ABOUT 20 members of Winchester Walking Football Club attended a CPR and defibrillator training session given by two volunteers from Meon Valley Heartstart charity.
The club's health and safety officer Richard Tate, who organised the event, said it was a really useful exercise.
Heartstart representatives explained the life saving skills needed when a person is unconscious and could be in cardiac arrest. They described the chain of survival and to follow the pattern of DRSABCD: check for Danger; has the patient a Response; Shout for help; Airway unblocked; Breathing not normal; CPR; Defibrillator.
The players were able to practise CPR on some dummies and also use special training defibrillators.
The charity was established in 2001 and all its trainers have operational emergency experience through professional roles including doctors, nurses, first responders and paramedics.
Winchester have been drawn at home in the first round of the Walking Football Association national knock out competition in both the Over 65s and Over 50s age groups this year. The Over 65s will host Bournemouth on Sunday April 7, kick off 11.30am at the University Stadium, Milland Road, and the Over 50s will entertain Eastleigh at the same venue on Sunday April 21, kick off 1.30pm. The matches are six-a-side, with three rolling subs and last 40 minutes.
For more information: www.winchesterwalkingfc.com and www.heartstartmeonvalley.co.uk.
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