Surf Life Saving

This a lifeguard’s watch tower. The lifeguards vehicle is parked beside the watch tower with a rescue board fastened to the roof racks. Watch towers like this one with an elevated position serve two purposes. One, they enable the lifeguards on duty to keep a look out for sharks, and two, it enables the lifeguards to keep an eye on swimmers bathing in the ocean.

Beaches that have lifeguards are called “patrolled beaches”. Swimmers of all abilities are encouraged to always swim in patrolled beaches giving themselves the chance of being rescued should they run into difficulties in the unpredictable ocean.

Surf lifesavers or lifeguards consist of volunteers and paid public servants employed by local councils. Their main duties include patrolling designated beaches where people swim and watching over swimmers making sure they don’t get into difficulties in the surf. Should someone get into difficulties and become in danger, lifeguards are there to assist and rescue them.

Volunteer lifeguards all belong to a surf lifesaving club with a clubhouse close to the beach. Each clubhouse has various infrastructure for aiding and rescuing simmers who get into difficulty in the ocean. Items include, an inflatable boat with a powerful outboard motor called a “rubber ducky”. A watch tower, flags, that indicate the safe place on the beach for swimming and various rescue items like surf boards and other floating aids.

Although the ocean is a great place for fun and relaxation it can also be deceptively dangerous. Freak waves, strong undercurrents and tidal rips all pose a danger to even the best swimmers.

The first function of a lifeguard when they start work in the morning is to determine the safest area for swimming along their designated stretch of beach. When this bathing area is determined lifeguards mark the area by placing two flags approximately fifty meters apart.

The area between the two flags is the area swimmers are encouraged to swim between and it is this area that lifeguards concentrate their attention on.

When the surf is deemed safe it is indicated by flags that are red and yellow. The top half being red and the bottom half being yellow.

When the surf is slightly dangerous yet deemed safe enough to swim it is indicated by 2 yellow flags. When it is deemed too dangerous to swim the flags are red and this means that the beach is closed and people should not enter the water under any circumstances. Two green flags means ideal conditions for bathing.

Once a safe area has been chosen and the flags set. Lifeguards position themselves in the middle of the flags to give themselves the best vantage point over the swimmers between the flags. Flags are set just back from the shoreline and lifeguards have at their disposal rescue items including a rescue board and float belt.

Surfboard riders are not allowed to surf between the bathing flags but if they are sufficiently far enough behind the swimmers and do not interfere with swimmers they are tolerated by  life savers.
The life saving movement

Australia's first official surf lifesaving club - the first in the world - was founded at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, in 1906. There was little need for surf lifesaving clubs much before this time as it was illegal to swim in the surf during daylight hours before 1902. It was seen as immoral, and men and women could only 'bathe' in the early morning and late evening, and never at the same time!

As the sport became more popular, the dangers of the surf became apparent. It was then that groups of experienced surfers began to establish surf life saving clubs to help protect the less proficient swimmers from the dangers of the ocean.

There are now over 40,000 junior surf lifesavers (Nippers) in Australia. Children can join the program from as young as seven years old. The aim of the junior program is to give children surf awareness and surf safety skills so that they can keep themselves safe at the beach.

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