Lifeguarding
Our purpose
To prevent injury and death on Whiritoa Beach
To provide a safe, fun, adventurous environment where our members and their families can participate fully in all areas of club activities.
Our team of 40+ volunteer lifeguards maintains public safety in the busy summer months on one of the most treacherous beaches on the Coromandel Peninsula.
We maintain public safety through water safety education, providing safe swimming areas (the iconic red and yellow flags), preventative actions, and rescue operations.
Trainee Programme
Become a lifeguard!
The trainee program is a high-intensity three-week block course in early January each year. The program consists of PT sessions every morning, followed by a mixture of classroom and practical sessions! At the end of the program, passing the SLA (Surf Lifeguard Award) exam is where candidates become qualified surf lifeguards! There are also many opportunities year-round for candidates to sit their SLA exam.
During these sessions, Instructors will train the candidates in all areas of lifeguarding, including:
- Demonstrate knowledge of health and safety issues relevant to Surf Life Saving members
- Describe the features of the surf environment
- Identify and describe the roles and responsibilities of a Surf Lifeguard & Patrol Support Member
- Demonstrate knowledge of effective communication
- Demonstrate knowledge of effective scanning techniques and victim identification
- Perform retrieval of underwater objects – Lifeguard Trainees Only
- Perform releases and tows in an aquatic environment – Lifeguard Trainees Only
- Demonstrate Surf Life Saving signal communication and demonstrate knowledge of graphic communication
- Communicate using a two-way radio
- Perform a tube rescue – Lifeguard Trainees Only
- Provide resuscitation
- Provide first aid
Pre-requisites
- Must be 14 years or older.
- Lifeguard Candidates must have swimming competency, to the point where they are comfortable completing 400m within 9 minutes. This is the most important skill set for these candidates.
- Patrol Support Candidates do not complete the physical components, instead they take part in all other areas of the training including, First Aid, CPR, Radio and Signal Communication, Beach awareness as well as rip identification.
Lifeguard Development
Whiritoa Lifeguard Service offers a range of lifesaving awards to its members. If you are an active member and have all the prerequisites then these are subsidized by our training budget.
To check what upcoming courses are available look at the SLSNZ Eastern Region calendar.
After gaining the Surf Lifeguard Award, Lifeguards can gain more qualifications in certain skill areas that enhance the capabilities of themselves and their patrol teams. These include IRB Qualifications, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Courses, and Incident Management Training just to name a few! Visit SLSNZ Lifeguard Education for more information.
Surf Sports
Surf Sports disciplines include swim, tube rescue, team surf race, board, ski, run, ironman and inflatable rescue boat (IRB).
Although we are a small club, we encourage participation and enjoying yourself while competing. Coaching in specific areas can be arranged for those who are keen to develop their skills. Occasionally we will attend training sessions with other local SLS clubs.
For any inquiries about surfsports, training sessions and details for lifeguards, please contact us
Whiritoa Lifeguard Service
1 Kon Tiki Road,
Whiritoa, Waikato,
New Zealand 3691
