The Kiama Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) launched a new patrol roster on August 29 in an attempt to make life easier for existing members and to try to inspire more people to volunteer.

The new roster will make it easier for patrol volunteers to pick different hours and will make the overall process more flexible to accommodate for busy schedules. 

Kiama SLSC club captain Natasha Osmond-Dreyer has been captain for just over a year and she says one of the biggest issues she has found is navigating around people’s busy lives and she hopes this new roster will fix this issue.

“Because our numbers are relatively small for how many hours we have to fill out throughout the season. It means that the impost on each person is quite high. In the past people would say to me, Natasha I'm only available on 5 weekends before christmas, 4 weekends after christmas and I can only do 4 hours on this day and 4 hours on a different day and I can’t do a full day of patrol,” says Osmond-Dreyer.

“We have never been able to accommodate that. So we’re looking at giving greater flexibility for existing members of patrol and to try and bring in new members.” 

This flexible roster has been successful for both Bermagui and Killcare SLSC and Osmond-Dreyer utilised aspects of both of their systems to try and create the perfect solution for Kiama SLSC. 

“Members can now go onto a website and self-select their patrol teams, look at their shifts, choose to do a morning here and an afternoon here or a full day,” says Osmond-Dreyer.

“It's really designed to increase participation, reduce the stress on each person. We want to really ensure that we maintain the highest quality of safety and service on the beach for the season. I’m hoping that it will increase overall engagement and be a more efficient distribution of time and resources on the beach.”

To patrol the ocean for your local SLSC you need to have your bronze medallion, but Osmond-Dreyer says that they also need more volunteers on the sand and this only requires a first aid certificate.

“Most people think that you have to have a bronze medallion to patrol. But you don't. The base qualification you need is a first aid certificate. Most other people on the beach will have a bronze medallion because we need people to be rescuing people in the water, but we also need people on the sands to deal with whatever comes in. There’s multiple ways to get involved with surf life saving,” says Osmond-Dreyer.

In terms of why you should volunteer to be on the patrol teams, Osmond-Dreyer says it is a rewarding and fun experience. You are both giving back to the community and improving your own beach knowledge so that you can always feel confident in the many beaches Kiama has to offer.

“For your own benefit you will get all the necessary training and skills to supervise yourself and your family on the beach. You would be more comfortable going in the water and knowing where to find a rip and what to do in an emergency. From a community point of view it's about meeting new people, making new friendships and giving back to the community,” says Osmond-Dreyer.

“I genuinely believe that people feel safer, enjoying the water and the beach when they know that there's somebody to help them if they need help. You only have to look at the number of people who get into problems in rips at the beach to know that it is so well needed.”

If you are interested in volunteering for the Kiama SLSC please contact Natasha at [email protected]. There are no minimum hours required, and Natasha is open to anyone who is interested.