Lifeguard of the year wants more women in leadership roles on the waves

Friday, 10 December 2021

Lifeguard and instructor of the year Phoebe Havill, 23, runs Wāhine on Water, an initiative aimed at getting more female lifeguards qualified and confident operating inflatable rescue boats (IRBs).

From the age of 5, Phoebe Havill spent time in the water training to be a lifeguard.

At 14, she became qualified and now, during her tenth season scouring the waves, she has become the second female to be named lifeguard of the year by Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

Havill, who was also named instructor of the year, is now behind an initiative to get more women into senior lifeguarding positions.

Along with three others, she began Wāhine on Water in 2019, after the initiative was born during her time at the BP Leaders for Life project, a leadership development programme for which she was selected in 2018.

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Havill, 23, has been named New Zealand’s lifeguard and instructor of the year.

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Sessions focused on encouraging women of all ages in surf lifesaving to learn how to drive and crew inflatable rescue boats (IRBs), which Havill, 23, said was crucial to becoming more senior as a lifeguard.

According to Surf Life Saving New Zealand, women currently make up half of surf lifeguards across the country. While 49 per cent qualified as crew members, they only made up 28 per cent of IRB drivers.

“Hopefully if we get more females into IRBs and involved in the area then they’ll go on and result in an increase in female leaders and other areas of life-saving – on committees and boards, head guards and people attending national lifeguard school.”

Havill grew up in Hamilton and spent holidays and weekends at a family beach house in the Coromandel, training with the Onamana SLCB. She is now club captain, but moved to Christchurch in March to work as a club development officer across Canterbury and Tasman.

Havill said working on IRBs and with their crews could be intimidating.

Havill runs Wāhine on Water, an initiative that helps female lifeguards take on leadership roles.

“Quite a few of my first experiences weren’t the most welcoming and positive,” she said, suggesting there was limited opportunity to learn depending, on the club.

The boats felt “heavy and big” and could be scary to drive in big waves for younger lifeguards.

Wāhine on Water pairs less experienced lifeguards with an experienced female IRB mentor to “give women an opportunity to expand their boat experiences in a supportive, relaxed and fun environment”, Havill said.

Once the final session takes place in Otago on Saturday, about 400 women will have taken part in the initiative this year.

“I really enjoy watching the other members of my club and in my area grow and develop and learn new skills, [and] being part of that as well.”

Havill is now working towards her rescue watercraft award and her IRB examiners award.

The end goal for Wāhine on Water is to “see more equal male and female involvement in the organisation flowing into other leadership positions” and for the sessions to become permanent events across the country.

IRBs can play a vital role in rescues, and have been involved in saving or assisting in the rescue of 22,000 people during BP’s partnership with Surf Living New Zealand, which has lasted more than 50 years.

While Havill anticipates a busy summer season ahead, she said patrolling with her friends on the beach was “unbeatable”.

“Everyone comes down to the beach and gives up their time to give back to the community.”