LIFEGUARDING ON WATER – KNOWLEDGE, COURAGE, HUMANITY

Abstract

An increased number of accidents in water has been registered during the last decades. In order to reduce those accidents, state and international institutions have prescribed standards to be respected and fulfilled by States. Also, the modern tourist offer is not complete without safety standards being fulfilled. The specificity of Montenegrin teritory (the Adriatic sea coastline, Skadar Lake with acc. 60 km long coastline and other lakes, fast mountain rivers suitable for rafting, etc.) as well as the increased turning of Montenegro to the elite tourism, influenced on the adoption of a series of regulations and measures that have greatly increased the safety level on the beaches. Lifeguarding on water is an organized activity that has been implemented in Montenegro since 1999. The result of this implementation is a reduced number of accidents, better safety on the beaches, better informing of the guests about the risks that could happen during swimming, increased culture level of guests behaviour at the regulated swimming beaches. The aim of this paper is to present what has been done up to now in the field of training of lifeguards on the water in Montenegro, as well as possible directions for further development.

Keywords

• beaches
• lifeguard
• training