As volunteer lifesavers once again return to the beach this patrolling season, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) are reminding beachgoers to only swim at patrolled beaches and always between the red and yellow flags.
The reminder comes after 12 of the 13 people who tragically drowned at a Queensland beach during the 2021/22 patrol season were swimming outside of a patrolled area or time.
SLSQ lifesavers and lifeguards performed 3101 rescues, with 723 of them being children under the age of 12 years.
These statistics were revealed in SLSQ’s 2022 Coast Safe Report, which was released to coincide with the launch of the 2022/23 volunteer patrol season.
SLSQ produce the Coast Safe Report every year to identify trends, risks and overrepresented demographics in rescues and beach-related drownings which SLSQ can then implement programs and initiatives to address – with the ultimate goal to reduce drowning-related deaths and help achieve SLSQs vision of ‘Zero preventable deaths in Queensland public waters.
As seen in previous years, males continue to be overrepresented in beach-related drownings with 77 per cent of victims being male.
There is also continued concern around the 20 to 49 years age demographic with them making up 54 per cent of victims last season.
With the return of international visitors to local shores, SLSQ will ramp up engagement with tourism operators and explore new ways to communicate surf safety messages with international tourists while continuing to connect with Australian beachgoers who last year made up the majority of beach-related drownings.
At the launch of the new patrolling season, SLSQ chief executive officer Dave Whimpey took the opportunity to thank the dedicated lifesavers and lifeguards who put their life on the line to keep Queenslanders and visitors safe.
“The 2022 Coast Safe Report shows that 3101 beachgoers were able to return home to their loved ones thanks to the brave actions of our lifesavers and lifeguards,” Mr Whimpey said.
“Although there has been a decrease in beach-related drowning deaths from the previous year, we strongly believe that even one drowning death is one too many, and we want to remind everyone to only swim at patrolled beaches.
“The ocean is unpredictable and while our lifesavers do a remarkable job to keep people safe, we also need beachgoers to understand the inherent risks and listen to our lifesavers.”
