What we learnt from the past swim season

This past summer swim season, Council Lifeguards and Surf Life Saving Volunteers spent a total of 218 days on the sand. That’s roughly 34,710 hours supervising Wollongong’s 17 patrolled beaches, seven days a week from September 2023 to the end of April 2024.

For Murray Copas, Operations Manager Beach Services at Wollongong City Council, just talking about hours alone doesn’t capture the breadth of work done by Lifeguards and volunteers.

“This was definitely another busy and challenging summer for both Council Lifeguards and volunteers. This past swim season, we estimate we saw almost 1.5 million people visit our 17 patrolled beaches during Council operating hours. The numbers would be even higher if you take into account the Sundays and public holidays when volunteers are on patrol,” Mr Copas said.

“December and January remain the busiest months of the year, with nearly 47% of all beach visitors during those months. And you can probably guess our most popular beaches; North Wollongong, Wollongong City and Austinmer.

“Duty also isn’t just a matter of watching people in the water – we also provided advice on beach safety to community, reunited lost children with their parents and carers, and encourage dog owners to do the right thing by keeping pets off the sand and out of flagged areas.”

Beach safety remains a strong focus for Council. In April 2024, Council Lifeguards gave a water safety workshop to new migrants, international students, and refugees. This program is a service offered through the Illawarra Multicultural Water Safety Network.

Video Caption: Murray Copas was on of Council’s Lifeguards who gave a safety demonstration as part of the workshop.

During the 2023/2024 swim season Council Lifeguards helped keep people safe at the beach by taking 62,135 preventative actions (offering advice to those doing the wrong thing before they get in trouble) and conducted a total 489 beach rescues.

“To put it another way, that’s roughly two beach rescues per patrolled day. And from experience, often a rescue involves a Lifeguard helping multiple people in trouble,” Mr Copas said.

“We were pleased to see that this year the numbers of beach rescues had decreased a little from last year. At the same time, our message remains the same. We need people to stay safe when at the beach.

“Please follow the rules when you visit the beach. That means only swimming at patrolled beaches, when the red and yellow flags are up and in place. If the red and yellow flags aren’t up, that means that Council Lifeguards or Surf Life Saving volunteers aren’t supervising and aren’t there to help you if you get into trouble.”

From now until the start of the September school holidays, only North Wollongong Beach will remain patrolled during the colder months. North Wollongong Beach is patrolled 9am-4pm daily. But remember, even if a beach is listed as patrolled, no red and yellow flags = no swim!

Join the team

While it is the winter season for beaches, it’s also the time of year when we’re recruiting for next season’s Seasonal Ocean Lifeguards and Seasonal Pool Lifeguards.

Whether you’re an experienced lifeguard or a new starter, we welcome applicants of all skill levels. What matters most is your enthusiasm, reliability, and dedication to keeping our beaches and pools safe.

Do you have what it takes? See here for more information on the roles available. Applications close Sunday 19 May.

See here for more beach information, patrol hours and locations.

Swim season snapshot

• Council Lifeguards and Surf Life Saving Volunteers were on duty for a total of 218 days, or 34,710 hours. (178 days for Council Lifeguards and 40 days for volunteers).
• We saw almost 1.5 million people visit all 17 of our patrolled beaches.
• December and January were the busiest months, accounting for 47% of all beach visitors.
• North Wollongong, Wollongong City and Austinmer beaches were the most popular with 36% of people visiting those beaches. These were also the beaches with the highest number of rescues.
• Council Lifeguards took 62,135 Preventative Actions (av. 285 per day).
• Council Lifeguards undertook 489 rescue (av. 2 per day patrolled) and 64% of rescues happened during January and December.
• Council Lifeguards provided first aid for 2017 people (av. 9 per day patrolled). First aid included a range of care for bee stings and blue bottle stings to minor first aid and resuscitation.