Swimming is a life skill that is only used in specific situations, but that is also very important to know “just in case.” Even if you never plan on being near water, having some knowledge about how to swim and how to be safe near water is good to know.
If you ever find yourself in a water-related emergency, it’s too late to research! That’s why it’s crucial to be familiar with safety before you need it.
Who Is Considered a Beginner?
Perhaps you have some swimming skills, but you aren’t sure how to evaluate yourself and know if you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced swimmer.
A beginner should be able to:
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Enter and exit shallow water unassisted
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Float and recover to a standing or secure position
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Move continuously for five metres
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Submerge their body and move through an obstacle
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Identify rules for safe behaviour in aquatic environments
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Identify people and actions to help in an aquatic emergency
These skills are part of the national benchmark for water safety, and are recommended to be known by every child by the age of six.
Knowing these skills, you can safely label yourself a beginner.
A beginner to intermediate swimmer should know the benchmarks for the skills to know Ideally by age twelve:
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Enter and exit water in a range of environments
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Float, scull or tread water for two minutes and signal for help
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Swim continuously for 50 metres
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Surface dive, swim underwater and search to recover an object from deep water
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Respond to an emergency and perform a primary assessment
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Rescue a person using a non-swimming rescue technique
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Swim while wearing light clothing
An intermediate to advanced swimmer should know these benchmark skills meant to be learned by age seventeen:
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Assist others to exit deep water
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Float, scull or tread water for five minutes and signal for help
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Swim continuously for 400 metres
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Search in deep water and recover a person
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Respond to an emergency and provide first aid
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Rescue an unconscious person in deep water
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Swim while wearing heavy clothing
The goal is for half of the population to be experts in swimming and water safety.
If you are part of the population who is not an expert, that’s alright, but you’ll want to make sure you have basic knowledge, at the very least!
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What Obstacles Prevent Learning to Swim?
We all know swimming is a good skill, but there are many reasons why someone might not be able to swim.
Lack of Opportunity
Swim instruction can be costly, so while you may be able to learn the basics on your own or from someone you know, you might not have the opportunity to learn the right skills in the best way.
Location
Some places simply aren’t near very many swimming areas, be they pools, rivers, lakes, or oceans. If you aren’t near an aquatic area or if you didn’t have someone to bring you to one as a child, you may not have been able to learn to swim.
Fear
Many people have a fear or phobia of water. Though it may be impossible to overcome this fear and learn to swim, other skills can be useful to know about water safety.
Parents with a fear of the water may also prevent their children from learning to swim.
Medical Reasons
There are numerous reasons why someone may not physically or mentally be able to swim.
Certain conditions and diseases may make it unsafe or impossible for someone to be in the water. Others might have physical disabilities. Whether it be a condition from birth or later in life, some people may simply not have the option to learn to swim.
Why Swimming Skills are Important for Non-Swimmers
Even if you have never swum and never plan on swimming in your life, it’s important to know the very basic skills.
As mentioned above, by the age of six everyone should know the basic techniques needed to stay alive in the water and call for help.
Even if you take precautions to avoid water, there are many unpredictabilities in life and it’s simply better to be safe than sorry. By arming yourself with knowledge and practice, you won’t need to live in a state of caution or make special plans to avoid aquatic environments.
Many situations might require knowledge of water safety in an emergency.
Leisure Activities
The beach is a prime vacation and relaxation destination, even if you don’t touch the water. But, being around that much water, it’s always better to know how to keep yourself and others safe.
You might also find yourself on a boat ride or cruise. Wearing a life preserver is a fantastic precaution, but it’s always better to have a backup plan.
The same goes for air travel; in the event of a water landing, having the basic skills may be crucial.
Accidents
Whether it’s yourself or someone else, accidents happen every day.
Being able to keep yourself afloat is just as important as knowing what to do if you see someone else in trouble.
People of any age, from infants to the elderly, can find themselves falling into a body of water for one reason or another.
Animals can also fall victim to an unfortunate accident! So, arming yourself with how to keep everyone safe around water is a worthwhile task for the benefit of the whole family.
Catastrophes
The fact of the matter is that sometimes the earth is unpredictable and more powerful than we can imagine.
Natural disasters like cyclones, tsunamis, and flash floods can occur when you least expect them. Earthquakes can cause damage to structures in such a way as to create a water hazard or require a trek through the water as an escape.
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What Skills Do I Need as a Non-Swimmer?
While the obvious swimming skills - being able to tread water, float, scull, and signal for help yourself - are important, there are other vital skills you can learn that don’t require you to be in the water at all.
Spotting a Signal for Help
As important as it is to know how to let others know if you are in trouble while in the water, it’s equally important to be able to spot a signal from someone in the water.
From a distance, a drowning person might appear to be simply splashing about and having fun. Even worse, they might look calm before they eventually go under the water. You can’t count on everyone who swims to know how to effectively signal for help.
The standard, recognized signal for distress while swimming is one arm raised up overhead for about a second. While not the most obvious sign, it’s difficult to do something that might be more noticeable while in the water, especially while distressed.
So, being able to spot the signs of a distressed or drowning swimmer are vital to keeping others safe. If you see someone exhibiting these behaviours, you can enlist someone else for help; you don’t have to jump into the water yourself.
Effective Communication and Organization
Once you’ve spotted someone in need of help, the next thing is to make sure that aid is administered.
Valuable seconds are wasted when we hem and haw at how to proceed. Should I raise the alarm? What if I’m mistaken? Who should I ask for help?
Having the ability to command a situation in an emergency can mean the difference between life and death. Leadership and conviction can be necessary to prevent the bystander effect from taking hold.
The bystander effect is when people in a group assume someone else will take charge of the situation. When everyone is unwilling to step up, nobody does, and nothing happens.
So, having the sharp thinking to assign others to certain tasks is a lifesaving skill.
You might need to direct someone to find a lifeguard or flotation device, call emergency services, administer CPR, or even jump in and swim to the drowning person. Otherwise, everyone may remain paralyzed.
First Aid
Basic first aid is, of course, helpful in all kinds of situations, not just water-related emergencies.
Knowing how to clear an airway, perform CPR, get water out of the lungs, identify signs of a concussion, and recognize signs of secondary drowning (when someone drowns out of the water due to unseen complications) are just a few of the life-saving skills you can learn to keep everyone safe near the water.
Identify Risk Factors
Many elements come into play that can make an aquatic environment unsafe.
In natural swimming areas like rivers, lakes, and oceans, swimmers are at the mercy of nature.
Learn to recognize signs of undertow and rip currents before allowing anyone to jump into the water. Other environmental factors include identifying hidden rocks and debris, finding safe entry and exit points, and anticipating bad weather.
Flora and fauna can also pose threats, so keep on the lookout for venomous or aggressive wildlife as well as harmful plants and trees that may collapse.
In manmade structures, watch for signs of neglectful upkeep or malfunctioning equipment. Certain models of pool filtration systems can pose threats of entrapment to small children.
A crowded waterscape can also hide the signs of a drowning person, especially a child. Remember, children can drown in just a few centimetres of water, they only need to have their mouth and nose covered to be at risk of danger.
To untrained or unalert eyes, a child flailing or floating may appear to be playing, when in reality they are in distress. Always stay alert!
Lastly, we humans can put ourselves at risk, especially when mixing intoxication with aquatic environments. If someone is under the influence of a substance, there is a high chance that they may succumb to drowning even if they are usually an excellent swimmer.
You don’t have to be a good swimmer to contribute to water safety for everyone. Simply learn a few skills, stay alert, and keep a level head in tense situations in order to provide essential, life-saving help to those in need!
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