On the sunlit expanse of Sydney’s renowned Bondi Beach, Nixy Krite, a seasoned lifesaver, and her team engage in a high-energy training session, sprinting through the surf and maneuvering an inflatable rescue boat with precision. The purpose behind this session is to impart essential skills to a new wave of women lifesavers, fostering awareness in anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8.
Krite, the head of Bondi Beach’s Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) Racing team, has dedicated 12 years of voluntary service, investing a minimum of 40 hours weekly during peak seasons. Through training new members in IRB operations, she sees herself contributing to Australia’s effort to “make up for lost time.” This phrase resonates with the historical context that women in Australia were only granted the opportunity to become lifesavers as recently as 1980.
Reflecting on the progress made, Krite, who also serves as a recruitment officer for a clinical research institute, emphasizes the strides taken toward gender equality within Surf Life Saving Australia. Established in 1907, it took 73 years until women were fully admitted as trained members, eligible to volunteer as surf lifesavers. Today, nearly half of the 190,000 volunteer lifesavers across the country’s 314 clubs are women, according to Surf Life Saving Australia.
Among the fresh recruits is 15-year-old Char Smith, inspired by her mother Kristy, a volunteer lifesaver at Bondi. For Char, joining this initiative means establishing a closer bond with her mother during patrols.
Krite underscores the significance of training, noting that while women may face physical strength differences, their technical proficiency compensates for it. “If we are technically right, we can always get things done,” she affirms, highlighting the importance of skill and technique in the lifesaving mission. As these new generations of women lifesavers emerge, they not only contribute to the safety of beachgoers but also embody the progress towards inclusivity and equality within Australia’s iconic lifesaving community.
