sponsored swim down the River Tweed in September, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research. We again supplied 12 water safety personnel for each of the 2 days of Tough Mudder Scotland this year as our main fund raising event. These actions allow members of the public to safely raise monies for worthy causes and have fun too!
The last year represents a time of consolidation into the charity status, and of considerable success with funding applications. We now have 18 team members and all now have a team polo shirt & jacket; all the SRTs now have a full set of specialist kit. This year has also seen the move to a single police force in Scotland, and we have had 2 callouts and many standbys during the last 12 months - there were also 13 flood alerts for the Scottish Borders region!
In mid July, 4 team members were involved in supervising the horses crossing of the Teviot at Roxburgh Mill for Kelso Civic week and over the last weekend in August, 6 team members provided water safety cover for the Tough Mudder event in Dalkieth.
In November 8 team members travelled to Innerwick for a three day first aid course (22-24th Nov) - our thanks to BSARU & the organisers for allowing us to join in.
During the last year, the Team has been called out 6 times. The results include 1 rescue, 1 body recovery and 4 further missing person's searches, 2 of which resulted in body finds and subsequent recoveries. In April 2012 the team was recognised by the Chief Constable of Lothian & Borders Police, with a Force Excellence Award for valued service. For seven Team members, the completion of Rescue3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician training was also one of the highlights of the year.