Water safety is particularly important now that the weather is warming up especially with our residents and visitors flocking to popular destinations including Eastern Beach the beautiful beaches on the Bellarine and our six aquatic facilities.
With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions we expect our pools and beaches to be popular this summer as swimmers get back into the water.
We urge everyone across the community to recognise the value of swimming lessons and water safety to reduce the risk of drowning.
Remember that when you’re attending our aquatic facilities always keep children aged under five within arm’s reach. If they are swimming children under ten must be actively supervised by a parent or guardian.
Lifeguard Shanaye Smith said keeping children supervised is an important way to stay safe around the water.
“I keep cards about our Watch Around Water policy with me at work so I can help explain the policy about supervising kids ” Shanaye said.
Shanaye has worked at our aquatic facilities since 2019 doing summer shifts at Lara Pool and Kardinia Aquatic Centre and working at our indoor pools at Splashdown and Waterworld for the rest of the year.
“Another thing we always say is to pay attention to the signs about the water’s depth because some people don’t read them and they can get a shock.”
The Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2021 found there were 294 drowning deaths across Australia’s coastline inland waterways and pools which is 20 per cent higher than in 2020.
Studies show that men are over-represented in drowning deaths alcohol is a key risk factor and drowning is more common in the summer months and in the afternoon.
Rivers remain the leading location for drowning deaths and people born overseas are at an increased risk of drowning.
For these reasons we are committed to providing swimming lessons for the whole community and are subsidising the cost of training for new swim teachers.
We have recruited more than 120 new swim teachers over the past 12 months to help meet the demand for swimming lessons from school groups and the wider community.
This includes 100 new swim teachers who received subsidised training and clocked up their Life Saving Victoria training hours at our Swim Sport and Leisure facilities.
We’ve also employed an extra 37 lifeguards this year to meet the increased demand.
Shanaye said being a Lifeguard is a flexible and rewarding role but there’s a lot more to it than standing around the water.
"It's physically demanding to supervise all the time. But it's rewarding to support the community and be the person at the pool you go to for help " Shanaye said.
“I like being a lifeguard because it keeps me active and being outdoors in the summer is awesome!”
Shanaye said the role involves staying fit training in CPR and First Aid using good judgement and communicating any issues that occur over the radio.
“I walk laps of the pool so that I pay attention reduce the glare from the water and because if you’re constantly moving you’re seeing all areas of the pool.”
Our next Swim Teacher training program will start in February 2023.