Drowning Prevention Week promotes awareness
Friday, July 18, 2008
REGINA -- There is no better place to be in the summer than near the water where one can cool off and have some fun.
Unfortunately, last year half of all drowning fatalities in Saskatchewan occurred during the summer months. This is why The Lifesaving Society has officially declared July 19-27 as Drowning Prevention Week.
"Our goal is to spread water safety awareness, which is so important because of the 21 drowning incidents that occurred last year, most of them were preventable," said Alisha Negent, summer initiatives coordinator for the society.
Tragically, every year more than 400 people drown in Canada and the summer months are the highest time of year for water related incidents as people participate in swimming, fishing and boating activities.
Negent explained that by promoting and providing pools and waterfront facilities with activities to educate the public in how to respond to emergencies in the water, the society is hoping to reduce the number of water-related incidents.
Compared to 2005 when 14 drownings occurred in the province, there was an increase to 21 last year.
"Because a large portion of all drownings are preventable, we are looking at ways to educate and raise awareness to bring those numbers down," she said.
The society also offers a boat operator's safety course, which teaches boaters how to handle situations such as capsizing and provides training for how to survive having to swim to shore.
"We have the swim to survive challenge that participants are doing at facilities throughout the country. In that challenge participants practice a 'roll-over in the water' which teaches swimmers who accidentally fall in to water to reorient themselves in order to get back up to the surface," Negent explained.
Surprisingly, statistics show that the majority of people who drown have no intention of going into the water.
Spreading the message of water safety is just part of the Lifesaving society's work. The not-for-profit organization also offers rescue training and provides the public with tips and information to reduce both drowning and water-related injuries.
Negent pointed out that drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death in Canada for people under of the age of 60. Ninety-five per cent of all incidents in 2007 involved males.
Statistics show that men between the ages of 50 and 64 were at the highest risk for drowning, with males between the ages of 35 and 49 the second highest.
The society is reminding the public to wear life jackets when boating, to swim with a friend, supervise children and to keep boating and drinking alcohol apart.