What is competitive surf lifesaving?

Where it comes from

Surf lifesaving began in Australia in 1907 as a volunteer response to drownings on Sydney's beaches, and competitions grew out of lifeguards testing their skills against each other. Today it is a world sport governed by the International Life Saving Federation (ILS).

In South Africa, Lifesaving South Africa was formed in 2003 when the SA Surf Lifesaving Union and the SA Lifesaving Association merged. Its volunteer members patrol much of the SA coastline, and it runs the national championships.

The events

Races fall into two groups:

• On the sand: beach flags, beach sprint and relay and the beach run.
• In the water: the surf swim, run-swim-run, board race, surf ski, the ironman and ironwoman, the Taplin relay and the rescue events.

There is also a pool side of lifesaving sport (obstacle swims, manikin carries and line throws); Flagline covers the surf and beach events published on LiveHeats. Every event's LSA rules are summarised in rules explained.

Who races

Clubs enter athletes in age groups: nippers (U9 to U14), juniors (U15 to U19), open, and masters in five-year bands from 30, set by age at midnight on 30 September. Most competitions run separate divisions for boys and girls or men and women, plus mixed relays.

Where to find results

Organisers publish live results on LiveHeats. Flagline collects those public results for every SA competition and turns them into competition pages, club records and athlete profiles, with form and head-to-heads.