Speaking at the APOLA national conference in Wollongong at the end of last week, Association life member Ken Holloway told media “we do an excellent job in drowning prevention and we ve got a lot of people who are involved. However, the demographic is changing on our beaches. This is mainly due to immigration and refugees coming from countries which are sometimes landlocked and they ve never been to a beach before. That s showing up in the drowning statistics.
The APOLA life member’s comments follow one of the deadliest seasons on record for beach drownings in Australia - during which 86 lives were lost, an increase of 30% from the previous summer.
âRips donât drown people, people drown in ripsâ: The secret to surviving in the ocean
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The lives of many people who fatally drowned in rips, rivers and other waterways might have been saved if they had been taught to float to survive, say
Bondi Rescue star and Waverley Councilâs head lifeguard Bruce âHoppoâ Hopkins and former Iron Man Craig Riddington.
After 15 seasons of
Bondi Rescue which now airs in 100 countries, Mr Hopkins, the president of Surf Educators International, said he didnât want to be remembered only as the âguy in that lifeguard showâ.