Teaching lifesaving as a separate skill is outdated. It needs to become an integrated part of all aquatic sports. People are looking for fun or extreme sports where they can explore their limits. So integrate these skills into your sport.

Are Lifesaving Lessons Realistic?

Lifesaving is a sport for everyone and a lot more fun than swimming up and down. It is a valuable community skill that could save lives.

But many lifesaving clubs focus on competitions or passing exams rather than training for real life survival. The pool water is warm and clear, no wind, no waves, no sunburn, everyone just in swim wear. Life is easy!

The Real World is Different

The weather can be hot or cold or windy. You will come across currents, waves, murky water, and obstacles.

In case of emergency will you have time to change into your swimming costume? Did you bring your flippers and floats?

Most lifesaving classes don't prepare you for a real situation. We intent to change this by bringing you training materials that help you run a realistic lifesaving and survival swimming class.

Instructors Note: Do Survival Swimming First

At this point in the training all swimmers who are not confident in survival swimming should receive additional training in chest-deep water. Each swimmer should be able to swim in clothes and tread water before proceeding to the lifesaving exercises.

Frequent training makes your rescue skills nearly automatic so that any emergency response becomes almost routine.

Drowning Statistics

Drowning is the most common cause of accidental death among under 15 year olds. Men account for 80% of drowning victims. In the 18-34 year old age group, 90% are men. Research shows that every 17 hours someone in the UK drowns, with an average 400 to 500 people drowning each year.

Most of the victims of drowning are described as good or strong swimmers, therefore, it is not just sufficient to know how to swim, but swimmers also need to know how to keep safe.

On the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, lifeguards often have to rescue fully clothed victims who got caught in the waves. The casualties couldn't cope as they have never been trained in survival swimming.

In Japan, police officials reported that about 1,200 people drown each year. Around 25% of them were found in a swimsuit. The other 75% drowned wearing clothes while doing activities such as boating or working near water. They were not able to cope with the how the clothes slowed them down in the water and got exhausted quickly.

Can you honestly say you're adequately prepared for this?

Lifeguards and Teachers

Two teachers are better than one because a teacher should be able to get into the pool and demonstrate a certain skill. Students learn a lot more if you tell and show them so they can then do it too.

Whenever possible, practice in a lifeguarded area. A teacher often focuses on the lesson, so someone else should keep a look out.

Have you got the right paperwork and qualifications before you rescue someone in need? You're probably sick and tired of reading about the latest bureaucratic turn of the screw but we were talking about getting authorisation and clearance for this and that.

Consider this theoretical scenario. Recently we were discussing a hypothetical question of what you would do if you were not certified in a critical situation, e.g. a Health and Safety issue.

Imagine you were at your local swimming baths and a regular swimmer sees a child in difficulty at the bottom of the pool. There are a handful of locals around but the pool attendant is up the stairs at this second. Pools are noisy and the attendant is out of range. The swimmer is not technically qualified (lifesaving certificate long out of date) but he realises that the action needs to be fast.

He gets the nearest person to go (walking, not running) and get the attendant, he calls out if anyone's a qualified lifesaver but no one's listening, of course. He jumps in and remembering his lifesaving drill when he was a kid, he manages to get her up to the surface, just as the pool attendant takes over.

He's prosecuted for assuming duties he's no longer qualified for and has to face up to the local magistrate.

Would you have dived in like that or would you have done it differently?

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Bureaucrats: Turning lifesavers into bystanders.