Swimming is not just an enjoyable activity and fantastic exercise, it’s also an important life skill that could one day save your life. That’s why Everyone Active has once again partnered with the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) to promote Drowning Prevention Week for 2024.
The RLSS created the campaign to try and reduce the number of people drowning and getting into difficulty in the water, by helping them – whatever their age – to have fun in and around pools, lakes, streams, rivers and the sea.
It encourages schools, clubs – leisure centres like us – and communities to promote water safety education through events, lessons, games and activities, in a bid to make people more aware of the dangers of water.
The Key Statistics
- Every year, an average of 304 UK and Irish citizens drown
- 119 children accidentally drowned in the UK over the last five years
- 83% of child drownings happened in the absence of adult supervision
- Around 59% of these accidental drownings take place in inland waterways
- 83% of these involve men
- 44% never intended to be in the water in the first place
- Drowning is one of the leading child trauma-related causes of death in England
- 49% of accidental drownings occur between may and August
- Cold water shock was cited in 38% of outdoor drownings
- 71% of children aged 13-17 that accidentally drowned in the UK were swimmers
Staying Safe Around Water
There’s loads you can do to help keep you and your family safe around water, whether that’s in a paddling pool in the back garden, a swimming pool, a lake or in the sea.
While at home it’s important to always ensure self-closing gates fences and locks are secure to prevent children gaining access to pools of water, while all water storage tanks and drains should be covered too. Once you’ve finished with any paddling pools or buckets you’ve used as soon as they’re finished with. Turn any paddling pools upside down after use.
You also need to stay vigilant while on holiday. Not only are there the same risks as you’ll find at home, but you’re also in unfamiliar territory. There could well be different rules and the potential for a language barrier. When you’re booking, check the safety arrangements for any water-based activity and whether there’s lifeguard cover on hand.
It’s also essential you find out what the local warning signs and flags mean – they may differ from back home – and always find the safest places to swim. It’s also worth checking the low and high tide times to ensure you don’t get caught out.
Drowning Prevention in Open Water
On hot summer days, it’s awfully tempting to find the nearest body of cool water and jump in in a effort to cool off. Ideally, however, you should avoid this unless they are supervised by lifeguards. Rivers, lakes, quarries and reservoirs all look very tempting but hide plenty of danger.
No matter how hot it may be on dry land, open water is always significantly colder. It’s important you don’t just jump in until you are acclimatised to the temperature. Don’t ‘tombstone’ (jump into water from a height) and try and avoid swimming in deep water, as it will be much colder.
So, this summer, remember to enjoy the water, but be safe too.