With National Drowning Prevention Week taking place July 18 to 24, the Town of Golden and the Lifesaving Society Canada will partner to promote water safety awareness.
Town staff will be education and promoting safety awareness at the Golden Swimming Pool every day next week from 2:30 until 3:45 p.m.
Monday, July 19: Prevent Drowning. Tuesday, July 20: Supervise Children. Wednesday, July 21: Boating Safety. Thursday, July 22: Open Water Safety. Friday, July 23: Water Smart all year round
Each activity will help Golden become a Water Smart Community. The WaterSmart campaign encourages Canadians to exercise safe and responsible behaviour in and around water to prevent water-related injuries.
Learning survival swimming skills can help immunize against drowning for life and is a fundamental requirement in any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada, says the Lifesaving Society.
“We are really excited about the activities we have planned for National Drowning Prevention Week,” said Chelsey Keefer, aquatics lead with the Town of Golden.
“Drowning is preventable, and we want to make sure everyone can have fun and be safe this summer.”
For more information, visit www.golden.ca/swimming or call the pool at 250-344-2118.
Over 400 people fatally drown each year in Canada, making it the second leading cause of unintentional death for children and the third leading cause of unintentional death for adults.
Last year saw the most drowning deaths in the country in almost a decade at 465+, reports the Lifesaving Society annual drowning report.
That report states 79 per cent of drownings are male, and 25 per cent are aged 50-64 as of 2017.
Lakes and ponds are where the majority of deaths occur, followed by rivers.
Bathtubs were the third leading area.
Statistics show that almost 70 per cent of drowning fatalities never intended to go into the water and were often within 15 metres of safety.
It is the mission of the Lifesaving Society of Canada to prevent drowning, adapting the mantra that just one drowning is one too many.
To help curb drownings, participate in a learn to swim program, wear a properly fitted life-jacket when on a boat, refrain from drinking while participating in aquatic activities and ensure all children are supervised when in the water.
