ABC News Interview Highlights Urgent Need for Lifeguards and Swim Education

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ABC News Interview Highlights Urgent Call for More Lifeguards and Swim Education In a recent ABC News interview, the American Lifeguard Association (ALA) brought national attention to a growing crisis: the deadly threat of rip currents and the alarming number of beaches around the world left unguarded. The conversation was spurred by the tragic drowning of actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner at Playa Cocles, Costa Rica—an unprotected beach notorious for powerful rip currents. ALA officials described rip currents as “invisible rivers of water moving swiftly away from the shore.” They account for the majority of surf-zone drownings each year and are especially dangerous because they often go unnoticed by swimmers until it’s too late. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), over 100 people die in the U.S. alone each year due to rip currents—many at beaches with no lifeguard coverage. “Rip currents don’t look like danger,” an ALA spokesperson stated during the in