We sat down with NSW Lifeguard Van Whiteman to talk about life on patrol, the responsibility that comes with protecting one of Australia’s most dynamic coastlines, and the challenges and rewards of a job where no two days are ever the same.
Where do you work, and what does your role as a lifeguard involve on a day-to-day basis?
I’m currently based out of Mollymook on the states south coast, as the Lifeguard Supervisor the Shoalhaven council region. On a day-to-day basis, I ensure that our team of lifeguards are well prepared and ready to patrol across the region. This also involves mentoring and training lifeguards, working closely with the public and council to ensure that the service is run to standard and the community is kept safe.
How is your team structured on the beach, and how many lifeguards are typically on patrol during a shift?
Our standard beach patrol involves two fully qualified lifeguards and necessary equipment, including rescue boards, first aid equipment, and at certain locations, ATV’s and jet skis. During peak season or surge periods, we will scale up with additional lifeguards. We also have a Rookie Lifeguard Program that acts as an entry point for young lifeguards, so that they can get some firsthand experience prior to becoming a fully qualified lifeguard. The rookie lifeguards supplement the patrol teams.
Is there pressure to keep beaches open and patrolled even when surf, weather, or crowd conditions are challenging? How do you make those calls?
There is always a certain pressure or demand to keep beaches open as much as possible. Lifeguards never want to shut the beach unless it is truly unsafe as we know the impact this can have on beachgoers who may be on holidays or only in town for a day and want to enjoy the beach. In the summer holidays, if it’s a hot day, people come to the beach no matter what, however the ocean can be dangerous any day. If it is a busy day and lots of people are wanting to swim, the lifeguards will set up the swimming zone to keep people concentrated in the safest swimming area possible. This is a lifeguard’s way of managing the chaos that hundreds of beachgoers can present, and important that we don’t lose control of the beach. If it does become too dangerous, the call to close the beach can be met with a lot of disappointment and complaints from the public, however it’s the lifeguard’s duty to keep everyone safe which is ultimately the most important thing.
What training, qualifications, and ongoing skills development are required to become and remain a professional lifeguard in New South Wales?
Lifeguards with the Australian Lifeguard Service need to obtain their Gold Medallion, which is a recognised lifeguard qualification through Surf Life Saving. Additionally, lifeguards must maintain a high level of fitness, hold a first aid certificate and advanced resuscitation proficiency. Additionally, there are a range of inductions and lifeguard specific training courses and modules that the ALS deliver to all lifeguards, including the beach operations management course. There is also a huge focus on customer service and how to deal with the public, as this is a large role of lifeguards. This training teaches lifeguards all the potential skills they may have to face during their daily duties and be fit enough to do the job.
What do most beachgoers not understand about the preparation and behind-the-scenes work that happens before the red and yellow flags go up?
Many beachgoers don’t understand the years of experience and depth of knowledge lifeguards have at the beach, and specifically how beach and conditions will change and transform through the day. We spend 8 hours or more every day of the week at the beach, looking at forecasts, understanding the beaches daily trends and quirks, hence the conditions at that beach become almost second nature to the lifeguards. The flags are designed to be able to suit swimmers of all abilities and allow people to feel safe and swim with freedom.
Can you walk us through a typical training session and how you prepare for rescues, first aid, spinal management, and major incidents?
We train for a wide range of scenarios as well as to maintain fitness. A typical training sequence starts with a swim, a board paddle and a run to get the heart rate up and mock the feeling of a real rescue. Then a fellow lifeguard will swim out, and we will do a mock rescue, run through a drill of checking for a spinal or potential resuscitation, while going slowly through all the steps. Then we will repeat it and act as if it’s a real situation with speed and awareness to finely tune our response. This ensures that when the real thing occurs, everyone knows their role and can perform it under high pressure. Training scenarios often include other agencies such as ambulance, rescue helicopter, surf club volunteers and other emergency services that would be involved in a major incident.
What does teamwork look like during a rescue, and what does it mean to truly have each other’s backs on the beach?
It’s super important to know and trust the lifeguards you work with, as often the initial response is just the two lifeguards on duty until additional resources can attend. Throughout the season, you get to know the people you’re working with extremely well. The better you know the person you’re working with, the better you know where both your strengths and skills are, so when a real-life situation does occur, all your training kicks in and trust in your partner shows when you can act swiftly. This teamwork is most beneficial for people who need rescuing as the team operates like a well-oiled machine.
Lifeguarding involves a lot of prevention and public interaction. How important is communication and education compared to actual rescues?
Engaging with the public is a huge part of a lifeguard. The best day for lifeguards is when there are no rescues required, and a big way of achieving that is through consistent engagement with beachgoers, ensuring they know where the safest place to swim is. Speaking to people at the beach is an underrated part of the job, the more you speak to the public, the more you understand the abilities of the people at the beach that day. It also allows you to educate the public, possibly preventing future rescues. 99% of our job is prevention, and the best way to prevent is through communication and education. We are also aware that many beachgoers may not be from the local area, or even visitors to the country, so lifeguards play a key role in educating these beachgoers.
How do you stay calm and focused when responding to high-pressure situations like multiple swimmers in trouble or critical medical emergencies?
Trusting in your team, your equipment, and training is all you can do. If you lose your head, you can’t help the situation. In difficult and stressful situations, it’s important to take a second to think before you act and be confident in your skills, and know that there is support on way through the surf lifesaving network and emergency response network.
After a serious incident, how does the team support one another, and how important is debriefing in your line of work?
The welfare and mental wellbeing of staff have been a huge focus over the past few years and I’m very happy to see some of the advancements made in this area. Each lifeguard will respond differently to a situation, and often amongst a team of lifeguards there will be varying level of experience. Whilst over the years I may have taken part in several major rescues and searches, as well as CPR’s, it could be another lifeguard’s first major incident and it is unknown how they will react. There is a really strong culture amongst our lifeguards as colleagues and mates, and it’s important that we all support one and other following a major incident. Often a debrief will include just catching up outside of work hours or away from the beach to have a chat and discuss the response.
It’s important for all lifeguards to help each other out and create a community where we can support each other with anything we may face in the job.
Surf Life Saving also has an amazing welfare team that checks on the wellbeing of all members and lifeguards involved in incidents, as well as a full Employee Assistance Program available to all. This also allows us to reflect on rescues and how we can potentially deal with the emotional and mental toll that the job can take.
What motivates you to keep coming back to the beach, and what does lifeguarding mean to you beyond the uniform?
There’s different motivations for all lifeguards, but what I think we all share is the passion for the ocean and wanting to ensure that it can be as safe as possible. All lifeguards have a sense of pride in keeping the beach safe, and the recognition of this by the community can be really rewarding. I love the environment I work in – it can be high pressure at times but there are so many great moments in between these, and ultimately this is what we train for. There is a pride in the uniform to go along with the fact that we have some of the best beaches in the world. It’s a great office and the culture of the team is really what keeps people around. There’s way more opportunity for people to make careers of being a lifeguard with more patrols and services not only across the state, but also around the world.