The Australian Life Saving Team is comprised of three squads - Youth, Pathway and Open, with top performing athletes in each discipline (pool, open water/craft and beach) selected to contest the biennial World Lifesaving Championships and other national team competitions within the two-year World Lifesaving Championship campaign.
In addition to traveling around Australia and abroad, selection to the ALT provides athletes with development and leadership opportunities in and out of the pool including access to high performance coaches and athletes, mentoring, national and international competition and touring, training and development camps, and depending on the level of representation access to individual sporting grants and funding.
To be eligible for representative teams, athletes must be a member of Royal Life Saving or Surf Life Saving, hold a current lifesaving award, and attend selection events that may include state or national championships, time trials or selection camps.
Upcoming ALT Events
2026 Lifesaving World Championships
The Australian Life Saving Team enters the 2026 World Championship campaign as reigning World Champions, following a successful home World Championships on the Gold Coast in 2024. The 2026 Lifesaving World Championships will be held in Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), South Africa, with Ocean and Beach events at Kings Beach and Pool events at Newton Park Aquatic Centre.
Australia will select both an Open and Youth team to compete in the National Teams Program from 2 – 6 December 2026.
Australian athletes will compete as the Australian Life Saving Team, delivered in partnership with Royal Life Saving Australia. Selection will be limited to 12 Open and 12 Youth athletes, reflecting the multi-disciplinary demands of the International Lifesaving Federation (ILS) World Championships program across pool, ocean, and beach events.
This Circular contains the selection process, eligibility requirements, key events and athlete obligations for those seeking selection to the Australian Life Saving Team (ALT) for the 2026 Lifesaving World Championships.
All athletes must complete the mandatory Expression of Interest (EOI) form EOI Link which should be completed before 11:59pm on Sunday 22nd March 2026 to be considered for selection.
Information regarding the IRB National Teams competition will be communicated separately once confirmed by event organisers.
Circular and further details listed below.
