Meet the Tofino Surf Lifesaving Club

Surfing is at the heart of life in Tofino, but spending time in the water also comes with real risks. The Tofino Lifesaving Club was created by Krissy Montgomery (our owner) and Laura Lunty, who both saw a need for greater awareness, education, and safety in our surf zones. 

I sat down with Krissy to learn more about why it was started, what they hope to achieve, and how our community can get involved. 

Why did you start the Life-Saving Club?

The short answer is that I was tired of hearing myself complain that nobody was doing anything about ocean safety or addressing the dangers happening in the surf zone and around the surf areas in town.

The longer answer comes from attending meetings with many different agencies like the Coast Guard, provincial services, ambulance, the district, and others  where everyone acknowledged that the surf zone is both one of the most hazardous and one of the most populated areas of the beach.

Everyone identified it as a problem area, but nobody was taking responsibility for addressing safety there. So, together with my best friend, Laura Lunty, we decided we were going to work from the ground up.

Since petitions, rallying politicians, and similar approaches hadn't worked in the past, we felt we needed to build a program from the ground up to address these safety concerns.

Our goal is to build more safety infrastructure in the area and to better educate and promote ocean safety and awareness across Tofino's surf beaches.

What are your goals with the Lifesaving Club?

We have many goals for the Lifesaving Club, with the first being to create a culture of safety and safety awareness in the area.

Another goal is educating more people and creating more opportunities for people to take life-saving courses and specialty safety courses, so that we have a more informed and educated population.

We also want to create more safety infrastructure, such as having more AEDs and life-saving devices available at the beach.

Eventually, we'd love to see lifeguards down at the beaches, whether that's through contracted members, volunteers, or whatever model makes the most sense. At the very least, we'd like to see a seasonal lifeguard program to address the high season.

And, in time, we'd love to have some type of clubhouse where we can meet with the community, provide community courses, and continue developing our nonprofit life-saving society.

How can people support the Lifesaving Club?

There are a few ways to support us. We are a nonprofit, so any type of monetary donation is greatly appreciated.

We also sell Merchandise in-store and online at Surf Sister with 100% of the proceeds going directly toward the club. Every purchase helps support the work we're doing, including practice, equipment, education programs, and ongoing fundraising efforts.

Another important way to help is through data collection on our website. There's an area where you can report an incident, and if you've ever been part of a rescue or witnessed one at the beach, we're asking you to share that information.

We're desperately trying to collect vital data that will help us acknowledge and address safety concerns at the beach and identify patterns. The more we understand what's happening in our surf zones, the better we can determine where our efforts will be most useful.

Watch! West Harbour Heroes featuring TSLC

A documentary series showcasing BC's Pacific coast heroes, rescue teams, captains, and operators protecting lives and oceans. 

Watch Episode 10 "The Big One" here on Crave!

We are proud to support the Tofino Surf Lifesaving Club!