There were important lessons to be learned but it was done in a fun way when the RCU Aquatic Centre in Winkler hosted its annual Swim Smart event last Wednesday.
Swim Smart day at the RCU Aquatic Centre in Winkler featured rescue demonstrations and lots of fun and games to teach kids the importance of water safety in honour of National Drowning Prevention Week
In addition to just enjoying the pool, there were a variety of events such as obstacle courses, water basketball, water volleyball, and a diving competition as well as the Coke dive where you could dive into the deep end to get a can of pop.
Most important, though, may have been the lifeguard demonstration where pool staff went through a scenario where three people had to be rescued.
“We demonstrate some of the life saving skills that we practice as lifeguards,” said Dean Klassen, who is one of the aquatic programmers this summer alongside Brooke Animalla.
Klassen noted Swim Smart is done annually to coincide with National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada.
“It’s just to highlight the high numbers of drownings that happen, especially in rural areas,” she said. “So we’re just trying to spread some awareness.
“We were sharing some water safety messages from our lifeguards while we also do some fun activities for people to help spread that message.”
“I hoped they had fun, but I also hope they gained a little bit of water safety knowledge from all of the various activities,” added Animalla.
“We want people to be aware of the dangers and also some of the ways that they can prevent those tragic accidents,” said Klassen. “It really does just come down to basic factors in preventing fatal drownings …. life jackets, not swimming alone and making sure there’s no substance abuse around water. That’s part of the strong messaging that we share with adults as well as the kids.”
