Surf
Lifesaving New Zealand requires three patrol audits to be completed
on every surf lifesaving club in New Zealand each patrolling
season. These are simply a health check on the individual clubs
patrol capability and provides assurance to SLSNZ that clubs are
meeting their agreed standards as per the Patrol Operations Manual
that has been signed off by SLSNZ.
Audits are
conducted by experienced lifeguards that have been nominated by
clubs and chosen as auditors by the Local Lifeguarding Committee.
Auditors report to this committee and conduct audits on agreed
dates.
Audit
Process
On the day
of audits all clubs in the area will be visited. Auditors will
arrive at the beach unannounced and will survey the beach area and
patrollers. At this point auditors are looking at life guard
positioning, uniforms, tower or club house flags and beach flag
positioning. Auditors will then announce their presence to
the Patrol Captain for the day and the main section of the audit
will commence. During the course of the audit a rescue scenario
will be actioned and auditors will assess the response and
capability of the lifeguards.
At the end
of the audit the clubs Patrol Captain will be given a score out of
72 and any suggested remedial actions will be discussed with the
Patrol Captain and a copy of the audit provided to both the club
and SLSNZ.
