Surf Life Saving emphasizes importance of Swimming Between the Flags

It sounds like an old cliché – but ‘between the flags’ is the safest place to be. This message comes from Grant Florence, Surf Life Saving New Zealand Chief Executive as statistics show four beach drownings’ in the first two weeks of February – all in remote locations or when Surf Lifeguards weren’t on duty. Alarmingly this represents almost 20% of the total 2010 figures, squeezed into a fortnight.

New Zealand’s coastline boasts literally thousands of beaches which are not able to be patrolled - Surf Lifeguards patrol 80 of our country’s most popular beaches but do not have the capacity to be at every beach and be able to respond to every situation.

“If someone decides to take a risk and swim at an unpatrolled beach, they should be aware of the potential dangers and the situation they are putting themselves in” says Florence.

“Many people are just not aware of the conditions, tidal changes, rips and currents. The risks increase when there is an outgoing tide because the water movement increases the chance being dragged out to sea. Even experienced swimmers can get caught out – the power of moving water is so often underestimated. People should not just assume that their ability to swim competently in a pool will increase their ability to survive in the sea,” he says.

In an ideal world everyone would swim between the flags. But the reality is people choose to swim at unpatrolled beaches. If they choose to swim unsupervised in the sea – then they are not only putting themselves at risk – but they’re also putting others who might try to help them at risk too.

There are four simple rules that swimmers must follow to help ensure their safety:

• Be prepared: Learn to swim and survive and set rules for safe play in the water. Always use safe and correct equipment and know the weather and water conditions before you get in
• Watch out for yourself and others: Always pay close attention to children you are supervising in or near water. Swim with others in areas where lifeguards are present.
• Be aware of the dangers: Enter shallow and unknown water feet first and obey all safety signs and warning flags. 
• Know your limits: Challenge yourself within your physical limits and experience. Learn safe ways of rescuing others without putting yourself in danger

“So far this season Surf Lifeguards have performed 920 rescues. That’s 920 lives that could have been lost on our beaches but weren’t - because they were swimming at patrolled beaches.” says Florence.