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| Österreichische Wasserrettung | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | ÖWR |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Austrian Lifeguard Club (ÖSKR) |
| Formation | March 16, 1957 |
| Founder | Walter Rollett |
| Founded at | Linz, Austria |
| Type | NGO |
| Registration no. | 268776696 |
| Legal status | Registered |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria, EU |
Region served | Austria |
Official language | German |
President | Heinrich Brandner |
| Website | owr |
The Austrian Water Rescue Federation abbr. ÖWR (trans. Österreichische Wasserrettung) is a charity organisation dedicated to water rescue.
The ÖWR is a independent non-profit organisation and generally operates entirely on a voluntary basis with volunteers. It is a full member of the International Life Saving Federation (ILS). The Austrian Water Rescue Service was re-established on 16 March 1957 in Linz on the Danube and is an association whose activities extend across the entire territory of the Republic of Austria. The sole and direct purpose of the ÖWR is to establish and promote all measures and facilities designed to combat and prevent deaths by drowning, in particular through instruction and training in swimming, lifesaving, diving, rescue diving, and the operation of rowing boats and motorboats, as well as the establishment and operation of a water rescue and disaster relief service (ÖWRD).
The ÖWR’s motto is: Always operational – always ready to save valuable human lives from a watery death!
History
editEarly years to the Second World War
editAs in many cities towards the end of the 18th century, there were also initial attempts in Vienna to establish an organised water rescue service. These efforts, along with attempts to establish such an organisation across Austria, remained in their infancy, and it was not until 1922 that the Austrian Life-Saving Society (trans. Österreichische Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft, abbr. Ö.R.L.G.) was founded, however it ceased operations as early as 1927.
In the same year, the new Vienna Lifesaving Club (trans. Rettungsschwimmclub Wien) was formed, which was reorganised in 1933 as the Austrian Lifesaving Club (trans. Österreichischen Rettungsschwimmerclub, abbr. ÖRSK) and, following Austria’s annexation by the Third Reich in 1938, became a regional association within the DLRG.
After the Second World War
editWith the end of the war and the restoration of Austrian national sovereignty, the former ÖRSK’s affiliation with the DLRG also came to an end. However, an attempt to re-establish the ÖRSK nationwide failed, and responsibility for lifesaving training was taken over by the Austrian Workers Samaritan Federation (trans. Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Österreichs, abbr. ASBÖ) in 1948 and the Austrian Red Cross in 1952, as well as by the Bavarian Water Rescue Service in Carinthia.
In addition to the activities of these organisations, independent water rescue organisations were established locally in some regions. For example, the Vorarlberg Volunteer Water Rescue Service was founded in Bregenz in 1951, and from 1952 onwards, swimming and lifesaving training courses were held in Hermagor as part of the Hermagor Swimming Club (still using DLRG badges and membership cards).
The attempt made in Innsbruck in 1955 to re-establish the ÖLRG failed once again.
In 1956 the Vienna-based ÖRSK did not feel able to take on the task of founding a nationwide federation and voluntarily dissolved itself on 1 March 1957 with the aim of being re-established at a later date. Two weeks later, on 16 March 1957, the Austrian Water Rescue Federation (ÖWR) was founded in Linz as a nationwide water rescue organisation.
Following its foundation in 1957
editUnfortunately, very few records survive from the early years of the ÖWR. The headquarters of the national executive (see organisational structure) was initially established in Salzburg, before moving to Vienna in the mid-1970s.
Following its foundation, the first water rescue schools were established in 1958 in Hermagor, Salzburg, where the first diving instructor courses were held.
1958 also saw the ÖWR’s admission to the Fédération Internationale de Sauvetage aquatique (abbr. FIS), known since 1984 as the International Life Saving Federation, abbr. ILS, where the ÖWR is heavily involved in various committees.
In the years following 1965, the ÖWR underwent a far-reaching structural reorganisation: from an association managing nine regional branches to an umbrella organisation of independent regional associations (Federal Executive). This reorganisation culminated in the founding of the ninth independent regional association, the Burgenland Regional Association, in 1979.
Following the establishment of standardised, binding examination guidelines for lifesaving courses by the relevant ministry in 1967, the Austrian Water Rescue Working Group abbr. ArGe-ÖWRW was founded in 1970 to operate on a nationwide basis. Comprising representatives from various organisations that train lifeguards, this coordinating body is tasked with advising the relevant ministry. The chairmanship of the ArGe WRW is held on a rotating annual basis by the ÖWR, the ASBÖ or the ÖJRK.
Since 2007, the term Wasser-Rettung has increasingly been replaced by Wasserrettung and anchored in the statutes of the respective organisational units.
The formation of the expanded departments
editDiving
editFollowing a fatal accident involving a professional diver using a helmet diving apparatus, whom ÖWR members, who happened to be diving in the area, were only able to recover after he had already died, the first Federal Diving Officer was appointed in 1962. One of his first tasks was to draft and implement standardised examination and operational guidelines for diving within the ÖWR. The coordination seminar for what would become the first ÖWR diving instructors was held in Seeham in 1963, following which the first diving instructor certificates were issued.
From that date onwards, ÖWR operational divers and diving instructors have been trained since 1963.
River and white water
editThe growing popularity of river and white-water sports such as canyoning, rafting and whitewater canoeing, as well as the increasing threat posed by flooding to populated areas at the end of the last millennium, were the catalysts for the establishment of this new field of expertise.
Education and training
editBeginners and swimming lessons
editIn line with its motto Every non-swimmer a swimmer the ÖWR teaches the basics of swimming to children and young people – and, in some places, adults too – through its regional associations. As a member of the ArGe-ÖWRW, the ÖWR is authorised to issue state-recognised swimming certificates.
These swimming certificates start with the Early Swimmer (tras. Frühschwimmer) also known as the Penguin, with no age restriction, through the Free Swimmer (trans. Freischwimmer) from seven years old and the Distance Swimmer (trans. Fahrtenschwimmer) from nine years old, up to the highest level of swimming proficiency, the All-round Swimmer from eleven years old.
A distinctive feature is the ÖWR Youth Swimming Certificate (trans. ÖWR-Jugendschwimmerschein) level, which, in terms of content, represents a cross between swimmer and lifeguard training.
Rescue swimming
editEvery swimmer is a lifeguard, in line with this motto, the ÖWR provides training for lifesaving certificates in accordance with the ArGe-ÖWRW guidelines. The first lifesaving certificate can be obtained from the age of 13 with the assistant lifeguard certificate (trans. Helferschein). This course covers the basics of lifesaving, self-rescue and simple rescue techniques, recovery methods, as well as first aid specific to water rescue. From the age of 16, the Lifesaver certificate can be obtained. This differs from the assistant lifesaver certificate primarily in its higher performance requirements. In addition, graduates are prepared for the role of team leader during standby duties and surveillance operations.
The Lifesaver training programme focuses on the sporting aspects of lifesaving. This training is designed to cover and promote the sporting side of lifesaving.
Organisational structure
editStructure of the Federal Executive Management
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