Probably
most of us had an occasion to spend holidays at the seaside. Consequently, we
recognize distinctive people with brown skin, sunglasses and whistle hanging
from the neck, called lifeguards.
Usually
people think that our job is to sit a whole day on (or around) a tower, take
sunbath and annoy people by throwing them out of water in the middle of sunny
day. Sometimes all what we know about lifesaving is what we have seen in the popular
serial Baywatch. Today, I will try to describe a day from the life of a lifeguard
during holidays.
Normally,
duty starts at 9 o’clock in the morning. At this time everything has to be
prepared (including lifeguards). Before that time all lifeguards have
obligatory warm-up activities which usually mean running on the beach one way
and coming back by swimming. After that we have some time to eat breakfast,
prepare clothes and other stuff for work and slowly start moving to a place
where we will spend next 8 hours. When a team reaches their tower (every season
one tower on the beach has its own lifeguard team – usually 3 or 4 people),
starts to prepare a workplace. What we have to prepare depends on a day, when
it’s windy and rainy the main thing is to seal the tower or other place to hide
for the rest of the day (yes, we have to be there even if the beach and water
is completely deserted). When it’s sunny all equipment has to be accessible in a
few seconds in case of a potential rescue action.
What does
it look like? Again, everything depends on the condition of the sea, available
equipment and what actually happened. Sometimes it means picking up someone
using a rowing boat or a rescue board. When a situation is critical, we need the
help of a motorboat or a jet ski with a platform.
The most
popular technique is something called a tray with a rope. The video should
explain how it works. That one is from the competition but a real action looks
almost same.
That’s all
about how lifeguards work when other people enjoy their free time. Hope it
wasn’t too boring. What do you think about that kind of a job?
Lifeguards are usually with a passion for what they do. If we look at WOPR lifeguards we see that they don’t get any money for their work, they spend their entire summer vacation. Their equipment is not state of the art but have a big heart for what they do. I always admire jobs like lifeguards and firefighters which put their lives on the line for others.
ReplyDeleteActually it's paid work (unless particular lifeguard is doing his training period - obligatory for every "fresh" lifeguard after basic training). It's not huge amount of money but usually it's enough to survive whole holidays and even bring something home. Worst part of that job is that we have to work everyday, including (of course) Saturdays, Sundays and all public holidays.
ReplyDeleteGosh.... I couldn't imagine to do such a job. You need to be focused non-stop, you cannot wonder away. You always need to have really good condition. And when you're saving someone, you need to not drown yourself.... gosh...
ReplyDeleteGood luck with everything!
Being a lifeguard is never easy. It requires tremendous courage and great skill to be able to perform the duties properly. I even admire people who chose this career path because not many are willing to put up with the type of work they have. All the more reason why we should all support our brave lifesavers. :)
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Firstly, it is a huge responsibility. You need to approach this job very seriously. This is certainly heroic and undervalued work. Rescuers are the only chance of survival for the drowning person. Each lifeguard must be a great swimmer and perfectly grant first aid. I think the rescuers should earn more.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very responsible job, no doubt about it. They must always be ready for action, even if everything seems fine. I admire such people, especially WOPR lifeguards, because they do voluntary work. For the guys working in high mountains, every emergency is a very serious job. They often operate after dark or in winter, in the worst conditions – because that’s when careless tourists go for a hike, and then they need help!
ReplyDeleteThank you for such huge support ;) Honestly, not every lifeguard is great swimmer. Usually, on every shift we have kind of division of responsibilities. Every time there have to be one person which leads and gives commands during action - in my opinion most difficult role, there is huge adrenaline injection when an action starts, all people on the beach stand up from sand and watch what is going on immediately after long whistle (signal to start the action), lifeguards wait for orders and decision which type of action would be most suitable for that particular event. Another member of team is responsible to get all people out of the water to "clear the field". Paradoxically, the role of swimmer is one of the easiest, only thing that he has to manage is to remember to catch the rope during run into the water, get to the drowning man and catch him, rest of the team will snap him to the shore and take care of sufferer
ReplyDeleteWorking as a lifeguard cannot be easy - you have to be always ready to jump in the water, at any time, no matter the weather conditions. From your abilities and reaction depends someone's life. What is more, to do such a job you need to not only work hard to be a perfect, fast swimmer but also have to learn how to react under stress and how to work together with (often) complete strangers (like the rescued person or his/her family and companions).
ReplyDeleteNo doubt we should all respect their work and commitment.
I think i couldn't become lifeguard. U need to be focuss all the time. No metter what weather if u have to u must jump to cold water. and sometimes u must help some drank people, who think they can do everything... not for me, defently
ReplyDeleteI definitely respect lifeguards for the job they do, although for the best of them it’s rather a kind of vocation I think. Some of my friends finished studies and became “one-summer” lifeguards but I suppose it was just a summer job and a once in a lifetime adventure for them. I believe that their perception of a lifeguard’s work had been based mostly on the Baywatch TV series so they were mentally unprepared for such responsibilty. I think that the work is so difficult mostly because people, due to their own fault, put themself at risk and a lifeguard often has to predict events that could lead to dangerous situations so he can react in time.
ReplyDeleteI was always curious if there are people trying to become a lifeguard, basing on what they've seen in Baywatch series or just by urge to impress ladies. I imagine those poor guys fainting while seeing the rescued man and the rest of the team whining and doing their job instead... :) We should all respect lifeguards and remember that their job is tough - not only because of the saving lives, but also because of dealing with stupidity of tourists who jump carelessly into the water without respecting beach flags or weather reports.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone, it's a very responsible job. They have to be focused all the time and provide all the dangers. Despite this, their work seems to be nice :). All the time on the beach, around happy people and sun. They are treated with huge respect and have great success with the opposite sex :P.
ReplyDeleteAs we all. Very important profession.
ReplyDeleteImportant is the good eyesight and incredible condition for this job. Certainly it is a profession that allows us to feel satisfied, but on the other hand, a very big responsibility.
However, looking through the lens of career would treat this as a fraction of the life :)
I think everyone here have watched baywatch one time :D
Personally I was never interested in this kind of work, having never been a good swimmer. I do respect their work, however, as it's a very responsible and active type of work. They save lives of lots of people every year and make swimming on popular beaches feel much safer.
ReplyDeleteThat said, most of my lifeguard experience comes from a few episodes of Baywatch that I watched as a kid ;-)
As Martyna noticed, worst part of this work is necessity of contact with drunk and genius people which know better when condition on beach are safe. When something bad happens no one will try to understand that we were trying to convince such a person not to enter the water (for example).
ReplyDeleteOf course, there is bright side of this work, we can spend whole holidays at the sea surrounded by beautiful girls ;)
They are very needed, especcialy in the summer. It is a very responsible job. And very revarding one- you can safe someones life! But it is not wise to go to the water when you cannot swim really good, as some people I saw on the beach this tear did.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone can become lifeguard. Those people are extremely trained to face critical situations. They put their lives at risk to save others. I really respect them for what they do. Because of them we can feel safer when go out in to water. However we have to remember that it up from us to make the summer easy place to work for them. If we give a little effort to stay safe while in water, they will have more time to help those who really might need their help.
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