10 Ways to Ensure Water Safety

With the summer upon us and holidays approaching for many, it is always great to head for a swim in your local pool or outdoors, if the weather allows it in Ireland! However, while swimming or dipping your toes in the water can be fun for people of all ages, it is important to remember that staying safe around water is crucial. While water can be a source of entertainment and great way to keep fit for all, it can also be deadly if not treated with caution. Throughout this blog we will run through 10 ways you can ensure you, your family, and friends remain safe around water, while still enjoying all its benefits!

1. Learn How to Swim

Our first way of remaining safe around water is the most obvious, and that’s learning how to swim. No matter what age you are swimming is a vital life-skill to obtain, especially if you have plans to be in or around water. While plenty of people go through life without ever having swimming lessons, it is the easiest way to ensure you have the best chance of survival should an issue occur in the water. However, knowing how to swim well isn’t the only way to stay safe when water is involved, and we’ll explain more tips as we go along.

2. Float to Live

While learning how to swim is a fantastic thing to do, when put in a dangerous situation it sometimes doesn’t matter how skilled you are as panic, and fear set in. Whether you’re an experienced swimmer or have never set foot in water before, the best course of action is to float at first. No matter if you are indoors or out, if you fall into water, or find yourself in unexpected danger, floating allows your body to adjust to the temperature of the water, regain your natural breathing, and to get your head around the situation you are in. Once you are calmer, you can then try to swim toward shore, or call for help, the important thing is not to panic as you will waste more energy the more you do.

3. Always Use the Water Safety Code

There’s a quick way to prepare for when you visit water and that’s with the Water Safety Code. The simple SAFE code should always be considered before any water adventure.

S = SPOT the dangers

A = Take ADVICE

F = Go with a FRIEND or FAMILY

E = Learn what to do in an EMERGENCY

This anagram is a brilliant way to teach children to always be alert for any danger before entering water, to listen to advice from professionals, such as lifeguards, to never swim alone, and to know how to react in any water emergency. These are just the basics and should always be at the front of your mind.

4. Swim With Lifeguards Present

It doesn’t matter whether you are indoors or out, it is important to always swim when a lifeguard is present. Lifeguards are professionally trained to deal with any form of water emergency and will constantly be alert for potential dangers. As well as that lifeguards are crucial when it comes to outdoor swimming as they have knowledge of the area, and how factors such as the weather may dramatically affect swimming conditions. If you are ever unsure about water safety or entering the water, please make sure to take advice from the nearest lifeguard.

5. Always Have a Form of Communication

While we bring our phones everywhere it is especially important to have it with you when taking part in water activities, particularly outdoor activities. It can be a great idea to buy a waterproof pouch for your phone when swimming outdoors, as it allows you to alert people should you come into any difficulty in the water. If you are on a boat, it is vitally important to have a radio as a phone may not have signal the further away from the shore you go. No matter what, you should always inform people as to where you are going, and for how long, when it comes to water activities so that they can call for help if they haven’t heard from you.

6. Never Leave Children Unattended Near Water

It’s something we often hear, but yet it still happens far too often, children should never be left unattended near water under any circumstances. While we all want to have our fun at the beach, or the pool, especially when on holidays, children’s safety should never be put at risk. Even if your child is a competent swimmer, and knows the basic rules around water safety, an adult should always be watching over them. Anyone can struggle in water, no matter their experience or age, but there is no doubt that too many children die each year from drowning and that can be prevented by parents keeping a close eye on their children as well as being prepared for every water situation.

7. Plan for Your Surroundings

This feeds back into some of our previous points, but it is hugely important to be aware of your surroundings when water is involved. If you are at the local swimming pool, you should know where the lifeguard is stationed, where the deep end of the pool is and your capability to swim in deeper water. While out in the open you should plan your swimming trips, taking consideration of the weather, lifeguard stations, sea-levels, and so on. However, even if you are not on a swimming activity, but are near water, for example on a walk, you should be cautious when near to water edges, and always stay well clear of these edges to avoid falling in.

8. Know the Designated Areas and Beach Flags

When swimming outdoors, especially at beaches, you should always check where the designated swimming areas are located in line with the flags raised on the beach. Below is a breakdown of the different flags that you might see when on your next visit to the beach.

Red and Yellow = Lifeguarded area, this is the safest area to swim in.

Red = Danger area, do not swim here.

Black and White Checkered = Surfboard and Paddle Board area, no swimming permitted here.

Orange Windsock = Displays the current speed and direction of the wind.

While you are at the beach you should always swim in the area between the red and yellow flags but stay away from areas with plain red flags as these have been marked as dangerous areas to swim. You should also never swim in an area between black and white checkered flags, as these are designated areas for surfing or paddle boarding, it can also be useful to check the orange windsock to see how fast the wind is on the day, along with what direction it is travelling.

9. Stay Hydrated

It may seem strange to have hydration as part of our water safety tips but it is in fact a very big consideration. No matter where you swim you can become easily dehydrated without realising as your body may feel cooler in the water and you might think you’re not losing as much water as you would in the gym. However, the opposite of this is true, as you burn a large number of calories when swimming and lose huge amounts of water. This is even more common when you factor in the hot weather when outdoors, which can lead to dehydration, dizziness, and more if you don’t keep your water levels up, so make sure you have some water nearby whenever you head for a swim, also never drink alcohol before entering water.

10. Nothing is a Substitute for a Life-Vest

We all love to have fun in the water with pool noodles, blow-up seats, floaties, and so on. However, it is important to remember that these are not safety equipment, they are toys, and should never be used as a substitute for a life-vest. If you are heading out on open water you should wear a life-vest no matter how good a swimmer you are, while young children that have little swimming experience should always wear a life-vest when near any form of water. While they may not be the most fashionable or comfortable thing in the world, they will ensure you stay above the water if you begin to struggle and are the only piece of equipment you should use when water safety is involved.

So, that’s our top 10 ways to stay safe around water! While having fun in the water should always be a priority, top of that list should be staying safe! If you ever feel uncomfortable about heading into water, or have less experience than others in water, don’t be pressured into entering, especially without considering all safety measures in advance! Teaching children how to behave around water is something that should be done from a young age to ensure they remain safe as they enjoy water throughout their lives!

How Aura Leisure Can Help

Aura Leisure offers swimming lessons for all ages and abilities. We’ve got our Junior Swim Academy for babies/tots, our Swim Academy for children, Rookie Lifeguard lessons for children looking to advance their swimming, and our Adult Swim lessons as we believe it’s never too late to learn. Our fully qualified and amazing swim teachers will ensure you or your child learns how to swim in a safe environment all while having fun along the way! No matter your age or ability we have lessons that can cater for you and help you get the most out of swimming!

The Aura Training Academy is also a great way to learn new skills and help others. We have a range of courses that can help you develop your career in the health and fitness industry. These include our Lifeguard, Swim Teacher, and First Aid Responder courses which can enable you to help others should they get into a difficult situation in the water! To learn more about all the courses we have to offer click here and who knows you could just unlock your path to your dream career!