Surf Life Saving Research Articles

‘Between the flags’: women's participation in surf lifesaving sport in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT Surf lifesaving (SLS) clubs have been portrayed as male-dominated spaces perpetuating hegemonic masculinity. Contrary to this depiction, women and girls have participated in SLS in Aotearoa New Zealand since the 1930s, constituting approximately half of SLSNZ members. However, despite a growing body of research on women in ocean sports, studies on women's experiences in SLS are notably scarce. Addressing this gap, our interpretive research focuses on women's participation in SLS sports in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our findings reveal that the SLS community offers social and sporting opportunities for women throughout their life course. While providing a supportive environment for female friendships and mentorship, the sport fosters a sense of achievement, ocean skills and overall well-being. Nevertheless, challenges persist, as women encounter a ‘boys club’ mentality, where men are often perceived as the natural and legitimate bodies in SLS institutional contexts. Despite these perceptions, women don't necessarily feel excluded or marginalised within SLS spaces. Our research suggests that contemporary SLS clubs in Aotearoa New Zealand are more nuanced cultural spaces than previously portrayed. While still associated with masculinity, women dynamically navigate these male-defined arenas. SLS, as both a sport and lifeguard service, presents an institutional space where cultural norms reinforcing masculinity in ocean sports can be challenged.

A Research Framework to Improve Evidence-Based Practice Surrounding the Resuscitation Response to Drowning in Surf Lifesaving Authors

Surf lifesaving members are essential first responders who patrol public waterways, performing rescues and resuscitation to individuals in the community when needed. In this way, surf lifesaving members experience arduous physical requirements alongside extensive psychological stress during resuscitation. Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) represents the predominant, frontline lifesaving service in Queensland, Australia; however, little research has explored key aspects of drowning resuscitations involving this organisation, as well as in the broader lifesaving industry, limiting our current understanding on this vital topic. We sought to explore key aspects of drowning resuscitations within SLSQ and create a framework to generate evidence-based practice. In guiding future lines of inquiry addressing this deficiency, a six-step research framework has been proposed to aid in holistically understanding the resuscitation process from a surf lifesaving perspective. Evidence generated from applying this framework will create a much-needed knowledge base for surf lifesaving organisations to use in the development of practical, strategic, and effective decisions to enhance their practices and ultimately better prevent drowning fatalities.

A preliminary study investigating the neglected domain of mental health in Australian lifesavers and lifeguards

BackgroundSurf lifesavers and lifeguards have provided essential education, preventative, and rescue services to the Australian community for over 110 years. In this first responder role, surf lifesavers and lifeguards are inadvertently exposed to high risk and trauma related experiences, which may negatively impact mental well-being. To date however, there has been limited research into the mental health of surf lifesavers and lifeguards, and no studies at all on the mental health of adolescent surf lifesavers. The preliminary study aimed to measure the exposure of potentially traumatic events (PTEs), post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), self-efficacy, social support, and attitudes towards mental health problems in Surf Life Saving (SLS) members.MethodsAn anonymous, online survey was developed (adolescent and adult versions) and created to measure the domain of mental health in surf lifesavers and lifeguards. Pearson’s correlations investigated relationships between PTEs, PTSS, self-efficacy, social support, attitudes towards mental health problems, age, years as a SLS member, and years patrolling. Spearman’s Rank was used for violations of normality.ResultsA total of 57 surf lifesavers/lifeguards aged 13–59 years were included in the final analysis. There was a significant positive relationship between exposure to direct trauma and PTSS, which in turn, were associated with greater negative attitudes towards mental health problems towards the mental health of others, and lower levels of self-efficacy. Male and female adults with PTSS reported lower social support, whereas for adolescent males, a positive relationship between direct trauma and PTSS was observed.ConclusionThis research is the first to explore the mental health of Australian surf lifesavers and lifeguards. The results highlight the potential risks to mental health and well-being associated with this first responder role. More research to protect the vulnerability of this population is warranted.

Mortality trends and the impact of exposure on Australian coastal drowning deaths, 2004–2021

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to characterise Australian coastal drowning trends and evaluate impact of exposure on drowning risk. MethodsDescriptive epidemiological analysis of unintentional fatal drowning occurring July 2004-June 2021 at Australian coastal sites (beaches, rock platforms, bays, harbours, offshore locations etc.). Total population, exposed-person and exposed-person-time rates per 100,000 population were calculated by age, sex, socio-economic status, remoteness category and pre-submersion activity. Annual trends were assessed using joinpoint regression. Exposure-based rates used estimates from Surf Life Saving Australia’s National Coastal Safety Survey. ResultsThe cumulative unintentional coastal fatal drowning rate was 0.43 per 100,000 Australian residents (95%CI: 0.41–0.45) and did not change throughout the study period (p=0.289). The exposed-person rate was 0.67 per 100,000 coastal visitors (95%CI: 0.62–0.72), and there were 0.55 coastal drowning deaths per 10 million coastal visitor hours (95%CI: 0.51–0.59). Men, older people and residents of lower socio-economic and remote areas had higher drowning rates; rock fishing and scuba diving had the highest activity exposure-based rates. ConclusionsEducation- and policy-based coastal safety interventions should focus on identified risk factors to reduce annual coastal drowning rates. Implications for Public HealthExposure-based risk measurements are important for developing and prioritising interventions; assessments based on counts or total population measures alone may misinform prevention efforts.

Planning Queen Elizabeth II’s Visit to Bondi Beach in 1954

Planning Queen Elizabeth II’s Visit to Bondi Beach in 1954

Addressing gaps in our understanding of the drowning patient: a protocol for the retrospective development of an Utstein style database and multicentre collaboration

IntroductionThis retrospective observational study aims to create a comprehensive database of the circumstances of drowning (including care provided and outcomes of care) to report against the Utstein style for drowning...

Evaluation of a critical incident management system on mental health in lifeguard organisations: a retrospective study

BackgroundLifeguards may face many life-threatening situations during their careers and may be at increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Minimal evidence concerning critical incident management systems in lifeguard organisations...

Assessing the ability of deep learning techniques to perform real-time identification of shark species in live streaming video from drones

Over the last five years remotely piloted drones have become the tool of choice to spot potentially dangerous sharks in New South Wales, Australia. They have proven to be a more effective, accessible and cheaper solution compared to crewed aircraft. However, the ability to reliably detect and identify marine fauna is closely tied to pilot skill, experience and level of fatigue. Modern computer vision technology offers the possibility of improving detection reliability and even automating the surveillance process in the future. In this work we investigate the ability of commodity deep learning algorithms to detect marine objects in video footage from drones, with a focus on distinguishing between shark species. This study was enabled by the large archive of video footage gathered during the NSW Department of Primary Industries Drone Trials since 2016. We used this data to train two neural networks, based on the ResNet-50 and MobileNet V1 architectures, to detect and identify ten classes of marine object in 1080p resolution video footage. Both networks are capable of reliably detecting dangerous sharks: 80% accuracy for RetinaNet-50 and 78% for MobileNet V1 when tested on a challenging external dataset, which compares well to human observers. The object detection models correctly detect and localise most objects, produce few false-positive detections and can successfully distinguish between species of marine fauna in good conditions. We find that shallower network architectures, like MobileNet V1, tend to perform slightly worse on smaller objects, so care is needed when selecting a network to match deployment needs. We show that inherent biases in the training set have the largest effect on reliability. Some of these biases can be mitigated by pre-processing the data prior to training, however, this requires a large store of high resolution images that supports augmentation. A key finding is that models need to be carefully tuned for new locations and water conditions. Finally, we built an Android mobile application to run inference on real-time streaming video and demonstrated a working prototype during fields trials run in partnership with Surf Life Saving NSW.

Cervical spine immobilisation is only required in drowning patients at high risk of axial loading of the spine.

Wave forced impacts are known to result in cervical spine injuries (CSI) and approximately 20% of drownings in Australia occur at the beach. The most common mechanism of injury in studies examining the frequency of CSI in drowning patients is shallow water diving. The aim of the present study was to determine what proportion of CSIs occurring in bodies of water experienced a concomitant drowning injury in a location where wave forced impacts are likely to be an additional risk factor. Electronic medical records at the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service EDs, Queensland Ambulance Service case records and Surf Life Saving Queensland data between 1 January 2015 and 21 April 2021 were manually linked. Outcomes recorded included victim demographics, scene information, hospital course and patient disposition. Ninety-one of 574 (15.9%) CSIs occurred in a body of water with risk of drowning. However, only 4 (4.3%) had a simultaneous drowning injury, representing 0.8% (4/483) of drowning presentations. Ten (10.9%) patients reported loss of consciousness, including the four with drowning. The principal mechanism of CSI was a wave forced impact (71/91, 78%). Most injuries occurred at the beach (79/91, 86.8%). Delayed presentation was common (28/91, 31%). A history of axial loading was 100% sensitive when indicating imaging. The combination of CSI and drowning is uncommon. Cervical spine precautions are only required in drowning patients with signs or a history, or at high risk of, axial loading of the spine. This paper supports the move away from routine cervical spine precautions even in a high-risk population.

Cervical spine injuries occurring at the beach: epidemiology, mechanism of injury and risk factors

ObjectiveSurf zone injuries include cervical spine injuries (CSI). Risk factors for CSI have not been extensively investigated. The objective was to examine risk factors associated with diagnosed CSI that occurred in a beach setting.MethodsThis retrospective case series used manually linked data from Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Emergency Departments, Queensland Ambulance Service, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ), and Bureau of Meteorology data from 01/01/2015-21/04/2021. Variables included victim demographics, mechanism of injury, scene information, and patient course.ResultsSeventy-nine of the 574 (13.8%) confirmed CSI occurred at the beach. Local residents and visitors were injured equally. Females represented a minority (12.7%) of those diagnosed with CSI but were a higher proportion of suspected spinal incidents reported to SLSQ (45%). Surfers were more likely to be injured through shallow water diving than swimmers (27.6% vs 2.2%). Females were more likely to be injured by shallow water diving than males (30.0% vs 8.7%). Visitors were more likely to be injured swimming and local residents surfing (68.2% vs 77.8% respectively). CSI occurred most commonly (40.0%) with a below average ocean wave height (0.75-1.25 m) and were most likely (45.3%) to occur in the second half of the outgoing tide. One beach had a statistically significant greater incidence of spinal incidents (OR 3.9, 95% CI: 2.1-7.2) and of CSI (OR 10.7, 95% CI: 1.5-79.5).ConclusionsRisk factors for CSI at the beach include male sex, smaller wave height and an outgoing tide. Shallow water diving among surfers and females should be addressed urgently.

Experiences, beliefs, and attitudes of lifeguards from Australia and the United Kingdom toward lifeguard involvement in flood mitigation and response

IntroductionFlooding causes significant mortality and morbidity, with impacts expected to increase with climate change. Ensuring adequate country-level flood mitigation and response capacity is key. Lifeguards, traditionally used for drowning prevention, may represent an additional workforce for flood emergency response. MethodsThrough an anonymous, online survey, we explored experiences, beliefs, and attitudes of a convenience sample of surf lifeguards from Australia and England towards lifeguards’ involvement in flood response. Respondents were recruited via Surf Life Saving Australia and Great Britain and had prior training in flood rescue. Analysis comprised descriptive statistics and thematic coding of free-text responses. ResultsForty-four responses were received (93.2% male, 34.1% aged 50–59 years; 61.4% from Australia; 61.4% with ≥16 years lifesaving experience). Twenty-nine respondents (65.9%) self-reported having previously responded to flooding, 15 of which responded prior to receiving flood training. Lifeguards commonly reported being involved in the flood response phase (n = 28). Respondents identified rescue skills (n = 43; 97.7%), awareness of water conditions (n = 40; 90.9%), and radio communication protocols (n = 40; 90.9%) as relevant in a flood scenario. Respondents broadly agreed lifeguards were an asset in flood response due to transferrable skills, including to bolster existing capacity. However, respondents noted need for greater recognition, for involvement earlier in flood response and for flood-specific training and equipment prior to deployment.Discussion & Conclusions: Lifeguards represent a willing and able workforce to support flood mitigation and response, some of whom are already being tasked with such work. Provision of flood-specific training and equipment are vital, as is addressing interoperability tensions.

Expendable young males

ABSTRACT Surf lifesaving in Australia is an iconic community volunteer service. Surf lifesaving members must attain their bronze medallion, which includes fundamental first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques in order to patrol the beaches. Each year thousands of rescues and first aid procedures are conducted on the beaches of Australia as volunteer patrolling surf lifesavers carry out their community service. However, there is a sport attached to this community service, which has arguably become the ‘face’ of surf lifesaving in Australia. Some athletes are professional, and others gain a range of sponsorships. Many others are juniors and Masters competitors. The national championships each year draw anywhere between 5000 and 8000 competitors and spectators. Not without its critics, the masculinised nature of surf lifesaving has come under scrutiny in the past (Booth, 2001). Significantly, this is a paper about young males and the way in which masculinity is socially constructed within both a sporting and broader social and cultural context. It is also a paper that challenges the way in which the male body is endorsed, perceived, and used in a utilitarian manner from boyhood through to early male adulthood, across a range of settings thereby creating a normalised conception of the male body throughout life. Using surf lifesaving as vehicle through which young males can be explored, it identifies the role of sport in the creation of this normalisation and specifically highlights, through an autoethnographic account, the expectation placed on young males within the masculinised sporting setting of surf lifesaving in Australia.

Suicide along the Australian coast: Exploring the epidemiology and risk factors.

Suicide is an increasing global concern with multiple risk factors, yet location-based understanding is limited. In Australia, surf lifesavers (SLS) and lifeguards patrol the coast, performing rescues and assisting injured people, including people who suicide. This study is a descriptive epidemiological analysis of Australian coastal suicide deaths. The results will be used to inform training and support surf lifesaving personnel and suicide prevention organisations. This is a population-based cross-sectional study of suicide deaths at Australian coastal locations (between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2019). Data were sourced from the National Coronial Information System and SLS Australia’s Incident Report Database. Analyses explored decedent, incident, and risk factors by sex and method. Across the study period, there were 666 coastal suicide deaths (71.0% male, 43.4% jumping from high places [X80]). Males were more likely to suicide by other means (hanging, self-poisoning, firearm discharge; n = 145, 83.8%), compared to females who were more likely to suicide by drowning ([X71]; n = 77, 37.7%). In one third (n = 225, 38.3%) toxicology was a contributing factor. The risk of coastal suicides was 10.3 times higher during the seven-days prior to their birthday (p<0.001). Evidence of mental ill health was reported in 61.4% (n = 409) of cases and evidence of suicidal behaviour was reported for 37.4% of decedents (n = 249), more prevalent in females. SLS responded in 10.7% (n = 71) of coastal suicides (most jumps from high places; n = 36, 50.7%). Coastal suicides differ to national trends suggesting that location-based differences should be considered during development of preventative and protective measures, especially at a community level. Accessibility, availability, perceived lethality and symbolic qualities are proposed to influence suicide location decisions. These results will guide support and education strategies for surf lifesaving personnel, contributes to established, ongoing suicide surveillance efforts (including hot-spot identification) and add to the limited literature exploring place-based suicide.

Risky business: a 15-year analysis of fatal coastal drowning of young male adults in Australia

IntroductionDrowning is a leading cause of unintentional death, especially for males. In Australian coastal waters, young male adults account for 25% of the burden of male drowning. This study aims...

Dying to help: Fatal bystander rescues in Australian coastal environments

Bystanders who drown during a rescue attempt in aquatic waterways are becoming an increasingly important issue within drowning prevention. In the Australian context, the majority of these incidents occur in coastal water ways. This study documents and characterizes bystander rescuer fatalities within Australian coastal waterways that occurred between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2019 in order to provide suggestions for future public safety interventions involving bystander rescuers. Data was sourced through Surf Life Saving Australia’s (SLSA) Coastal Fatality Database, which collates information from multiple sources. Sixty-seven bystander rescuer fatalities in coastal waterways were reported during the 15-year period, an average of 4.5 per year, which is a significant proportion of the five fatalities previously reported across all Australian waterways. The majority of coastal bystander rescuer fatality incidents occurred in the state of New South Wales (49%), at beaches (64%), in regional or remote areas (71%), more than 1 km from the nearest lifesaving service (78%), during summer (45%), in the afternoon (72%), in the presence of rip currents (73%), and did not involve the use of flotation devices to assist rescue (97%). The majority of coastal bystander rescuer victims were Australian residents (88%) born in Australia/Oceania (68%), males (81%), aged between 30–44 years old (36%), visitors to the location (55%), either family (69%) or friends (15%) of the rescuee(s), and were attempting to rescue someone younger than 18 years old (64%). Our results suggest future safety intervention approaches should target males, parents and carers visiting beach locations in regional locations during holiday times and should focus on the importance of flotation devices when enacting a rescue and further educating visitors about the rip current hazard. Future research should examine the psychology of bystander rescue situations and evaluate the effectiveness of different safety intervention approaches.

Physical Culture and the Making and Preservation of Bondi Beach

Bondi, arguably Australia’s best known surf beach, raises questions about the relationships between physical cultures and the natural and built environments. In this paper I explore these relationships through an historical analysis of swimming, surfbathing, surf lifesaving, and surfing, and their contributions to the making and preservation of Bondi Beach. The physical cultures that formed at Bondi in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were based largely on engagement with sea, surf, and sand. The subsequent provision of facilities and structures, such as ocean baths, public changing rooms, and clubhouses for surf lifesavers, contributed to a local built environment. Today, the Bondi Pavilion, the Bondi and North Bondi surf lifesaving clubhouses, and the Bondi Baths are as emblematic of Bondi Beach as its most prominent natural features – expansive horizons, headlands, golden sand, and breaking waves. However, the now iconic built structures contain a paradox. While they are the creations for physical cultures that engage with, and claim an affinity to, nature, they simultaneously break up and disrupt Bondi’s natural contours, colours, textures, forms, and geomorphological processes.

Treating risk as relational on shore platforms and implications for public safety on microtidal rocky coasts

Drowning on rocky coasts is a problem with global significance, but it is a particularly acute issue in Australia where rocky coasts account for 19% of coastal drownings. The risk of drowning is often framed as a consequence of waves washing over shore platforms, which sweep unsuspecting victims into the sea. Although the physical processes of ‘wave overtopping’ are understood, few studies have investigated which elements of shore platform environments are perceived as being hazardous. Using coastal regions of Victoria, Australia, as the case, this study explores how Victoria’s lifesaving community perceives risk on shore platforms. These perceptions are then compared to quantitative risk ratings to analyse whether physical risk assessments designed by coastal risk experts align with lifesavers’ perceptions. Lifesavers are non-certified risk ‘experts’, whose safety training and exposure to hazardous situations inform their ‘experiential-expertise’, which is contrasted with the more common quantitative and science-based ‘expert’ risk assessments. The aim is to explore lifesavers perceptions of risk and to contrast two different ‘expert’ constructions of risk; one of which is experience based and the other a more traditional quantitative output of modelling. Exploration of this type of ‘expert’–expert hazard contrast is lacking with a management focus on lay perceptions. To understand how lifesavers perceive risk on shore platforms, the authors explore risk as relational. This conceptual approach takes an important first step towards thinking about risk as more than the simple combination of physical wave overtopping process and social perceptions. Instead, it seeks to understand the socio-environmental interactions that are perceived as hazardous. Data for this analysis were collected via an online questionnaire of Surf Life Saving Australia membership whose patrols are within 1 km of a shore platform in Victoria, Australia (n = 4683). By thinking about risk as relational, ‘slipping’ emerges as an under-explored hazard on shore platforms, despite being the main contributor to how lifesavers, themselves, unintentionally entered the sea. This study shows that the prevailing way of framing risk—perpetuated by the media and expert risk models—is often divorced from how risk is perceived by ‘experiential-experts’. This suggests coastal risk policy needs to integrate perceptions of the socio-environmental interactions that produce risk with the aim of accommodating the relational ways people perceive risk on shore platforms.

The Lorne Pier to Pub.

Lorne Lifesaving Club, Lorne, Victoria, Australia Phillips Healthcare supplies the monitoring equipment for the Pier to Pub event. Epworth Healthcare supplies drugs and intravenous equipment for the event. Both provide free of charge but they do get the right to advertise this at the event. The author is an honorary life member of Lorne Surf Lifesaving Club. Address Correspondence to: Kevin Moriarty, OAM, MBBS, FANZCA, 3/655 Victoria St., Abbotsford, Vic. 3067, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]

The challenges of delivering good practice for volunteer youth workers in youth development organisations

Recent research has shown that programs provided by youth development organisations are of considerable benefit to those young people who engage with the aims and activities of such programs. These programs (e.g. Scouts, Guides, Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades, Surf Lifesaving) are generally provided and run by adult volunteers. This article seeks to explore the main issues for volunteers with regard to implementing these programs, including the reasons why people volunteer in the first place, what community support and resourcing are available and the difficulties of running a program with too few volunteers. The main limiting factor in the success of these programs is the available volunteers, their individual skill levels, the time they have to give and whether they feel the return for their efforts is worthwhile. Community and parental recognition is also a significant factor in their satisfaction and longevity. Volunteers generally gain satisfaction and motivation through a mix of self-worth gained through community service and being able to pass on the program and ethos of their particular organisation. How long a volunteer serves as a leader is closely connected with their satisfaction level. The author’s many years of experience at local and state level provides insight into the recruitment and retention of volunteer leaders and their important role in continuing to provide youth programs at the local level.

Sponsorship of junior sport development programs in Australia

ObjectiveThis study investigated the nature and extent of unhealthy food, beverage, alcohol and gambling sponsors of children's sport development programs. MethodsWebsites of junior development sport programs (n=56) associated with sporting organisations that received funding from the Australian Sporting Commission were analysed. Sponsors were considered unhealthy if they were alcohol or gambling companies or sold food and/or beverages that failed independent nutrition criteria. The websites of the sport development programs were also analysed for types of promotion. ResultsThere were 246 sponsors identified. Eleven (4.5%) sponsors were food, beverage, alcohol or gambling companies of which 10 (91%) were unhealthy. Surf Lifesaving (n=4) and athletics (n=3) websites had the highest number of unhealthy sponsors. Promotions associated with unhealthy sponsorship included logo placement on homepages (100%), naming rights (31%), logo on sport uniforms (27%) and branded participant packs (31%). ConclusionsThe majority of food and beverage company sponsors in sport development programs are companies associated with unhealthy products. Two websites hosting junior development program information included an alcohol company sponsor and a gambling company sponsor. ImplicationsUnhealthy product sponsorship of children's sport should be addressed as part of a comprehensive regulation designed to reduce exposure to marketing of unhealthy foods.