Alone, disoriented and in an unfamiliar body of water — it’s the kind of scenario that can be traumatizing regardless of age.
That’s why the Vancouver Park Board is partnering with the Lifesaving and Lifeguard Outreach societies to offer a free course called Swim to Survive at Kits Pool on Friday, July 22.
Aimed at kids between the ages of seven and 18, the courses aren’t meant to replace swimming lessons but rather encourage participants to practise situational awareness.
“We’ll get quite a variety of people who’ll be there: some will have little or no water experience and those are the ones we really want to target,” said Dale Miller, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon branch of the Lifesaving Society. “We want to make sure that when they do go out on the water in the summertime and if they find themselves accidentally in the water, that they know what to do to survive.”
Established more than a century ago, the Lifesaving Society is the nationally-recognized body for both training and certifying lifeguards in Canada. The July 22 event will be led by a handful of the society’s volunteer lifeguards, who’ll instruct participants in two-hour blocks starting at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Space is available for 600 registrants.
Statistics from the Lifesaving Society indicate accidental drowning is the second-leading cause of preventable death in Canada after traffic accidents.
Those same stats point to the fact that half of Canadian kids never take formal swimming lessons. Sixty-five drowning deaths were reported in B.C in 2015, while 20 cases have been recorded up until June 30 of this year.
According to Miller, the course’s goal is to impart three essential skills needed when someone unexpectedly falls into deep water.
The first lesson will see participants roll into the water — they’ll then orient and calm themselves before catching their breath and strategizing the next step. From there, treading water for two minutes follows. The final step includes being able to swim for 50 metres.
“It could be a dog paddle, it doesn’t have be any sort of Olympic-recognized stroke,” Miller said. “Panic plays such a big part, so you have to look at your situation and figure out what you’re going to do. Hopefully when they’ve gone through these Swim to Survive skills it will instill a bit of confidence so that the panic might be at a lower level.”
To register for the Swim to Survive day in Vancouver, visit lgos.ca.
