Sayulita Auxiliary Lifeguard Program

The Sayulita Auxiliary Lifeguard Program has recently appointed a new Beach Coordinator, Oswaldo Vallejo. In this position, Vallejo will work directly with Pro Sayulita, Firefighters Crossing Borders (FFCB) and the Bahia de Banderas Civil Protection y Bomberos to help meet the need for lifeguards and water rescue in Sayulita, as well as manage the Auxiliary Lifeguard Program.

Brian Singleton, Regional Repesentative for FFCB,  touches on the history of this program, “FFCB facilitated the creation of a Unified Community approach to improve emergency services in Bahia de Banderas. In Sayulita, we’ve been working with Pro Sayulita and Protection Civil y Bomberos to improve fire rescue and emergency medical services in the area. Improving Surf Rescue capabilities and beach safety has been a major focus for a number of years. Protection Civil’s creation of an Auxiliary Lifeguard Program is a result of those efforts. FFCB will continue supporting the Auxiliary Lifeguards as they work to protect the beaches of Sayulita."

As Beach Coordinator, Vallejo has already recruited 21 volunteer lifeguards. Of these people, many of them are surfers and regularly spend a large amount of time at the beach.

“We have a lot of tourists that come to Sayulita and they want to enjoy themselves and feel safe in the water. It’s our priority to help keep Sayulita safe for both tourists and locals,” said Vallejo.

Several of the volunteers have already attended a CPR training course. A second class will be scheduled for the remaining volunteers. In October, they will attend a water rescue training course, which will include new members of the Auxiliary Lifeguard Programs from Sayulita, Punta Mita, Bucerias and San Pancho. This training will be under the guidance of lead instructor, Adam Finer, the Bucerias Coordinator who has been working with FFCB’s surf instructors here and in Cabo. The first week of December, FFCB’s will be providing additional firefighter and water rescue training.

FFCB will be hosting the first annual Sayulita Lifeguard Competition on Friday, December 5th. This competition between Sayulita, Punta Mita, Bucerias and San Pancho will include individual events and team events to help motivate volunteers to practice their skills. The competition will wrap up with a BBQ sponsored by Pro Sayulita to thank all of the trainers and volunteers for all their hard work.

“The goal is to have all beaches up and functional by November 1st,”according to Singleton.

Janice Parker, head of the Beach Safety Program for Pro Sayulita, expressed her gratitude to those who have helped make this program happen. “Without the support of Pro Sayulita and Brian Singleton from FFCB, we would not have been successful in getting this project together. I want to personally thank Brian for his efforts and also thank him on behalf of Pro Sayulita. The final piece of the puzzle that had been missing was the appointment of a Beach Coordinator. Pro Sayulita and I thank Oswaldo Vallejo for stepping up to the plate and thank all who have volunteered to become Auxiliary Lifeguards.” 

Donations are needed to help purchase the following equipment: uniforms, rescue fins, buoys, whistles, first aid kits, radios and a jet ski to help assist with water rescue. If you would like to help, please make a donation to Pro Sayulita and indicate that the donation is to be used towards the Auxiliary Lifeguard Program.

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