Surf Lifesaving and Australian Culture - Case Study Example

Surf Lifesaving and Australian Culture Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Australia is a coastal continent that is surrounded by seas (Timor, Arafura, Tasman and Coral) and oceans that include the Indian, South Pacific and Great Southern oceans. This large coastline makes Australia famous for its beaches that are over 11,000. Most of the Australia’s population lives in the coastline and those citizens in the mainland can easily access the beaches since they are close by. The coastal nature of this continent has contributed much in building the national culture and identity of the people. Beach cultures such as sun bathing, fishing, surfing, swimming and other aquatic sporting activities are characteristic of the Australian nation. The beaches also serve a tourist purpose and hosts large numbers of both local and foreign tourists. For the local tourists, the beaches provide a good destination for family getaways. To promote beach tourism, many investors have established seaside resorts, spas and hotels. However, as the numbers of beach goers increased with time, the beaches have been associated with many dangers such as drowning. These dangers encouraged individuals to engage in life saving training activities as well as to form life saving clubs. This move bore the life saving movement, which comprised of several life saving clubs that were purely volunteer clubs. These surf life saving clubs are part of the Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) which was formed in 1907 with the name New South Wales Surf Bathing Association which later was renamed the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 6). According to the National Museum of Australia and Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell, the first life saving clubs were established at “Bondi and Bronte beaches in Sydney but later spread to other states and territories” (6, 4). The SLSA has an organization culture that is reflected in its mission, vision, key drivers and core activities. The association’s mission is to ensure that Australian beaches are safe for beachgoers with a vision of providing “great beach experiences” (SLSA 9; SLSA 8). The core activities of this association include “coastal safety and life saving, fitness and sport and member and organizational development” (SLSA 9; SLSA 8) with the key driving forces being saving lives in the aquatic environment and the quest to “promote a healthy, inclusive and clean family lifestyle.” The beach surf life saving clubs through their association has been able to set rules and regulations for ensuring beach safety. Through this association, the culture of Australians has been portrayed in several ways. Firstly, the use of surfboats by SLSA reflects a culture of class and social status. Surfboats are expensive and their purchase and use by surf life saving clubs creates a stiff “competition for status and prestige among the different subcultures within the surf life saving clubs” (Booth 380). According to Booth, the diverse socio-economic as well as cultural backgrounds of the members have brought about disagreements between the members on the use of expensive surfboats with some of members supporting the use of surfboats whereas others were opposed to it (380). Secondly, the use of surfboats in rough seas reflects Australia’s culture of masculinity, which is characterized by courage and prestige (Booth 380). Before 1980, women were only allowed to be partial members of SLSA since it was argued that they were not as strong as the men to be part of the rescue team (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 8). In fact, they were only involved in social activities such as events organization. The surf life saving clubs were adult male-only hubs or in other words could be referred to as ‘big boys only clubs’. This mirrors the masculinity culture of Australian societies. Another reflection of the masculinity culture of the Australian nation according to Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell is the heroic status of the surf life saver (5). During the world war period of the 1920s-1930s, the surf life saver was accorded the symbol of the ideal masculine national figure that according to Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell was the “sun-bronzed figure that represented the ‘masculine bodily perfection’ and came in to replace the digger and bushman as the national figure”(5). This masculine figure was used in the 1930s to sell Australia as a nation and was also popular in the advertisements of beer and cigarettes (Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell 5). However, the masculinity culture of Australia has been on a transition especially since the inclusion of women in the tough male roles of rescue work as well as the inclusion of teens and the youth in life saving activities. In the third place is the competitive and individualistic culture of Australians that is reflected in the sporting competition as well as in the competition generated by surf life saving clubs in the purchase and use of expensive surfboats. Different surfers from different surf life saving clubs access rough and dangerous sea sides as a manifestation of their courage as well as to earn attention and prestige (Booth 380). This quest for recognition displays the individualistic nature of Australians who strive to gain personal interests. The sports culture of Australia is portrayed in SLSA’s core activity of promoting fitness and sport. According to Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell, lifesaving has been involved in water sports such as boat and surf races (5). Since its inception, SLSA has held numerous sporting competitions which have been sponsored by Australian companies. In the southern hemisphere, national surf life saving championships is the “largest annual sporting event” (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 2). Some of the surf life saving sports that life savers engage in includes beach flags, Cameron relay, coolangatta gold, ironman/woman and lifesaver relay (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 10). Company sponsorships of surf sports epitomize the sportsmanship of Australia. In fact, Australians consider themselves a sporting nation and are usually actively involved in several sports such as tennis, cricket, football and aquatic sports such as surfing (Mugford 6). If not participants in the sports, Australians will be passionately watching sports either through the television or at the site where the game is taking place. Additionally, SLSA has reflected the inclusiveness nature of Australian culture through the recruitment of members from different cultural backgrounds as well as different socio-economic backgrounds. The association has over 110,000 members who are actively involved in the professional as well as recreational activities of SLSA (Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell 3). According to Helena, Colleen and Mitch, SLSA is creating relationships with cultural groups that have never been involved in surf life saving (2) as well as members from different ethnic backgrounds (16). Through the Nippers program that was aimed at recruiting pre-teen boys and girls, it is evident that everybody in Australia is important and has a role to play in nation building. Furthermore, the SLSA association through its life saving activities has mirrored the aspect of the Australian culture that every life is important. Like stated in its mission and core activities, SLSA values life and in its everyday activities saves lives that are endangered by drowning. In other words, humanitarianism is an aspect of Australian culture where people, regardless of their age and race, volunteer themselves to serve the community at different levels. According to SLSA, SLSA is the largest volunteer organization whose core activities are centred on saving lives at the beach (9). The results of an independent study carried out on Australian beaches in 2005 showed that if it were not for the efforts of SLSA in saving lives on Australian beaches, 485 fatalities through drowning would occur annually, and 313 people would be permanently incapacitated by surf accidents (Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell 3). Australian culture of strong family relationships is mirrored in the beach holidaying activities of families. The beach is a source of recreation for most Australians as well as other foreign nationalities who engage in activities such as swimming, surfing, boat riding and other games such as beach volleyball, tennis and football among others. Families also engage in other activities such as fishing and camping alongside the beach. SLSA has reflected this family culture through its driving force of striving to promote a healthy, clean and inclusive family lifestyle (SLSA 8). Australian indigenous culture was characterized by togetherness and supporting each other so as to overcome any challenges facing them. Through SLSA’s core activity of promoting organizational as well as individuals’ development, it is evident that Australians still hold it close at heart that to achieve success they should come together as a community and help each other. Moreover, the traditional Australian culture has been in support of mateship which is a code of conduct that encourages equality and friendship. According to Helena, Colleen and Mitch, membership to the surf life saving clubs as a form of community service by ex-diggers was a way of providing mateship to these ex-diggers (8). Through SLSA surf lifesaving sport championships, the aspect of mateship is evident in that these sports encourage participants from diverse groups of Australians. Through these sports, different people are also able to come together and form friendships. The membership nature of SLSA’s shareholders as well as stakeholders brings together people from different cultural, religious and economic backgrounds, an action which reflects mateship through equality. The transition of the organization from a male-dominated hub into an inclusive organization where women and the youth are part of the membership (National Museum of Australia 8) also promotes equality among members. In addition, SLSA has been encouraging more people from different ethnic backgrounds to join its surf life saving clubs so as to improve its services to the diverse beachgoers (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 16). This means that equality is an important aspect of Australian culture. Australia is a very creative and innovative society that has been involved in the arts such as painting and sculpturing, theatre and music. This innovative and creative aspect has been reflected by SLSA’s establishment of computerized emergency response points that can be activated by the public (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 12). In general, the adoption of computer technology in surf life saving has increased the safety levels of beaches especially those beaches at remote locations. Examples of technological advancements in surf life saving is the use of computerized emergency response points, built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) and radio technology (Helena, Colleen and Mitch 12). It is also evident that the beach is an important part of Australian’s lifestyle. This can be attributed to the fact that Australia has a very large coastline. According to Booth, the centenary celebrations of SLSA in 2007 were a significant event in the social and cultural context of Australians (373). The surf life saving bronzed god is a symbol of the passion that Australians have for their beaches (Booth 373). Most Australian families, whether living along the beaches or in the interior (mainland) visit the beach over the weekend and during the holidays so as to enjoy the sun, sand and the surf (Giles and Fitzgerald 1). The beach is a recreation point for Australians and displays a strong beach culture characterized by surf bathing, swimming, fishing, boat riding, yatch racing as well as other competitive beach sports. The Australian surf life saver is an icon in Australian beaches due to the heroic acts of saving people who are drowning (Giles and Fitzgerald 1; Ford, Giles, Hodgetts and O’Connell 5). Australia is a coastal continent that boasts of beautiful beaches that are an important part of the Australian culture. The increased numbers of beach visitors in Australia increased the rates of water accidents such as drowning and hence encouraged the formation of life saving clubs. The first surf life saving clubs in 1907 formed the New South Wales Surf Bathing Association which is currently known as the Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA). The SLSA is the largest volunteer organization in Australia that is involved in life saving at the beach, fitness and sport and promotion of a healthy and inclusive family lifestyle. Several aspects of Australian culture have been reflected through the activities of SLSA. Firstly, the sporting culture of Australians is mirrored in SLSA’s core activity of promoting fitness and sport that has been done through surf life saving championships that include different races such as the beach flags, Cameron relay, coolangatta gold, ironman/woman and lifesaver relay. To qualify as a surf life saver, one has to portray a strong sportsmanship especially in water sports such as surfing and swimming. Secondly, the aspect of masculinity in the Australian culture has been portrayed in SLSA’s iconic bronze figure that represents the ideal Australian male. This bronze god has been used in selling Australia as a nation and has also been used in several advertisements such as those advertising beer and cigarettes. The third aspect of Australian culture that is mirrored by SLSA is that of social class and prestige. The use of surf boats that are quite expensive reflects how Australians especially in the past valued class. The courageous nature of surf life savers who surfed through big swells earned brought to them prestige. Fourthly, SLSA reflects the Australian culture of individualism and competition through its surfing championships that attract large numbers of competitors. The competitive nature is also displayed by the competition between surf life saving clubs in the buying of expensive surfboats. Moreover, SLSA displays the Australian cultural aspect of mateship through its membership and inclusive nature of its activities that are not biased on any ethnic, religious or racial backgrounds. Finally, SLSA has been able to mirror the Australian cultural aspects of inclusiveness, strong family ties, innovative and creativity as well as beach culture. Works Cited Bezzina, Helena, Colleen, Fitzgerald and Mitch, Preston. Between the Flags Education Package Introduction. Canberra: National Museum of Australia, 2006. Print. Booth, Douglas. Healthy, Economic, Disciplined Bodies. Surfbathing and Surf Lifesaving in Australia and New Zealand, 1890 - 1950, New Zealand Journal of History 32. 1 (1998): 43-58. Print. ---. Self Reflections on the Centennial History of Surf Lifesaving Australia. Journal of Sport History 35.3 (2008): 373-391. Print. ---. Escaping the Past? The Cultural Turn and Language in Sport History. Rethinking History 8.1(2004): 103–125. Print. Ford, Caroline,Chris, Giles, Danya, Hodgetts and Sean, O’Connell. Surf Lifesaving – an Australian Icon in Transition. Year Book Australia (2007). Print. Giles, Chris and John, Fitzgerald. Embracing Cultural Diversity in SLSA “On the Same Wave”. SLSA. Annual Report 2003. Bondi Beach NSW: Surf Life Saving Australia, 2003. Print. ---. 2006 SLSA Annual Report :Celebrating 100 of Heroes. Bondi Beach NSW: Surf Life Saving Australia, 2006. Print. ---. Annual Report 2008-09. Bondi Beach NSW: Global Print Synergy, 2009. Print. ---.Annual Report 2009-2010. Roseberry NSW: Complete Print Solutions, 2010. Print. Stephen, Mugford. The Status of Sport in Rural and Regional Australia: Literature, Research and Policy Options. Sports Industry Australia 2001. Print. Read More