Lifeguards rarely receive the measure of respect they deserve from the general population. It’s only in sporadic enclaves around the world (like SoCal and Hawaii), where the local lifeguards are given the esteem they deserve. They’re out there day after day, putting their own lives in harm’s way, most often because someone didn’t respect the power of the ocean. Up until watching the video below I actually had no idea that on average the Huntington Beach lifeguards make around 500 rescues on an average weekend.
That’s roughly 250 lives they are saving EACH DAY during the weekend. This includes people getting swept out to see, shark attacks, drowning victims, and everything imaginable. To really get across to the public how many lives these SoCal lifeguards save on a daily basis they attached GoPro’s to the lifeguards and put together this supercut of just one Saturday and Sunday (the last weekend in August), showing just how often these lifeguards are saving lives.
The California State Lifeguards released that video above on their Facebook page as a prelude to the busy Labor Day Weekend that just took place, and I cannot even begin to fathom how many lives were saved over that 3-day-weekend with all the extra swimmers in the water. Agains, that’s 250 rescues PER DAY on an average weekend. Multiply that by 52 and that’s 26,000 rescues a year by the Huntington Beach Lifeguards….They deserver our thanks and praise.