Facts

When you go to the beach remember to:
Slip, Slop, Slap & Wrap to protect yourself from the sun.
Swim with a responsible adult. 
Swim between the flags
Listen to the lifeguards
Signal to ask for help
Wear a lifejacket when on a boat and when fishing on rocks

SLIP into a shirt (and some shade),between 11am and 4pm because that is when the Sun's UV rays are the hottest.
SLOP on some sunscreen.Put sunscreen on any skin not covered by clothes.
Make sure that after playing,swimming or drying yourself with a towel that you put more sunscreen on to replace the stuff that has just come off.
SLAP on a hat with a brim or a cap with flaps. More people get burned on the face and neck than any other part of the body, a good hat is important.
WRAP on a pair of sunglasses

At the beach the rules for being around swimming pools go double because swimming pools are usually quite small and have lots of people around who can help you if you get into trouble.
At the beach, if you get into deep water, people might not be able to get to you in a hurry. So if you go in the water stay close to a responsible adult, so they can help you out if you get into trouble.

Watch out for rips, which are normally found at tidal beaches, with big waves. Know your limits and stay close to an adult.

If in doubt, stay out

Lifeguards on New Zealand beaches wear red and yellow outfits. What they say goes at the beach. If they tell you it’s not safe to swim, you don’t swim. If they tell you to get out of the water, you get out.  And they’ll be the first people to help you if you get into trouble.

If you need a lifeguards help, make your arm straight raise in above your head and wave your arm in the direction of the lifeguard.

Swim between the flags at a patrolled beach because they show shows you  the area you’re allowed to swim in because it's the safest part of the beach.  Anywhere outside those flags, and you could run into a rip that can suck you out into deeper water, so keep an eye on where you’re swimming and make sure you don’t drift.

If you do get caught in a rip,don’t swim against the rip and try to swim back to the beach, because it will be stronger than you, and it’ll wear you out. Just let it carry you out, and stay afloat. And put your arm high above your head, which tells the lifeguards you’re in trouble.

When you’re out in a boat, ‘always’ wear your lifejacket. It’s as important as wearing a seatbelt in a car. Remember everyone should wear a life jacket. If you fall in the water with all your clothes on, they’ll fill up with water and get heavy and even a strong swimmer will get tired very quickly without a lifejacket.

You also need to have the right ‘size’ jacket too, because if it’s too big, you’ll slip right out of it. Never, ever take your jacket off until you’re back on dry land.

Remember to wear a lifejacket if you are fishing off rocks or on a surf beach.

Did you know

The first lifeguards for beaches were in Australia and started in 1906

Most lifeguards not only are excellent swimmers but they also know first aid as well to assist them in saving lives on our beaches.

In New Zealand lifeguards wear the same uniform no matter which beach you go to: A red hat, yellow shorts and a red pair of shorts.

You can sit you surf lifeguard award at 14 years old in New Zealand….but you can always join a surfclub no matter how old or young you are !
Since 1932 in New Zealand lifeguards have provided over 1,500,000 hours of beach patrols on our beaches and 43,000 lives have been saved by lifeguards… AWESOME !

Drowning is New Zealand's third highest cause of accidental death, only road crashes and falls are more dangerous so be careful near the water

A ‘rip’ is a very strong current of water running out to sea. Rips are formed by water in the form of waves washing up onto the beach, because this water needs to find its way back out to sea, the force of water forms a channel or pathway beyond the break called a rip.

A rip normally looks like a darker colour piece of water…because the water is deeper, has smaller waves and might look like a calm area in the water.

ALWAYS swim between the yellow and red flags at patrolled beaches ….Every morning the lifeguards check the beaches using their expert and local knowledge for things like rips or holes at the beach and then put up the flags for the safest place for you and I to swim.

It is compulsory for PFDs personal floatation devices (often called lifejackets) to be carried on all recreational craft on the water. Everybody should wear his or her lifejackets at all times.

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world so make sure that you SLIP, SLOP, SLAP and WRAP

More people get burned on the face and neck than any other part of the body, so a good hat is important when you are at the beach