28

Lifeguards

200

Hours of Work

26

Kilometers coastline

2.952,87

Kilometers distance

The idea

The idea for this project arose several years ago in the course of discussions with lifeguards on the beach of Tel Aviv.

The beaches of Israel and Germany attract every day to tens of thousands of guests. The dangers in the water are quite high: Rip currents, undercurrents and strong offshore winds in the evenings require a professional rescue chain headed by the lifeguards.

Over the past years each rescue organisation has developed its very own techniques and training standards.

We hope to learn a lot from each other. A good training system and support from volunteers can provide greater security even with limited staff resources.

How we do it

Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on requirements of their particular venue.

Members of the DLRG Leipzig e.V. and the DLRG Pramort e.V. will visit Israel in September and join their colleagues for 10 days. Within this time they will have an insight of the rescue system in Israel. They will take part in the daily shifts and provide help in rescue operations or may function as primary EMS provider.

In October the Israeli group will make their visit to Germany. Visiting Leipzig, Baltic Sea and Berlin they will have many opportunities to see how the rescue system in Germany is organized. Various experts will explain emergency services system, environmental issues as well as cultural habbits.

Who we are

The DLRG is a relief organization for life saving in Germany. With its 130.000 members, it is the biggest non-profit, independent organization based on volunteers. It was founded in 1913, based on the maxim to safe people from drowning. Since then its patron is the Federal President of Germany.

The lifeguards supervise the safety of swimmers, surfers and other water sports participants, rescuing them if necessary. But an even bigger part within our organisation is teaching children and sometimes adults how to swim and the dangers concerning water. Afterwards the training can be continued in rescue swimming and further qualification like swift water rescue, rescue by boat and rescue diving. We also play a role in the nationwide protection system concerning watercatastrophes.

In the last 64 years, there have been 22 million swimming examinations.

In 2014 773 individuals have been saved from drowning by members of our organisation.