Cape Town - City lifeguard hopefuls are being put through their paces ahead of spring and summer as they demonstrate required first aid skills and meet specific swimming requirements.
This includes completing 100 metres in under two minutes for pool lifeguards, and 400 metres in under eight minutes for beach lifeguards. The annual assessments coincide with World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25.
The day aims to reduce drowning incidents and enhance safe swimming.
The City said it recruits around 600 seasonal lifeguards annually to support its core group of permanent senior lifeguards.
Together, this team aims to prevent drownings through their active patrolling and monitoring of bathing areas, promote safe swimming practices, educate the public and train new lifeguard recruits.
The Recreation and Parks Department received over 1400 applications for seasonal lifeguard positions in preparation for the peak swimming season.
Candidates must pass a swim and rescue test, demonstrate required first aid skills, and meet specific swimming requirements.
Applicants also need to have a clean criminal record and be drug-free.
“There is always demand for this skill, and the bigger our pool of potential candidates, the safer Cape Town’s bathing spots will be,” said community services and health mayco member Patricia Van der Ross.
Fatal drownings were down 26% in the 2023/24 summer season when compared to the season before.
Thirty non-fatal drownings, 14 fatal drownings and 80 rescues were recorded along the coast in the 2023/24 season.
There were no fatal or non-fatal drownings at municipal swimming pools.
“Water safety is a global issue that extends beyond Cape Town, and that is why we observe World Drowning Prevention Day.
“The City has responded by refining its operations, informed by detailed observations and data analysis.
“And, while we have noted a slight downturn in the number of fatal drowning incidents, it is heart-breaking to know that all of the fatal drowning incidents that have occurred over the past two summers took place outside of designated bathing areas, or outside of lifeguard duty hours.
“One silver lining was the very notable achievement of zero fatal drownings at Strand Beach, the first in five years.
“This success is attributed to the vigilance of our lifeguards and strong partnerships in drowning prevention that we will look to build on in the season that’s to come,” said Van der Ross.
Cape Argus