Aquatics
May 10th, 2012
A Comprehensive System for Campus Recreation
Matthew D. Griffith, M.S., RCRSP
Georgia Institute of Technology
The practice of in-service training is critical to keeping your employees prepared to prevent injuries and respond to emergencies. Despite the fact that the importance of on-going training for staff has been almost unanimously agreed upon in some recreation program areas for years (e.g. aquatics), other areas are much further behind when it comes to in-service training. Employee in-service training programs can not only prevent skill erosion and improve emergency preparedness, but also facilitate individual employee development into contributing members of the community. That’s where the concept of Level 5 in-service training comes in. Developed by the author and Dr. Joseph Walker, it addresses observed deficiencies in current practices and maximizes the impact of staff participation. It will enhance the development of the individual and also function as a recruiting tool for future employees.
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January 17th, 2012
Matthew D. Griffith, M.S., RCRSP
Georgia Institute of Technology
It is well-known that educating guests is vital to their safety and an important component of a risk management plan. What isn’t as clear for many facility operators is what the most important information to get across is. It is not atypical for swimmers to be overwhelmed with signage listing a dozen or more pool rules when visiting an aquatic facility. This is unfortunate because most people only spend a few seconds reading signs. The result is poor communication of potentially important information. Therefore, pool rules and regulations should be placed into one of three categories: MUST know, SHOULD know, and NICE to know information. The information guests MUST know is information which could lead to catastrophic injury or death.
Within this category, there are four warnings that apply universally to almost all aquatic facilities. These are the four most important warnings to sign and enforce because if left unaddressed, they can lead to catastrophic accidents resulting in death or paralysis.
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January 17th, 2012
Drowning in Massachusetts Pool
Rebecca Boyd
Aquatics and Risk Management Coordinator
University of Waterloo
With the news coverage of a woman’s body being discovered in a Massachusetts pool, apparently three days after she went missing, a great deal of attention is being focused on the lifeguards and what they may or may not have done that contributed to this bizarre series of events that led to the tragedy of the mother of five losing her life. The incident involves Marie Joseph who went swimming on a hot Sunday afternoon with neighbours, had a collision with the 9-year old neighbour at the bottom of a slide and never resurfaced. It involves allegations of lifeguards ignoring information about the missing woman and neighbours assuming she left the pool. It involves inspections on two days by two Health Inspectors on the days her body was assumed to be at the bottom of the pool, of a permit being issued by the Inspectors to a pool too cloudy to see the bottom in the four foot shallow end or at the 12 foot deep end.
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December 08th, 2011
Can a coach safely do double duty?
Jen Knights
Program Coordinator – Aquatics
University of Western Ontario
It sounded like a watermelon hitting the sidewalk. I knew something was wrong before I even looked up. I was on deck in a supervisory role during a diving practice. The Coach was working with his athletes and there was a Lifeguard guarding the pool as well. I remember being at the lifeguard station tidying up and hearing usual pool sounds including the sound of divers rebounding off the end of the springboards. Then – thunk. I began to move towards the diving boards and saw the Coach in the water and the Lifeguard en route. As I approached the scene for a brief moment I was fuming – wondering why the Coach in the water before the Lifeguard. But then I realized the Coach was in the water because it was his athlete he was supervising, and he knew all too well the sound of a diver in trouble.
Lifeguards use all of their senses while on duty – we observe directly with our eyes, use our hearing to listen for the unusual, employ our sense of smell when people decide to toss eucalyptus (or urinate) onto sauna rocks, and our sense of touch when moving across an uneven or slippery pool deck before entering the water to perform a rescue. Following an emergency situation or rescue it is not uncommon for a Lifeguard to vividly remember a specific sight, or smell, or sound – forever. That memory becomes embedded in your brain and gets tucked away for future reference. The diving Coach knew that sound and the Lifeguard did not, but certainly does now.
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