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Abstract
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In the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Educa- tion (IJARE), the editorial asserted that it wasn't until the mid-1980s that several leading lifesaving organizations, including the United States "Lifeguarding" Asso- ciation, modified an existing emphasis on blocks, parries, and front underwater approaches to victims to an emphasis on using a rescue buoy or tube to support victims and themselves in the course of making a rescue. This is an inaccurate reflection of lifesaving history.
The United States Lifesaving (not Lifeguarding) Association (USLA) stands alone in the United States as a membership organization of beach lifeguards and open-water rescuers. We do not certify lifeguards per se but, rather, recommend minimum training standards and certify lifeguard employers who demonstrate that they meet these standards. The standards are a product of the innovation of open- water lifeguards, USLA-affiliated agencies, and a nationally achieved consensus of best practice. In a typical year, USLA-affiliated lifeguard agencies report some 50,000 rescues from drowning, mostly from rip currents at surf beaches. (The actual statistics are freely available at www.usla.org.) The first surf lifeguards in the United States, and perhaps in the world, were employed beginning in 1892 in New Jersey. One of the greatest difficulties for swimming lifesavers was the struggle sometimes required to overpower a panicked victim before the rescue could be completed. The line and reel (landline) was an early solution. A lifeguard would swim out to the victim while attached to the line, clutch the victim, and be rapidly pulled back to shore by others.
As an alternative, Atlantic City lifeguards developed what might be the first rescue flotation device (RFD is a term coined by the USLA for its 1995 manual) by fastening an 8-foot line and shoulder harness to a life ring. The lifeguard would swim out with the life ring, throw it to the victim, and tow the victim to a dory or to shore. This avoided contact with the victim, but like the line and reel, the life ring created significant drag in the water.
The first rescue buoy (then called a rescue can) is believed to have been invented in 1897 by Captain Henry Sheffield, an American, for a surf lifesaving club in South Africa. It went through several iterations over the decades, all the while employed by surf lifeguards, until it was perfected to the modern (plastic) version by Los Angeles County Lifeguard Lieutenant Bob Burnside in 1968. Lifeguards would swim out and push the buoy to the victim. This kept the lifeguard separate from the sometimes-panicked victim until the victim calmed down. Blocks and parries were rarely needed. The victim was then towed to shore.
In heavy surf and when drowning victims are in poor condition, the victim might be unable to hold on to a rescue buoy, thus possibly becoming separated from the lifeguard on the return trip. For this reason, in 1935, based on a design by Reggie Burton and Captain George Watkins, Santa Monica, CA, lifeguard Pete Peterson produced an inflatable, bright yellow rescue tube with a snap hook molded onto one end and a 14-inch strap on the other. A line and harness were then attached. This highly visible device was used by many beach lifeguard services into the early 1960s...
Language: en |