We expect to feel safe when we go for a swim at the beach. We know that there will be lifesavers on duty and if we get into trouble in the water, all we need do it raise our arm and someone will perform a rescue. We tend to equate the service that lifesavers perform to the response we get from dialling 000. We do not question that our needs will be met by the police, the fire brigade, paramedic ambulance crews - and surf lifesavers.
Some refer to lifesavers as " the thin red and yellow line ", referring to their distinctive red and yellow uniforms, but today all is not well with this essential summer service. Lifesaving is a volunteer task - and volunteers are becoming in very short supply. As a result, the clubs are requiring a decreasing membership to patrol more often - and in some cases it is now every second weekend. There is a danger of " burnout !
Not so very long ago, gaining a place in a surf lifesaving club was the cherished ambition of most young men. Often this started from am early age with training starting as membership of " Nipper " feeder programmes, learning water safety and rescue skills. It was a badge of manhood to progress to patrol duties, an event not unnoticed by many young women. Today, the ranks of lifesavers are open to women and most patrols are a mix of either sex.
The present lack of new volunteers has many causes. We no longer have a nine to five working week and job obligations make patrol availability impossible for some people. The sporting scene has expanded rapidly and entertainment has widened in scope to absorb the spare time of many people who might otherwise have considered lifesaving. There has also been an attitudinal change. Lifesaving is hard work and long hours - and that is something that today's youth tends to shun !
Another problem is the attitude of some beach users to the authority that lifesavers need. To maximise safety, lifesavers need people to swim between the flags, but some people ignore this and refuse to obey instructions. Others indulge in objectionable beach behaviour. In some cases, situations develop that pose a serious risk to the people tasked with providing safety.
Lifesaving has been a great Australian tradition and this country is credited with creating this service. If the erosion of new volunteers to provide the numbers continues it can only lead to some clubs fading from the scene, and beach safety becoming the responsibility of paid life guards.
The lifesaving clubs are strongest on the iconic Australian beaches that are tourist attractions. The clubs struggling for new members are usually those out of the main stream and servicing suburban beaches that lack this national exposure. The danger is that if some of these clubs fold the responsibility for beach safety will fall back on local councils, and that may mean a huge increase in unpatrolled beaches - and the water safety that will pose. Paid life guards can only be provided within each councils capacity to pay - and that imposes limitations.
The lifesaving movement is looking to reinvent itself. Trials are under way to combine the use of a drone aircraft with an automated rescue vehicle, both of which could be controlled by people far removed from the beach area. This measure would be labour saving, but would be no help if the person in the water was unconscious - nor could it help with resuscitation. It merely reflects the gravity of the volunteer situation in some clubs.
A popular television series is helping to promote the social aspect of belonging to a lifesaving club and at the same time, emphasising the essential work that lifesavers do in keeping our beaches safe. At the same time, clubs are modernising and this is providing a range of new skill avenues that can be helpful in the job market. Membership of a life saving club can be an impressive item on a job application resume.
Hopefully, lifesaving clubs can turn things around. There are many beaches that lack a surf patrol and each year the number of people who drown in the surf increases. The last thing we need is for surf clubs to diminish the days they will patrol or limit the hours of attendance. That can only be prevented if more people take up the challenge - and join a fraternity that has served this country so well.
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