Contact: 0800 St John (0800 785 646).

Most New Zealanders are aware of the proud history St John has on the sidelines of sports events, delivering first aid to many kiwi sporting heroes and athletes. Only last year, cricket legend Sir Richard Hadlee actively supported the release of St John’s revised Workplace First Aid courses. Beginning on June 23, the trusted expertise of St John will be offered to all active New Zealanders through the introduction of a new Sports First Aid course. The course aims to give participants practical knowledge for dealing with sports-related injuries.

Considering that sport is such an important part of the New Zealand lifestyle, it is unsurprising that St John, with a mission ‘to enhance the health and well being of all New Zealanders’, is now moving to actively empower the New Zealand sports community with potentially life saving skills.

According to Carole Mudford, Education Operations Manager, “St John Sports First Aid courses have already attracted attention from people throughout the sporting community, including many local sports clubs who often need to respond quickly to sports-related injuries.” The Sports First Aid courses offered by St John are expected to quickly gain a reputation as a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in sport, including those involved with clubs, coaching, refereeing, etc.

The St John Sports First Aid course was developed in cooperation with Sports Medicine NZ, ACC and SPARC. It covers a diverse range of practical topics including injury prevention, CPR, patient assessment, control of bleeding, hard & soft tissue injury, head injury, concussion, tooth injury, spinal injury and accessing help.

Those attending a Sports First Aid course in the Auckland area will be in good hands under the professional guidance of Rebecca Wills. Rebecca is an accomplished first aid tutor and herself an outdoor and marine sports enthusiast.

In addition to teaching first aid, Rebecca also volunteers for the New Zealand Coast Guard, is a qualified Shipmaster Medic, and trained as an outdoor guide while working in the South Island. “Within 2 weeks of this course I had to utilise my first aid skills. A member of a mountain biking group I was with ran in to a small rock and fell, along with the bike, head over heels down a rocky bank. The rider sustained head injuries, concussion and lacerations. We had to improvise a stretcher and dressings and then carry the injured person on the stretcher for about 45 minutes. Without the knowledge we gained from that first aid course, I am not sure how we would have managed the situation.”

Rebecca was an obvious choice to deliver the St John Sports First Aid course, which meant her further participation in specialised sports injury prevention and injury management training. “The Sports First Aid course will appeal to a wide range of people in the community involved at all sorts of levels. The dad who coaches the junior team, the mums and grandparents on the sideline, or the more serious sports club members who want to know what to do if something happens during the big game. The whole community gains when someone knows good first aid” Rebecca says.

St John is a trusted not for profit organisation with firm roots in New Zealand’s communities and operates with the support of a large dedicated volunteer base. Fees from First Aid courses go back into supporting the work of St John including ambulance services and other worthy community initiatives.

Those interested in learning more about Sports First Aid Courses at the Mt Wellington Education Centre can phone 0800 STJOHN or go to thier site