Volunteer surf lifesavers have saved the lives of more than 300 people on Gold Coast beaches over the last seven months in one of their busiest seasons ever.
It comes as the official Surf Life Saving Queensland patrol season wraps up this weekend.
It’s estimated more than 1.5 million people enjoyed Gold Coast beaches during that time.
Statewide, volunteers have put in more than 270,000 hours keeping watch on Queensland beaches since mid-September.
A total of 685 rescues have been carried out in that time, including 315 on the Gold Coast.
Lifesavers also performed 71,210 preventative actions to safeguard swimmers, with more than 39,000 of those on Gold Coast beaches.
They also carried out 5,846 first aid treatments across Queensland including 2,402 on the Gold Coast.
Surf Life Saving Queensland Lifesaving Services Manager Natalie Edwards says it’s been an extremely busy season.
“It has been a challenging year and all of our lifesavers have risen to the occasion and never wavered from their post in protecting swimmers at Queensland beaches,” Ms Edwards said.
“We thank all the volunteers for their dedication as they contributed more than 270,000 hours on patrol.
“If you are heading to the beach this weekend, why not thank your local lifesavers for their service to the community. And as always, please swim between the red and yellow flags.”
Beachgoers are being urged to take care this long weekend with more rough conditions expected.
It follows the death of a man in his 30s at Main Beach on Wednesday afternoon after he got into trouble while swimming outside the flags.
“We’ve got great lifeguards and lifesavers that patrol this beach, they show up every day to make sure that people are safe on this beach,” SLSQ Gold Coast Co-ordinator Nathan Fife says.
“We need people to start listening to them and swim between the red and yellow flags and between those patrol times.”
Council lifeguards will continue patrolling most Gold Coast beaches after Monday until volunteers return in September.
