Editing Flag (section)

==Swimming flags==
[[File:Flags - swim between the.png|thumb|Open swimming area]]
[[File:Flags crossed - do not swim.png|thumb|Closed swimming area]]
[[File:Red flag at beach.jpg|thumb|upright|Red flag at a beach in Ireland, indicating that the water is not safe for swimming]]

In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Ireland and the United Kingdom, a pair of red-yellow flags is used to mark the limits of the bathing area on a beach, usually guarded by [[surf lifesaving|surf lifesavers]]. If the beach is closed, the poles of the flags are crossed. The flags are coloured with a red triangle and a yellow triangle making a rectangular flag, or a red rectangle over a yellow rectangle. On many Australian beaches there is a slight variation with beach condition signalling. A red flag signifies a closed beach (in the UK also other dangers), yellow signifies strong current or difficult swimming conditions, and green represents a beach safe for general swimming. In Ireland, a red and yellow flag indicates that it is safe to swim; a red flag that it is unsafe; and no flag indicates that there are no lifeguards on duty. Blue flags may also be used away from the yellow-red lifesaver area to designate a zone for surfboarding and other small, non-motorised watercraft.

Reasons for closing the beach include:

* [[dangerous rip]]
* [[hurricane]] warning
* no [[lifeguard]]s in attendance
* [[pollution|overpolluted]] water
* [[shark]]s
* [[tsunami]]
* [[wave]]s too strong

A surf flag exists, divided into four quadrants. The top left and bottom right quadrants are black, and the remaining area is white.

[[International maritime signal flags|Signal flag]] "India" (a black circle on a yellow square) is frequently used to denote a "blackball" zone where surfboards cannot be used but other water activities are permitted.

The United States uses beach warning flags created by the [[International Life Saving Federation]] and endorsed and conditionally approved by the [[United States Lifesaving Association]].<ref>{{cite web|title=USLA Approved Beach Warning Flags|url=https://www.usla.org/page/beach-warning-flags|website=United States Lifesaving Association|access-date=August 31, 2024}}</ref>