Hello!
Another lifeguard chiming in to add to Diane’s post this morning. My name is Mallory and I have been certified as lifeguard for more than fifteen years now but this is my first year consistently working during the day which means a whole new set of programs: Aquafit, water walking, lane swims, parent and tot swims and the occasional rental group.
Diane wrote about her experience teaching the Lifesaving Society Swim to Survive program. This is one of the programs we run at my pool and I currently have four classes each week with new classes starting every three weeks. So I’ve seen a lot of grade three classes this year!
The goal of the program is to equip students with the basic survival skills to survive an unexpected fall into water: falling into water without becoming disoriented, treading or floating in one spot for one minute followed by swimming 50m. In real life, this translates into three steps: (1) don’t panic, (2) look for safety and (3) swim to safety.
We have such a wide variety of swimming skills, everything from students who have never stepped foot in a swimming pool (and sometimes don’t even own a bathing suit!) to students who have completed swimming lessons and can comfortably swim laps without any issues.
On the first day we divide students into three groups based on prior swimming skills. Beginner group is students who have never been in the pool or aren’t able to do any swimming independently. Intermediate group is students who are comfortable in the water, can swim a short distance but would not pass our facilities swim test to go in deep water without a lifejacket. Advanced group is anyone who would pass our facility swim test which is a 20m swim without touching the bottom or struggling. In a typical class, we usually have a percentage split of 40:40:20 meaning that 80% of our students are completing the Swim to Survive standard in a lifejacket or PFD.
In other words, 80% of students would not survive an unexpected fall into deep water unless they were already wearing a PFD or had someone nearby with rescue skills.
While the Swim to Survive program is an excellent start, it simply isn’t enough. A group of 20-30 children coming into the pool for three one-hour lessons with three lifeguards simply isn’t enough to teach them the survival skills they need.
So why do we do it? What can we realistically accomplish in this time?
- It’s a potential entry point for future learning. Many of our students have never been to our pool or often to any pool. After their last class, we send home handouts with each student about recreational swim times and swimming lessons. In schools where we know there are economic barriers, we also send home information about subsidies available for these programs.
- Skill Building: While we don’t have enough time to teach someone how to swim, we do have time to teach certain lifesaving skills such as how to float on your back and call for help or how to kick your legs to help you move in the water.
- Knowledge Building: We also build a lot of knowledge into the program. Simple things such as how to put on a lifejacket or know if it fits you properly or how to safely jump into the water. We also put a large emphasis on wearing lifejackets when we know we are going to be near water, such as anytime we are on a boat or a dock.
- Don’t Panic! For beginner swimmers, this is the most important skill they are going to learn. Wearing a PFD, being able to independently enter deep water and float without panicking is often as far as they can get in this program and that alone can be a lifesaving skill!
