Australian surf lifesaving organisations and state governments have expanded their water safety campaigns in response to a concerning uptick in coastal drownings and serious incidents involving both swimmers and surfers. The campaigns, which now run year-round rather than being concentrated in the summer months, combine traditional beach safety messaging with targeted outreach to specific demographic groups that have been overrepresented in incident data. The expansion reflects a data-driven approach to drowning prevention, with resources directed toward the locations, times and activities where risk is highest. The core messages, swim between the flags, wear a leash, know your limits and do not surf alone, are being reinforced with more nuanced education about reading surf conditions, understanding rip currents and managing the specific risks associated with different types of surfcraft.
Advertisement
The data that is driving the expanded campaigns tells an uncomfortable story. Drownings and serious incidents involving boardriders have increased in several states, with the majority occurring at unpatrolled beaches, outside of standard patrol hours, or involving individuals who were surfing alone. The demographic most at risk, according to the coronial inquests and surf lifesaving reports, is adult men aged between thirty and sixty who are often experienced in the water but may be carrying underlying health conditions, overestimating their fitness or making poor decisions about when and where to paddle out. The campaigns are therefore moving beyond the junior nippers and teenagers who have traditionally been the focus of surf education and are speaking directly to middle-aged men, a cohort that is not always receptive to safety messaging delivered in a didactic tone.
The messaging approach has been refined to be direct without being condescending, using voices that the target audience will trust. Former professional surfers, local boardriders club presidents and surf shop owners have been recruited as ambassadors, appearing in short video segments that talk honestly about their own experiences of being caught inside, pulled out to sea or witnessing a mate get into trouble. The tone is peer-to-peer rather than authority-to-subordinate, emphasising that knowing when not to paddle out is a mark of experience rather than a lack of courage. The campaigns also encourage surfers to complete a free online course in basic ocean rescue and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with the practical message that the person most likely to be first on the scene when a surfer gets into trouble is another surfer.
