An 18-year old female has passed the Royal Life Saving Society of Great Britain (RLSS) beach lifeguard qualification in the UAE, making her the youngest – and first – female lifeguard in the Emirates to ever successfully pass this examination.
Suganya Arugugam, currently a lifeguard at Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, dedicated herself to swimming at a very young age and eventually became a competitive swimmer while in school. At 18, she decided to move to Fujairah with her sister, leaving behind her family in India.
Growing up in Chennai, Suganya was always an active swimmer and found herself wholeheartedly involved in the sport, even teaching swimming lessons to family and friends. It was through her aquatic interest that she decided to become a lifeguard and had found an opportunity to strengthen her skills by joining Le Meridien 5 months ago.
“Being the first female in the UAE to pass this certification is a wonderful honor and experience. To actually pass this test was exciting enough and everyone’s support and kind wishes have made this achievement all the more overwhelming,” said Suganya.
“The beach certification was much tougher as I had to fight through high tides and waves, and involved longer swims,” she added. "It was a goal of mine to pass the beach RLSS, so to accomplish that is very positive for me as a lifeguard and a young woman.”
Patrick Antaki, General Manager, Le Meridien Al Aqah, is very pleased with the outcome of the certification and proud of his staff’s achievements, especially if their achievements are a first in the company. “Suganya is now part of a predominantly male lifeguard team and has quite a following among the younger guests, and should be proud of her accomplishment.”
“In a society where life guarding is male-dominant and for Suganya to be the first female beach life guard with the RLSS qualification is a positive step in promoting this type of convergence in our society and with our guests,” said Mr. Antaki.
The RLSS is the UK-based government body for lifesaving and life guarding, and is the leading drowning prevention organization in the UK and Ireland, dating back to 1891.
About Le Méridien
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, with its portfolio of more than 130 luxury and upscale hotels in 53 countries worldwide, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The majority of Le Méridien properties are located in the world's top cities and resorts throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. In the 2005 Luxury Brand Status Index survey Le Méridien was recognised as one of the top 15 luxury hotel brands. For more information, please visit http://www.lemeridien.com
About Starwood
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced aloftSM and ELEMENTSM Hotels. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit http://starwoodhotels.com
