Surf Life Saving Queensland’s volunteers save more than 950 lives over the 20/21 patrol season

Surf Life Saving Queensland has advised that volunteer surf lifesavers from Forrest Beach to Rainbow Bay have saved more than 950 lives over the 2020/21 patrol season - an increase of 27% compared to last season. The most common demographic rescued were males between 25 to 35 years old, accounting for 176 rescues performed this season.

Since the September school holidays and start of May, more than 340,000 hours had been dedicated by volunteers to protecting the lives of beachgoers. Surf Life Saving Queensland’s (SLSQ) 2020/21 patrol season officially ended on 3rd May 2021.

During this time, the volunteers performed 59,451 preventative actions to proactively safeguard swimmers, and applied a staggering 7,051 first aid treatments.

SLSQ Lifesaving Services Manager Peta Lawlor said it had been an extremely busy season across Queensland beaches and noted “our lifesavers have done a remarkable job over the past nine months keeping beachgoers safe.

“With COVID-19 restrictions impacting travel internationally and interstate, we have seen large crowds right across the coastline as people holiday closer to home.

Lifeguard services will continue to patrol Queensland beaches throughout the cooler months to ensure beachgoers safety.

Note: Statistics are for volunteer services only from Forrest Beach to Rainbow Bay for the following time period: 19th September 2020 -26th April 2021