A guide to RNLI lifeguards: Celebrating 25 years 

On patrol

RNLI lifeguards have become a familiar, and reassuring, sight on beaches in the UK and Channel Islands. Over 60% of people in the UK (according to the 2025 Watersports Participation Survey) spend leisure time at the beach and can feel safer, knowing that highly trained lifeguards are on patrol. 

Lifeguards are focused, vigilant and ready to act when it matters most, but lifesaving isn’t only about racing to the rescue. Around 95% of a lifeguard’s work is preventative. They save more lives through their proactive beach safety advice and vigilance than they do in the water.

Ready to respond

Thanks to the generosity of kind supporters, RNLI lifeguards have a high standard of training. Before they become a lifeguard, they must have a recognised beach lifesaving qualification, a rigorous interview and fitness tests.

Lifeguards need to be able to cope with the extreme physical demands that they’ll face in an emergency. You can become a lifeguard from the age of 16 – the RNLI has one amazing lifeguard in his 70s. Whatever their age, before the season starts, new and existing lifeguards train hard to ensure they can help keep the beaches safer.

Training includes spotting dangers and warning the public, being ready to rescue if someone is in difficulty in the water, techniques such as underwater searching – and providing casualty care if someone is taken ill or injured. 

Sadly, while most of the public are kind and considerate, our lifeguards also have to learn how to act when faced with anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.

Lifesavers at heart

Some of our lifeguards are volunteers, but most are paid. The volunteering ethos is still strong in our lifeguards – some also volunteer as lifeboat crew. Lifeguard Maisie Watson volunteers with RNLI Anstruther Lifeboat Station when she’s not patrolling the beaches. Maisie says: ‘Lifeguard or lifeboat crew, we’re all part of the same lifesaving family.’ 

Even when they’re not on-duty, lifeguards save lives. Last year in Praa Sands, Cornwall, off-duty lifeguards saved a swimmer in difficulty. And at Whitesands Beach, Pembrokeshire, off-duty lifeguards rescued three people at risk of drowning.

Lifeguard Theodore Maun says the RNLI training becomes a way of life. ‘It makes you aware of your environment and what could go wrong,’ he says. ‘I go fell running and hiking, and I’m always prepared with safety equipment such as a first aid kit and mobile phone.’ 

For some people, lifeguarding is more than a summer job. It can catapult a career. It’s a job that teaches you many skills – communication, search and rescue skills, teamwork, thinking on your feet, high-level first aid to name a few. Some go on to become paramedics or other emergency service workers. Others take opportunities to have a long-term career with the RNLI.

How your donations help kit out lifeguards

No kit can replace a good lifeguard. But our equipment – from quads and trucks to boards and boats – can help lifeguards respond quickly, and protect them too. 

Our kit is built to last, but it’s up against it at the coast; exposed to sea, salt, sand, sun and rain. 

From the bright yellow rescue board to the sturdy rescue watercraft, kit helps lifeguards reach people in danger – and to prevent incidents happening at all.

The RNLI continually reviews the kit and looks for ways to save money and use your donations wisely.

Where are we now?

From a pilot on a handful of beaches on the south coast of England, to around 1,600 lifeguards on more than 245 beaches today, the RNLI’s lifeguarding service has come a long way in 25 years. 

This summer you’ll see the lifeguards in their red-and-yellows on beaches near you, or when you’re visiting the coast. What you won’t see is the people behind the lifeguard service. 

Over the years, so many partners have been instrumental. From the surf lifesaving clubs and other lifeguard services who have shared their knowledge, to the local authorities and landowners who have worked with us. From the corporate sponsors and technical experts to the lifeguard trainers – the list goes on. 

Support for our lifeguards

YETI are helping to keep lifeguards hydrated with their Rambler bottles and cups. They’re also provided Tundra coolers and Silo coolers to make sure our lifeguards’ drinking water stays icy cold throughout those warm summer days. 

XTRATUF are supplying footwear for our lifeguards, gifting 500 pairs of bespoke sliders for new lifeguards, and 200 pairs of Ankle Deck Boots for lifeguard supervisors, each lifeguarding season.

And then, of course, there’s you. Without your kindness, we couldn’t continue to save lives at sea. We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved together. 

Thank you

Thank you for standing by RNLI lifeguards to mark their 25 years of lifesaving. Today they are needed more than ever. In 2025 they went to the aid of 36,213 people, which is more than double the number aided in the previous year. We hope that you’ll be by their side for many years to come.