Preventing drowning death is a challenge is so big that it requires support from everyone at your organization, not just the aquatics staff. But getting non-aquatics staff engaged in checking on lifeguards, filling out quick check forms and supporting efforts to make the pool safe, is not always easy. Here is a great example, from Kathy Fisher, the Aquatics Director at the West Morris Area YMCA in New Jersey, of how to get that done : We held an all staff training on aquatics safety on the pool deck, during off hours from 7-9am on a Sunday morning. Prior to the training I dropped two silhouettes into the deep end of the pool. Everyone met in the bleachers of the pool area. I gave them my lecture...
Special events account for about seventy-five percent (75%) of all drowning deaths in YMCAs. Seventy-five percent—three out of every four. This is without a doubt the most dangerous time at your aquatic facility. I hope you have recently viewed the webinar presented by YMCA of the USA and Tom Pearson of The Redwoods Group—if you haven’t, it can be viewed at http://media.ymca.net/aquatic-safety-0910/index.html . The Redwoods Group and the YMCA of the USA share the same goal: that no person ever drowns in YMCA water, at any time. In reaching that goal, our first step needs to be to address the highest risk times first. Why do people drown more often during special events? Lots of reasons: Swimmers...