The United States Lifesaving Association is a nonprofit professional association of beach lifeguards and open water rescuers in the United States.

History

The United States Lifesaving Association's predecessor organization was founded in 1956 by lifeguard agencies in and around

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

as the Surf Life Saving Association of America to compete in an international lifesaving competition held concurrently with the 1956 Summer Olympics in Australia. Later, in 1964, the group renamed itself the National Surf Life Saving Association to include lifeguard agencies along the coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

which is viewed as the official beginning of the organization. As it grew, in 1971, the United States Lifesaving Association was a founding member of World Life Saving which later merged into the

International Life Saving Federation The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) is an organisation for drowning prevention, water safety, lifesaving and lifesaving sports. Definition The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) comprises over 130 national life saving org ...

. In 1979, as part of an effort to expand its scope nationally it renamed itself to the United States Lifesaving Association and opened membership to any lifesaving or rescue service. The organization has held organized lifesaving competitions since 1965 with the first national competition organized in 1980 and continuing annually.

Operation

Rip current warning signs at Mission Beach

The stated goal of the United States Lifesaving Association is to "Establish and maintain high standards of professional surf and open water lifesaving for the maximizing of public safety." Alongside the

, the United States Lifesaving Association created a standardized system of beach warning flags. The organization also developed and maintains a national training and qualification manual for open water lifesaving as well as an accreditation program for local training programs. Additionally, the United States Lifesaving Association partnered with the United States

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

to create a national educational program concerning

rip currents A rip current, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a '' rip tide''), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with breaking waves. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away ...

. The organization is made up of over 100 local chapters which host community lectures and disseminate safety information locally. It is governed by a board of directors made up of individuals determined by regional subdivision which meets biannually. The United States Lifesaving Association annually tabulates statistics from its chapters on drownings, rescues, and other lifesaving incidents. In 2001, based on ten years of data, the organization calculated that the chance that an individual will drown at a beach staffed by United States Lifesaving Association affiliated lifeguards as 1 in 18 million or 0.0000056% and has remained constant in the years since.

References

External links

Official website
{{Sports governing bodies of the United States

Lifesaving Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue; however, it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. ...

Lifesaving organizations