Wristband technology is set to take the surf lifesaving world by storm

Shorter surf carnivals, increased efficiency and fewer staff is what is promised by new surf life saving technology set to take the sport by storm.

SHORTER surf carnivals, increased efficiency and fewer staff is what is promised by new surf life saving technology set to take the sport by storm.

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Surf Life Saving Western Australia has spent the past few years developing new wristband technology which enables software to instantly organise and track surf life saving results.

Athletes wear a wristband on their arm which is linked with a competitor number.

As athletes cross the line during a race, they tap their wristband on an iPad which instantly generates race results.

The 'Wristband Technology' developed by Surf Life Saving Western Australia. SUPPLIED.

The results are then filed and able to be accessed by athletes throughout the carnival.

The software also sends out text message notifications when marshalling for a race is about to occur.

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Ironman legend and Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park head coach Phil Clayton has seen the technology in action and believes it’s the future of surf sports.

“It’s a really quality product and I’m surprised we don’t have it here yet,” he said.

“It’s the way of the future because it saves so much time.

“It makes carnivals faster and makes people more prepared to want to go and watch.”

Burleigh Heads Surf Club coach Phil Clayton. Picture Glenn Hampson

Surf Life Saving Western Australia high performance officer Andrew Mosel said that the organisation has been developing and testing the product for years before finally rolling it out across competition in 2019.

“We’ve got a prototype here and people are beginning to see that it works,” he said.

“We’ve had brief discussions with them (SLSA) about it and Surf Life Saving Queensland are also interested and want to have a chat about it when we come over for Aussies.”

Mosel said that the technological element was also introducing younger people to officiating, with many tech savvy teenagers taking to surf carnivals to operate the software.