History

With the rise of swimming and other aquatic sports during the late 19th century, lifesaving became an important topic in several European countries. Many of them formed their own lifesaving organizations.

In 1878, the first International Lifesaving Congress was held in Marseille, France, to allow the various national bodies to exchange ideas.

A number of similar meetings were held over the next couple decades. At the 1900 conference in Paris, the French Lifesaving Federation proposed that an international organization be established. It didn't happen then, however.

When Paris was seriously flooded in January of 1910, lifesavers from throughout Europe offered their assistance. That inspired another international conference in Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris, at which the Fédération Internationale de Sauvetage (FIS) was founded. The original member countries were Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, and Tunisia.

The FIS wasn't particularly active until after World War II. At a World Congress on Lifesaving in 1951, representatives of 22 countries decided to reorganize the federation. At a meeting the following year, the FIS became the Fédération Internationale de Sauvetage et de Secourisme et de Sports Utilitaires(International Federation on Lifesaving, Rescuing and Utility Sports or FISSSU).

The name was changed twice more, in 1963 to Fédération Internationale de Sauvetage et de Sports Utilitaires and in 1985 to Fédération Internationale de Sauvetage Aquatique, but the official abbreviation is FIS.

Meanwhile, Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States had created a separate organization, World Life Saving (WLS) in 1971. The FIS and WLS merged in 1993 into the International Life Saving Federation (ILS).

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Lifesaving in the U. S.

Lifesaving in the United States evidently originated in Atlantic City, NJ, where a "constable of the surf" was appointed by the city council in 1855. A volunteer lifeguard sevice was established there in 1872; it was succeeded by a paid beach patrol in 1884.

Many municipal swimming pools and public bathing beaches were established early in the 20th century. In 1914, the Red Cross established a life saving corps and began offering water safety instruction because a great increase in the number of drownings.

However, there was no formal organization of professional lifeguards until 1956. Australian lifesavers planned an international competition in conjunction with the summer Olympics in Melbourne. Lifeguards from California and Hawaii agreed to take part. The Californians organized the Surf Life Saving Association of America (SLSA).

Lifeguards from Australia, Ceylon, Great Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U. S. took part in the Australian competition, which attracted 115,000 spectators.

The ABC television show Wide World of Sports in 1964 filmed a lifeguard competition at Huntington Beach, California. The following year, the show staged an East/West lifeguard competition at Montauk Point on New York's Long Island. A visiting team from Australia was also involved.

The SLSA was renamed the National Surf Life Saving Association (NSLSA) in 1965, when the group discussed becoming a genuine national organization.

A second East-West competition took place at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1967. As a result, several Florida chapters of the NSLSA were organized, representing the association's first growth outside of California. In 1971, the NSLSA became one of the founding members of World Life Saving.

There were still no members outside of California and Florida until 1979, when the group was renamed the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA). With "Surf" dropped from the name, the association could recruit from lifeguard organizations inland as well as on the coast. USLA officers went on trips around the Great Lakes and into New England, adding many new members.

The USLA held its first national competition in 1980 in San Diego.

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Types of Competition

Lifesaving competition is divided into two categories, pool and stillwater events and beach and surf events.

Pool & Stillwater Events

Obstacle Swim

Requires swimming under four immersed obstacles per 100 meters

Manikin Carry

A submerged manikin has to be recovered and carried to the finish

Manikin Carry with Fins

Same as above except that the competitor wears fins

Manikin Tow with Fins

A rescue tube has to be fitted around a floating manikin, which is then towed to the finish

Rescue Medley

After a 50-meter swim, the competitor has to recover a submerged manikin and carry it to the finish

Super Lifesaver

After a 75-meter swim, the competitor has to recover a submerged manikin and carry it to the edge of the pool; then, after a further 50-meter swim, a rescue tube must be fastened around a floating manikin, which has to be towed to the finish

Line Throw

The competitor throws a line to a teammate who's about 12 meters away and pulls the teammate to poolside

Lifesaving by Boat

The competitor rows a boat around a buoy, lifts an immersed manikin, and, using a single oar, goes around the buoy again and returns to the finish line

Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC)

A team of four lifesavers use their skills in a simulated emergency situation; all teams face the same situation, unknown to them in advance, and are evaluated by judges

Beach and Surf Events

Surf Race

Competitors swim through the surf over a course of about 400 meters, marked by buoys

Rescue Tube Rescue

The first team member swims to a buoy, puts a rescue tube around a "victim," and tows the victim back to the beach; two teammates must then drag or carry the victim to the finish line

Rescue Tube Race

Competitors race to recover their rescue tubes, don their belts and harnesses, then swim to designated buoys

Run Swim Run

Competitors run to a flag on the beach, enter the water, swim out and around buoys, return to the beach, and run to the finish line

Beach Flags

Beginning from a prone position, competitors stand, turn, and run to retrieve a beach flag buried in the sand about 20 meters away; in each heat, there is one beach flag fewer than the number of competitors, and the one who fails to get a flag is eliminated (think musical chairs)

Beach Sprint

This is a simple sprint over a 90-meter course along the beach

Beach Run

There are two longer distance runs along the beach, of 1,000 and 2,000 meters

Surf Ski Race

Starting in water approximately knee deep, competitors paddle surf skis around a course about 600 meters long

Board Race

Starting on the beach, competitors enter the water with their surf boards and paddle around a course, then run to the finish line after returning to the beach

Board Rescue

The first member of a team swims about 120 meters to a buoy and signals to the second member of the team, who must "rescue" the first member with a surfboard; they then paddle to shore and cross the finish line on the beach

Ironman/Ironwoman

This is a race of about 1200 meters that includes four legs: Swimming, surfboarding, surf skiing, and a sprint on the beach to the finish

Taplin Relay

Team members run four different legs, swimming, board paddling, surf ski paddling, and running; the running leg is always last, but the sequence of the other three is determined by a pre-race draw

Surf Boat Race

Starting in knee-deep water, crews climb into their boats and row through the surf around a course approximately 400 meters long

Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) Rescue

A driver and crew member member race an IRB through the surf to a buoy to pick up a "victim" and return to the beach

IRB Team Rescue

A team is made up of two crews of two persons each; the first crew launches the IRB and races through the surf and around a buoy, where the crew member jumps overboard to remain with the "victim" while the driver returns to shore; the first driver then runs to the finish line and tags the second driver, who runs to the IRB and re-launches with the second crew member; they then pick up the victim and the first crew member and return to shore

IRB Rescue Tube Rescue

A driver and crew member launch their IRB and race through the surf to a buoy, where the crew member enters the water, secures a rescue tube around a "victim," tows the victim back to the IRB, and the boat is then taken back to the beach with the victim aboard

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