No deaths on Kayla's watch

DEDICATION REWARDED: Lennox Head lifeguard Kayla Laverty, who has been named 2009 NSW Lifeguard of the Year from a field of over 350 candidates.

Cathy Adams

NOT MANY uni students can boast they spent their summer holidays saving lives, but Kayla Laverty has done just that for the past four years.

The 22-year-old from Lennox Head has been named the 2009 NSW Lifeguard of the Year for her rescue work, vigilance on the job and community spirit.

And she can proudly say no one has died at a beach on her watch.

“Kayla has stood out for some time as a perfect example of a professional lifeguard,” NSW chief lifeguard Stephen Leahy said.

“Kayla works the crowd and chats to people. She's in all these facebook pages because everyone comes down and takes their photo with her.”

Ms Laverty, whose lifesaving family includes her dad Mark, the Lennox Head-Alstonville Surf Lifesaving Club captain, said one of the most dramatic operations of her four-year service was the rescue of eight UK tourists learning to surf.

She had closed the beach due to rough conditions, but the tourists braved it anyway.

“They went surfing in a rip and the rip was pretty strong and they didn't have the surf skills needed,” she said.

“They were getting pulled under and they swallowed a fair bit of water.

“The first sign of trouble was when they were facing the beach and they were trying to swim, but they weren't going anywhere.”

Ms Laverty grabbed her lifeguard brother, who was at the beach but off-duty at the time, and took to the water.

“We brought them in one-by-one,” she said.

“There was a couple of them that were in tears and you could see on their faces that they'd given up.”

Ms Laverty, who has just graduated with a science degree, was named NSW lifeguard of the Year at a ceremony in Ballina on the weekend.

She was one of 350 people eligible for the title.

“I didn't think I would get it because there are so many other lifeguards who are so deserving,” she said.

Today, she leaves her home and her lifeguard work behind for a while to travel overseas.