Lifeguard hopefuls put through their paces ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day

21 July 2024

The approach to training and deploying skilled lifeguards underscores the City's commitment to preventing drownings and ensuring the safety of its residents and visitors.

In preparation for summer, seasonal lifeguard assessments are already under way for beach and pool positions.

The City recruits approximately 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.

The assessment dates are:

15 – 19 July
22 – 26 July
05 – 08 August
12 – 16 August

Candidates must pass a swim and rescue test, demonstrate required first aid skills, and meet specific swimming requirements: 100 meters in under two minutes for pool lifeguards and 400 meters in under eight minutes for beach lifeguards.

Applicants also need to have a clean criminal record and be drug-free.

'I want to thank those candidates who have turned out for the assessments to date, and those who'll be assessed in the weeks to come. I wish you the best of luck. I also want to encourage young people to get involved with swimming or lifesaving clubs. It is not only a good way to improve your swimming skills and knowledge of water safety, but could be the first step to being a future lifeguard. 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 Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross.

The City's proactive approach to training and deploying skilled lifeguards underscores its commitment to preventing drownings and ensuring the safety of its residents and visitors.

Over the past three years, drowning statistics have improved, but one drowning is still one too many. 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.

Importantly, all fatal drownings occurred outside designated bathing areas or during times when lifeguards were not on duty, highlighting the critical role of lifeguards in ensuring water safety. This underscores the importance of our lifeguard presence and the effectiveness of our Drowning Prevention Programme.

'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,' added Councillor Van der Ross.

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office

lifeguards Muizenberg swimming pool