Lifeguarding

Lifesaving

Lifesaving is at the heart of Oreti Surf Life Saving Club. Throughout summer, our volunteer lifeguards patrol Oreti Beach each weekend, helping keep our community safe in and around the water.

While on patrol, our lifeguards set the red and yellow flags around the safest area of the beach, provide safety advice, help prevent incidents and respond to rescues and first aid emergencies when required.

Patrol Times

Oreti Beach is patrolled on Saturdays and Sundays from mid-November through to the end of March, as well as selected public holidays.

Saturday & Sunday | 12:00pm – 5:00pm

During busy periods, patrols may remain open until 6:00pm.

Oreti Beach is not patrolled during the week or over winter, so please take extra care when lifeguards are not present. In an emergency, call 111.

Always swim between the red and yellow flags and follow the instructions of lifeguards.

Become a Lifeguard

We're always looking for new volunteers to join our patrol teams.

If you're 14 years or older and able to swim, we can train you to gain your Surf Lifeguard Award (SLA).

If swimming is a barrier but you still want to be involved in patrols, the Patrol Support Award provides another pathway to become part of the lifesaving team.

No previous surf lifesaving experience is required.

Training covers surf skills, first aid, CPR, rescue techniques, radio communications, risk management and the practical skills required to operate as part of a patrol.

Once training is complete, candidates undertake an examination covering key lifeguarding skills, including:

• 400m pool swim in under 9 minutes
• Pool tube rescue
• CPR and first aid
• Theory assessment
• Radio set-up and use
• Hand signals
• 200m run-swim-run in the surf
• Surf tube rescue

Interested in becoming a lifeguard or Patrol Support member?

Get in touch with us at oretislsc@gmail.com

Lifeguard Training

Oreti SLSC runs regular training throughout the year for both new and qualified lifeguards.

Summer Training

Mid-October – April | Thursdays, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Summer training includes beach and pool sessions covering swimming, first aid, rescue techniques, rescue boards and other lifesaving skills. Surf Lifeguard and IRB training also takes place throughout the season.

Winter Training

Thursdays, 7:00pm – 8:00pm | Splash Palace

Winter training focuses on maintaining fitness and practising lifesaving skills such as swimming, holds, tows and tube rescues. IRB theory training may also take place during these sessions.

Interested in becoming a lifeguard or Patrol Support member? Get in touch with us to find out more.