DECEMBER CEO UPDATE

Summer has now arrived, and the team at Life Saving Victoria, alongside our aquatic industry and program partners, is hard at work keeping our community safe in the water over the festive season. 

While this time of year should be filled with joy and celebration, sadly, this is the time we see the highest number of drowning incidents. 

The launch of LSV’s annual Drowning Report earlier this month painted a stark picture of the challenges we face across the state, with alarmingly high rates of drowning particularly among young people, older adults and multicultural communities. 

It is our hope that the insights in this report will support policymakers, our partners, and our team at LSV to target the underlying factors that lead to drowning incidents, and help drive down the number of fatalities we’re seeing. 

Despite some alarming increases in drowning during traditionally cooler months this year, summer still remains our most deadly season by far. We saw a total of 23 fatal drownings last summer. While this is a reduction on record numbers in previous years, it is still above five and ten-year averages for this period. 

We urge individuals, families and the community to do everything they can and follow advice to keep themselves and each other safe around water over the summer and beyond. 

I’d like to give a particular shout-out to our partners throughout Victoria’s aquatic industry, who work tirelessly to provide accessible, inclusive and enjoyable public pool facilities that are vital to our community. 

Aside from being great places to cool off on hot days, public pools are among the safest places to swim, particularly if you or your loved ones are not confident around water. 

Of course, we’re already seeing the number of beachgoers continue to build as the weather heats up, and I commend our volunteer lifesavers and paid lifeguards who are out on patrol between and beyond the flags – with special acknowledgement to our volunteers coming to patrol on other hot weather days during the week. 

Ensuring our community is empowered with water safety knowledge and skills is key to preventing a day at the beach from ending in tragedy. 

Water Safety Education

LSV’s Education Team has also introduced fantastic new additions to the Swim City online learning tool for primary school-aged children with support from the Victorian Department of Education. 

Swim City has new modules on water safety in coastal and ocean settings, teaching children about spotting hazards at the beach, and how to safely take part in activities like snorkelling and paddle-boarding. These new additions add to existing water safety modules covering farms, rivers, aquatic facilities and homes. 

I urge all parents and carers to join their children online and play these interactive games to prepare for enjoying our waterways this summer. You might just learn something new – and it’s fun as well! To play Swim City, click here. 

Sport

Huge congratulations to Williamstown Swimming & Life Saving Club’s Veronica Treloar for taking out the Australian Sports Commission’s Sport Volunteer of the Year award, recognising her incredible contribution to Starfish Nippers and her work with the Adaptive Sport Working Group. 

This is a significant achievement, with Veronica being amongst hundreds of nominees for the award from across Australia. This award is a reflection of Veronica’s outstanding efforts, and speaks to the calibre of our volunteers across the Victorian lifesaving movement. 

The LSV Sports team has also been hard at work, with carnivals now underway across the state.  A huge schedule of events is running throughout the summer season, including the recent double-header Junior/Senior carnival at Ocean Grove, the Battle of the Beach #1 at Altona and the Youth/Senior Battle of the Waves at Jan Juc. 

Congratulations to all competitors and thank you to everyone who puts in tireless hours and energy on the beach and in the background to make these events possible. 

Bondi Beach

As we bring 2025 to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect, and acknowledge our lifesaving colleagues in NSW, who acted with such extraordinary courage in responding to the attack at Bondi Beach. 

In the face of unimaginable anguish, senseless violence and despair, you went above and beyond – stepping up with compassion, selflessness and outstanding skill. The spirit and character you demonstrated reflects the very best of the lifesaving movement. 

Thank you to all our clubs who came out in force across the state to show your support for the national three-minute silence on the weekend. Our movement is built on values of inclusion, respect, and care for one another, and it was incredible to see so many of you lined up on the water’s edge in support of the Jewish community, our first responders and the community at large. 

To our members, partners and friends – Thank you all again for your ongoing dedication to our lifesaving cause, and I wish you all a happy and safe festive season. May 2026 bring everything that you and your loved ones hope for.   

Yours in lifesaving,

Cath