Thanks to all the people that support our program we finally got a waverrunner to make more dificult rescues easier and faster. A sled, life vests and a cart are also part of the equipment. Now with a couple of paddleboards and the waverunner we will be able to cover more space in less time...

About Playa Dominical Lifeguards Program...

Founded in 1998 by Paolo Tubito, the Dominical Lifeguards Program has brought safety and tranquility to our visitors and locals, no matter what the conditions may be. Our lifeguards are on duty 365 days a year, with a record of no lives lost during hours when the staff is guarding the beach.
Now, you may wonder how our lifeguards can afford to work every single day of the year? Does the Costa Rican government do something for the Program?
Actually, donations sustain the Dominical Lifeguard Program. Playa Dominical has one of the stronger rip-tides in the area. Therefore, our lifeguards practice prevention ahead of rescues - verbally and by their use of warning/danger and educational signs. By pointing out to swimmers where the rip currents are and by encouraging them to swim in front of the lifeguard towers, our beach is one of the safest in the country for swimming and surfing.
Businesses in Dominical generously donate monthly to the lifeguard program. Private donations, fundraisers and sales (T-shirts and others) cover the remainder of the considerable expenses. We depend on this money, as well as any equipment donations that people can afford to make. For example, with these contributions, we recently purchased state-of-the-art lifeguard equipment from the United States.
lifesWe have a highly trained and dedicated lifeguard team with 3 full-time members, 2 part-time members and an additional half a dozen people who are trained and spend most of their free-time on the beach or surfing. Many of the of these additional people are members of Costa Rica Surf School and Dominical Surf School, like Jose Montoya, Rony Obando, Junior Montoya, Alejandro Cerdas, Cesar Valverde and locals like Allan Montoya, Gino Tubito, Kike Crysoupulos.
Our captain Matt Haley is an experienced, United States trained lifeguard, who has in turn trained the entire Dominical lifeguard crew, including full-timers Vinny Montoya, Alvaro Obando Vargas and our 2 part-time guards, Kirk Blaker and Juan Carlos Montoya (Vinnie's little brother). We have recently become affiliated with the Asociacion Nacional de Guardavidas Costa Rica – so our lifeguards are now certified in Costa Rica. We are now petitioning the government of Costa Rica approve funding of all certified lifeguard programs.
Our lifeguards risk their own lives for ours. This program is a wonderful example of what a small town can do when they set their minds and hearts to it. Without lifeguards on duty, this Dominical would not be one of the best, safest beaches in all of Costa Rica.
Please listen to our lifeguards and ask them any questions while you visit our community.
If you wish to make a donation or inquire for more information please contact us at:

Tel: 011-506-787-0130, ask for Diane or Richard
Email: info@CoconutGroveCR.com

Article Published by Surfer Magazine

Salvavidas del Mar - Ex-pat lifeguard watches over Dominical
Captain Matt Haley is a shepard of the sea.
by
Alex Wilson

Captain Matt Haley briskly jogs up the beach, flotation equipment dangling loosely in his left hand as he makes his way back to the stand. Behind him a rip flows out to sea from the shoreline, a swath of muddy rippled water filled with black sand churned up by its powerful seaward pull. A lone Costa Rican tourist now sits safely onshore, wet from the waist down, and stares at the rip, processing the information Haley has just imparted to him, contemplating the premature ending to his morning swim. By calling the man out of the water before he fully entered the current, Haley has just practiced preventive lifeguarding, a technique that stresses the importance of recognizing and defusing a potentially dangerous situation before it has time to develop. Haley has avoided making a rescue, and in the process has saved energy and also increased the potential victim's awareness of the dangers of Dominical's notorious rips. It's good lifeguarding, and methods like these make Haley such an important fixture at Dominical.

As he climbs back up the stand and settles down amid a cacophony of creaking and popping wood, Haley smiles and continues his story. "I was only 21 when I came down in December of 1996 to train some guards. I heard from my captain back in Jersey that they were looking for someone from the States to do it and it sounded good to me. I meant to just stay for the winter," he says with a laugh. "I had nothing but two boards and three hundred bucks in my pocket, but I've been here ever since. It's just been such a magnificent change in my life. I mean, I run everyday, surf everyday; I met my wife down here, and now have two beautiful daughters. I guess all I have to do is watch out for skin cancer," he says half-jokingly while adjusting his umbrella.

To read complete story please click on the link
http://surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/shprdsea/