Home-grown lifeguards for J’Bay beaches

CAPTION: Senior lifeguards ZweliMafutha (back right), DumisaneMseyisi (left), Goodman Fletcher (second left) and BooysenLubuzo (second right) welcome some of the newest lifesaving recruits to Dolphin Beach.

Home-grown lifeguards for J’Bay beaches

THIRTEEN home-grown lifeguards will be keeping an eye on two popular Jeffreys Bay swimming beaches this festive season.

Dolphin Beach and Pellsrus Beach will be closely guarded by the group, who recently became the first members of the Jeffreys Bay Liefsaving Club to pass the rigorous qualifications test.

They will be supervised by five senior lifeguards with expert knowledge of local sea and beach conditions.

Kouga Executive Mayor Booi Koerat said the municipality was proud to have been part of empowering this group of young people, who hail from Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp.

“This is a skill that will help them to secure work. Of the more than 40 youngsters who initially joined the club, these 13 are the ones who persevered till the very end. There is no doubt that they have the strength and determination to build a solid future for themselves,” he said.

Lifeguards will be on duty at Dolphin Beach and Pellsrus Beach for the duration of the Blue Flag season from December 2012 to April 2013. Lifeguards will also be stationed at other swimming beaches from mid-December to mid-January.