PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

(July 2006, St. John’s) – July 16th marks the start of National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada. According to the Lifesaving Society, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death for Canadians under the age of 60. The majority of deaths caused by drowning are preventable.

While out enjoying water activities this summer, the Lifesaving Society urges all Canadians to please remember the following precautions: always wear a lifejacket while in or near water, keep children within arms reach when near or in the water, do not consume alcohol while boating, and learn lifesaving skills.

Together we can prevent water fatalities.

For more information contact lifeguard@nl.rogers.com or go to http://lifesaving.nfld.net/Press_Releases.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\

Swim to Survive – National Drowning Prevention Week          

St. John’s (NL) – National Drowning Prevention Week begins Sunday, July 16^th and the Lifesaving Society urges Canadians to ensure their safety and the safety of others on, in, or near the water, is top of mind.

 Drowning remains the third leading cause of accidental death among Canadians under 60 years of age.  Boating activities represent more than 30% of all drowning deaths.  In fact, more than 60% of all drowning deaths in Canada occur during recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, or boating.

 Based on five year trend data, alcohol is a factor in 42% of Canada wide drowning deaths and men are four times as likely as women to be a victim of drowning. 

As part of its summer Water Smart Campaign the Lifesaving Society is challenging all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to Swim to Survive.  Starting July 16 - July 23 (National Drowning Prevention Week) and running through to September 4, 2006, the Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive Challenge asks, “Can you pass the Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive Standard?” 

 Meeting the “Swim to Survive Standard” is an important first step to being safe around water.  This standard defines the minimum swimming skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water.  Contact your local facility for details.

 The Lifesaving Society urges Canadians to:

Take a lifesaving course and learn how to reduce the risk of drowning, as well as what to do if something does go wrong.  At a minimum, make sure everyone in your family can achieve the Canadian Swim to Survive® standard.

Always wear a lifejacket or PFD when on the water.

Never drink while boating.

Practice safe boating procedures, and get your pleasure craft operator card.

Always closely supervise children; keep them within arms reach and, whenever possible, chose to swim in an area supervised by a lifeguard.

 The Lifesaving Society trains more than 500,000 Canadians each year in swim, lifesaving lifeguarding and leadership courses.  Please visit us online at www.lifesaving.ca.

For media information, and to download National Drowning Prevention Week video and audio psas, visit http://lifesaving.nfld.net/Press_Releases.html

 Contact:
Jeanette Jobson

(709) 576-1953

Fact Sheet

Newfoundland and Labrador

 Drowning

 ·         Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death for Canadians under 60 years of age.

 ·         Over 93% of drowning victims in NL are men.

 ·         60% of all victims in the province are between the ages 18-49.

 ·         At the time of drowning, more than 53% of victims were engaged in recreational activities.

 ·         Of these activities, the most common were walking near water/on ice (28%), snowmobiling (28%), and powerboating and swimming (14%).

 ·         Over half of all drownings in Newfoundland and Labrador occur during the late summer to winter period (August to December).

 ·       Alcohol was involved in 57% of drowning victims and in 66% of ice-related drownings.

Canadian Swim to Survive Standard

Swim to Survive is a Lifesaving Society survival training program. The Society defines the minimum skills needed by all Canadians to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. These are expressed in a skill sequence in the Canadian Swim to Survive Standard:

 Roll into deep water → Tread water for one minute → Swim 50 meters 

Swim to Survive is aimed primarily at children, but people of all ages should be able to perform the Society’s Swim to Survive Standard.

As part of its summer Water Smart Campaign the Lifesaving Society is challenging all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to Swim to Survive.  Starting July 16 - July 23 (National Drowning Prevention Week) and running through to September 4, 2006, the Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive Challenge asks, “Can you pass the Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive Standard?”  

Meeting the “Swim to Survive Standard” is an important first step to being safe around water.  This standard defines the minimum swimming skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water.

Contact your local aquatic facilty and see if you can meet the "Swim to Survive Standard" !

The Lifesaving Society

 ·         Our National Lifeguard Service certification is the only standard for professional lifeguards in Canada.

 ·         The Society certifies nearly to 500,000 Canadians annually in swim, lifesaving, lifeguarding and leadership training.

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Background Information

 The Lifesaving Society works to prevent drownings and water-related injuries through its training programs, drowning research, Water Smart® public education and aquatic safety management services.

The Lifesaving Society is a volunteer-based, national nonprofit organization, composed of tens of thousands of individual members and over 2,000 affiliated aquatic facilities, municipalities, waterfronts and schools. Established in England in 1891 as The Swimmers' Life Saving Society, we became the Royal Life Saving Society in 1904. Today, we are the Lifesaving Society.

 Teaching Canadians to Save Themselves and Others

The Society certifies close to 500,000 Canadians annually in swim, lifesaving, lifeguarding and leadership training. The Canadian Swim to Survive® standard outlines the basic swimming skills every Canadian should have. The Junior Lifeguard Club, the Canadian Swim Patrol program and the family of Bronze awards offer young people a challenging progression in lifesaving training.

 Our National Lifeguard Service certification is the only standard for professional lifeguards in Canada. Our leadership training prepares candidates to teach others swimming and rescue skills and continue to promote drowning prevention.

 Making Canadians Water Smart®

The Lifesaving Society works with a number of partners to collect information on unintentional water-related deaths in Canada. Each year, we publish The National Drowning Report and provincial drowning reports. Our annual drowning research focuses our Water Smart® public education efforts towards those people who are most at risk of drowning and toward those who can make a significant difference in drowning prevention.

  Setting the Standard

The Society establishes aquatic safety standards and provides consultation on safety issues to the aquatic industry, the insurance industry and all levels of government. We also perform aquatic safety audits and serve as expert witnesses in legal cases involving aquatic safety.

 With all the experience in the world

The Lifesaving Society is Canada’s sole representative on the International Life Saving Federation and the Royal Life Saving Society. Our international connections provide Canadians the best expertise the world has to offer.

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Boat Safe, Boat Smart - Wear It

For years the messages about wearing your Personal Floatation Device or PFD have been delivered by the boating safety community. “Boat Safe, Boat Smart – Wear It” and “It’s Your Life….Preserve It” are familiar to all of us who enjoy time on the water. So why do we continue to ignore the message, putting ourselves, our loved ones and friends at risk?

Across Canada, 89 percent of recreational boaters who drown each and every year were not wearing a lifejacket or PFD. Most of these drownings occur in small open power boats, accounting for 60 percent of these preventable deaths. A majority of these victims were males between the ages of 19 and 35, out for a day of fishing. An average of 140 unnecessary drownings occur every year, but even more startling is the fact that this figure is estimated to be 43 percent  below the estimated actual figure due to misclassification of drowning information when the statistics were compiled.

Many boaters who drown believed they are good swimmers, so having a PFD on board and within easy reach might seem good enough. But what good is a PFD that is stored under a seat or under the bow going to be when the unexpected happens? Most drownings happen when small boats capsize or someone falls overboard. The PFD that you leave behind is not much use, especially in cold water.

In Canada, many boaters like to extend their boating season as long as they can so the water temperatures at the beginning and end of season can be very chilly. There are also parts of this country where water temperatures remain cold all year around.  We’ve all heard about hypothermia which can lead to many problems such as disorientation and rapid incapacitation, but the real shocker is found in the new research on sudden cold water immersion.

 Death from sudden cold water immersion happens very, very quickly. Research by Dr. Michael Tipton, a leading expert in cold water immersion has shown that the “gasp reflex” from sudden immersion has led to more deaths than previously known. The reaction causes a sudden uncontrollable gasp, followed by 1-3 minutes of hyperventilation. The initial gasp can cause you to inhale up to 2 litres of water, causing drowning. This volume of water will cause an individual not wearing a PFD to sink and not re-appear. If the first gasp of water is not fatal, hyperventilation will lead to the rapid onset of severe hypothermia and death.

So if the “gasp reflex” doesn’t get you initially, you still face the effects of hypothermia. In cold water your extremities will quickly numb making it very difficult to swim or to don a lifejacket in the water and rescue yourself.  The onset of the second set of symptoms leading to death by hypothermia can occur even if we end up in water as warm as 60 degrees. Being in cold water for an extended period of time can result in severe hypothermia, which causes your body to begin shutting down, resulting in death from cardiovascular failure.

 So the message is clear. Having your PFD on before you end up in the water will greatly increase your chance of survival. But most boaters don’t. The common reasons stated for not wearing a PFD are: “they’re uncomfortable;” and “it’s not fashionable.” Well that doesn’t fly anymore. Things have changed and there is a new generation of PFDs and Inflatable PFDs that are much more comfortable than the old standard lifejackets, which puts these objections to rest.

 In Canada there are three common types of approved flotation devices for use by recreational boaters:   Lifejackets, Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) and Inflatable PFDs.

Lifejackets when worn properly will turn the user over face up, due to the use of frontal flotation and collars. All approved lifejackets are available in youth and adult sizes and must be red orange or yellow.

 Approved PFDs are lightweight, comfortable and available in a wide range of styles and colours, designed for the type of boating you do and conditions you face. There are PFDs for paddling, sailing, fishing and high impact PFDs for water sports and