Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Surf rage, latest hazard for Australia's lifeguards

Being a lifeguard seems like the ideal job. Sitting in the sun all day, watching the ocean and rescuing swimmers certainly beats sitting behind a desk.

But an Australian lifeguard's lot is apparently more stressful than people think. The men and women who patrol the country's miles of sandy beaches are reporting a rising tide of abuse from belligerent beachgoers and are being trained in how to handle outbreaks of "surf rage".

Surf rage

A trial scheme earlier this year in which specialists in workplace violence were brought in to teach professional lifeguards how to defuse hostile situations on the beach is now being rolled out to the country's army of volunteer surf lifesavers.

Greg Hackfath, president of the Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association, said beachgoers are displaying increasingly short tempers. "It all comes down to people objecting to being told what to do, even though the rules are in the interest of best beach practice management," he said.

Swimmers who refuse to stay within flagged safety zones and people who are told that they cannot smoke or bring their dogs on the beach are the most common troublemakers, according to Mr Hackfath. "Mainly, we get verbal abuse and threats," he said.

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