Lifesavers Go Bush On A Swell Safety Mission
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday November 6, 2007
SOUTH Coast lifesavers are travelling far and wide this week to teach bush kids surf safety.
According to South Coast Life Saving Australia statistics, beachgoers who live more than 50km from beaches are over-represented in drownings. Shellharbour Surf Life Saving Club lifesaver Trina Jensen said many children who visited the coast in summer had little knowledge of surf safety."I am really concerned about kids from the bush who come to the beach in the holidays and don't know where to swim," Ms Jensen said."We get a lot of people who come to the coast and don't swim between the flags."The Beach To Bush program is the largest surf safety education program in the country, with lifesavers from throughout coastal NSW travelling to more than 300 regional primary schools.Four lifesavers from the Illawarra are on the Beach to Bush tour, including Ms Jensen, Cameron Rae (Towradgi Surf Life Saving Club), Stuart Massey (North Wollongong SLSC) and Josh Douglas (Kiama Downs SLSC).World Ironman champion Zane Holmes, a spokesman for the event, stressed the importance of the program."Because of their limited or non-exposure to surf conditions, most inland children are unaware of the dangers the surf can present," he said."Through the Telstra Beach to Bush program, primary school-age children are being taught how to recognise beach safety signs and how to identify and avoid dangerous surf situations."The program covers the basics of surf safety: Find the flags and swim between them, look for the safety signs, ask a lifesaver for some good advice, get a friend to swim with you and stick your hand up for help."We want the kids to know where to swim, what a rip looks like, to cover up from the sun and what to do if they are having any difficulties," Ms Jensen said.The most important piece of information she hopes the students will learn is to swim at patrolled beaches and to stay between the flags."We often have to remind people who are swimming outside the flags that if we can't see them, we can't save them," she said.A joint community initiative between Surf Life Saving Australia and Telstra, the lifesavers will visit classrooms in Casino, Grafton, Glen Innes, Canberra, the Snowy Mountains, Penrith and the Blue Mountains regions until Friday.
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury