Wollongong City Council lifeguards will draw the curtain on another patrol season this Monday, with flags at 16 of 17 patrolled beaches from Stanwell Park to Windang coming down until the end of September.
It wraps a swim season that saw more than a million people* visit our patrolled beaches, with January seeing more than 370,000 visitors take to the sand. While the figures align with previous years, our lifeguards were required to perform around 150 less rescues than last season.
The pleasing development coincided with lifeguards carrying out more than 60,000 preventative actions, reducing the number swimmers getting into difficulty and requiring rescue. It reflects the dedication of our more than 150 professional lifeguards in working with the community to ensure everyone can safely enjoy our beautiful beaches.
Our pool lifeguards also worked hard to ensure people could enjoy our nine chlorinated and saltwater community pools, providing a safe and diverse range of swimming options for people of all abilities to cool off through summer.
"Our highly skilled lifeguards complete thousands of patrol hours each season to keep our community safe at our beaches and pools," Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said.
"Our beaches are world-renowned and there's no shortage of options for residents and visitors to enjoy the warmer months. I'm very pleased to see that our lifeguards were required to perform less rescues than last season, which shows our educational messages are being heeded by the community.
"Patrolling 17 beaches six days a week, and nine pools seven days a week, is a substantial outlay of Council resources but it's a core service. We had more than 50 new lifeguards join us through our recruitment period ahead of the current swim season to ensure it's something we can continue to provide.
"With the flags coming down at most beaches after this weekend, I encourage the community to not be complacent and, if you still enjoy a dip through the cooler months, head to North Wollongong Beach, the Continental Pool, or the heated pools at Dapto, Corrimal and Beaton Park that are patrolled all-year-round."
Patrols at all beaches other than North Wollongong will cease after Saturday 25 April, with Council lifeguards to assist Surf Lifesaving volunteers on Sunday and Monday's public holiday.
Berkeley and Western Suburbs community pools will be closed from Saturday 25 April, while Helensburgh Pool will remain open until 24 May. Port Kembla and Thirroul saltwater pools will operate with reduced hours before being closed for winter on 1 June.
North Wollongong Beach is patrolled all year, while the Continental Pool is also open year-round with reduced hours through the winter months. Heated pools at Dapto, Corrimal and Beaton Park are also open all year.
The full schedule of opening hours for our pools is available on our Pools webpage . Patrol hours are available on our Beaches webpage .
*Attendance at our beaches is determined by visual observation of lifeguard personnel. Figures are approximate in nature with a focus on patrolled areas.
