Wollongong City Council will educate international students about the importance of beach safety this week.

Over 100 students will participate in the workshop on Tuesday 29 November at North Wollongong Beach, aimed at teaching students about all areas of beach safety.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery OAM said the workshop would teach the students how to identify a rip and ensure they are safe at the beach.

“It’s an important time of year with the summer holidays seeing thousands of people descend on the City’s beaches,” Cr Bradbery said. “Council recognises the importance of educating the community on beach safety. Simple things like knowing where to swim and what to do if you get in trouble can save lives.”

The students taking part in the workshops are from a range of backgrounds including Spanish, Burmese, Arabic, Chinese, French and Thai.

Cr Bradbery said workshops like these demonstrated Council’s commitment to ensuring safety at Wollongong beaches this summer.

“Workshops like these warn people of the hazards on our beaches and how to avoid getting into trouble.”
“It is particularly important that we educate visitors to the City as often they are not as familiar with water safety and can find themselves in trouble at the beach.”

Council recently announced the roll-out of new equipment and resources to the City’s beaches, including new all-terrain vehicles and jet skis at Port Kembla and Thirroul. Fairy Meadow also received a new all-terrain vehicle and an additional lifeguard to increase surveillance in the Fairy Meadow, Puckeys and Towradgi areas.

 “While having the best equipment is important, swimmers also need to take care by swimming only at patrolled locations and understanding their abilities to avoid getting into trouble.”