WSI class safety rules

Class safety is always the most important factor.

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Good swimmers often think they don't need a lifeguard.

Some are even offended at having to follow supposed safety rules.

If they have done dangerous things before and not been hurt they are likely to want to be able to continue the same fun things.

Studies tell us why someone would, for example, dive into a pool with a sign that said No Diving:

1) The familiarity effect; people who have done a lot of diving with no harm are less likely to comply with warnings. If your personal experience is that it has been safe for you, you gauge your future risk as low. Swim and Water Polo team members are among those most likely to ignore a warning sign.

This can be affected as well by never having known anyone who was paralyzed by a diving accident. Younger people in general do not have as many life experiences that tell them that warning signs might be valid.

2) People who are aware of a hazard decide they can minimize risk by trying to be safe. A diver knows that the water is shallow, but decides to try to attempt a dive with a shallow trajectory. Unfortunately, you have little control over dive angle.

3) Everybody else is doing it. If some people are diving where they should not it is more likely that others will as well, even with signs warning them not to.

4) Your internal reasons.

Some people are risk takers and are willing to risk the consequences. Disability and even death can result from a poorly done dive, but these results do not seem as likely to some people as to others.

Some people don't like to have their behavior limited by orders from the manufacturer of a product or the manager of a pool. Adults sometimes think their rights are being taken away by "too many rules."

Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue describes a couple of reasons they have to rescue people:

"Becoming complacent because nothing went wrong the last time you tried this stunt.

Thinking your skills in one environment (e.g. a strong swimmer in surf) will transfer to a new one (e.g. swiftwater)."

For those of you who were rule breakers, now that you are going to become a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor you need to change from the kid who did everything wrong because it was fun, to the enforcer of the rules.

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Diving boards seem to invite more risky behavior and have even been shut down completely at some pools.

These rules are common for diving boards and must be followed in aquatics classes I teach:

Only one bounce allowed on the diving board.

Only one person on the diving board at a time. This means people should wait at the bottom of the ladder until the person jumping or diving has done so, and should not approach the end of the board until the swimmer is clear.

Don't run on the board or attempt to dive a long way through the air.

Swim away from the board immediately after diving so you aren't a hazard for the next diver and so you are safe if the next diver doesn't make certain the water is clear.

Jump or dive only from the end of the board. Don't use the guardrails for gymnastics. Trick dives only with permission.

NEVER perform a head-first entry, from the side of the pool or a diving board:

Over stationary objects

Over any hard device, such as a pole

Through inner tubes or hoops

When we enter the water in the WSI class, you should not jump in or use any dive or head-first entry, except during the supervised diving sessions. Instead, either sit on the side and slide in, or use a ladder or stairs.

Also note this memo from the Dean of Physical Education:

"Our swimming curriculum does allow for some diving instruction, however, effective immediately, this will occur only on the 1 meter boards. We will no longer use the 3 meter boards nor either of the towers for our activity classes. This would include jumping as well as head first entry. The Inter Collegiate divers will still have access to the 3 meter boards as long as the diving coach is present. If you are using the diving boards, please move enough lane lines out of the way to insure the safety of novice divers who may end up farther from the end of the board than experienced divers. My experience is that you should take out at least the first 3 lane lines in the diving well... Just a reminder, with the exception of the swimming teams, there is absolutely no head first entry allowed in the 50 meter pool. This would include the starting blocks in the 50 meter pool."

Later this was added: "In addition, the one meter boards are to be used only after following a progression of diving skills from the pool deck."

(The WSI class can sometimes use the one meter diving boards after class with a lifeguard assigned to watch, but you must get the instructor's permission and each of you must have shown skill through the progression of skills from the deck.)

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Goggles should not be worn to dive or to swim to a depth greater than 5 feet.

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Kick boards can be dangerous used as toys. When a person tries to stand on, kneel on or sit on a kickboard and loses control of it, it can come to the surface with enough force to knock out teeth.

Almost all swim classes are fully enrolled and require lanes to be shared. For drills with two swimmers people can swim side by side. In situations with more than two swimmers per lane (which is the case for most for most open rec swim), people need to circle swim. Each swimmer swims across the pool on the right hand side of the lane, turns and swims back on the right hand side. (Swim counterclockwise.)

People who find themselves out of breath and needing to stop should do so by squeezing into the corner of the end of the lane at the pool deck. The same applies if you are doing sprints with long rest intervals. If you find that another swimmer behind you seems to be gaining on you, you can let them pass at that point. Ideally you would head for the left hand corner (as you approach) so others can do turns.

Ideally you would work in a lane with others of about the same speed and who are using the same 5 second or ten second intervals. Ideally you would all figure out how to be ten seconds apart from each other.

Hand paddles are too dangerous to use when sharing a lane.

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I will describe how to clear your ears the first day of class. If it does not work you should immediately surface. If it does not work you should also have a doctor look in your ears to be sure you have not accumulated an excess of ear wax or have some other problem. You can lose your hearing if you ignore ear pain on submerging.

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Floating idly in the pool can be quite relaxing. Feel the sunshine on your back, stare at the bottom. But out of courtesy to others, so your instructor, coach, the lifeguard or other swimmers won't wonder if you are capable of holding your breath for a long time or if you have really passed out, any person who wants to float without moving should signal that they are okay by giving a 'thumbs-up' signal. Even if others at the pool you are at are not familiar with this courtesy, they should be able to understand it.

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Some swimming instruction is hands-on. You will need to remove watches, jewelry and body jewelry (piercings... eyebrow, ear, nose or wherever).

If it applies, also read body piercings and lifeguards:

http://www.aquaticsintl.com/2002/july_aug/0207_rm.html

Use waterproof sunscreen, at least 30 SPF and a wide brimmed hat as often as possible. Read the bottle, does it need to be applied a half hour before you enter the water? If you apply it and then jump right in it won't work and you will make an oil slick.

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Don't hyperventilate (rapid, multiple deep breaths) before attempting to swim a distance. Many people think that hyperventilation can increase their oxygen stores but it does not. Instead it decreases your carbon dioxide levels in your bloodstream, the main clue that tells your brain you need to get a breath. You can pass out underwater, leading to inhalation of water, heart arrest and or heart damage and possibly death.

Hypoxic training is a workout with limited breathing and therefore a limited intake of oxygen. No hypoxic training, attempts at swimming to the bottom of the diving well, distance underwater swims or other attempts at lengthy breath holding are allowed in my classes without permission and an instructor or lifeguard watching you.

The typical people who die from hypoxic training are competitive swimmers, Navy Seal divers, free divers or just good athletes. Since they don't seem like at-risk swimmers, lifeguards and coaches are less likely to pay attention to them.

From news releases, why you might want to make it a personal rule to not attempt prolonged breath holding even outside of WSI class:

"Stephen Praisner, a collegiate triathlete and experienced SCUBA diver, swimmer and lifeguard, died at the University of North Carolina at the age of 19 during a public swim in his university swimming pool. He was found in a lap lane in just 4 feet of water with his swimming goggles in place, the next day. His logbook indicated that he would be pushing his limits doing hypoxic training (competitive and repetitive breath-hold swimming) that evening."

"Omar Ortega, a nineteen year old member of the Mexican National Jr. and Senior Water Polo teams drowned during national team practice. The team, preparing for this summer’s Pan American Games, was doing underwater swimming at the end of practice. Apparently, Ortega fainted and went unnoticed on the bottom of the 50 meter pool until it was too late to save his life."

A Navy Seal trying to get on the U.S. Free Diving Team got permission from two lifeguards at a city pool to practice breath holding. The guards did not watch him. Several pool patrons approached the lifeguards and asked why a man was sitting on the bottom of the pool. A half hour after he submerged they finally investigated but it was too late. (See the end of this page for more about this incident.)

A 33-year-old military man drowned ... while swimming laps underwater... The two Lifeguards sat at a picnic table talking to one another. Several minutes later, one of the lifeguards noticed the man lying motionless on the bottom of the 5' section of the pool with bubbles coming to the surface. The Lifeguard assumed he was okay and decided to time him. After several additional minutes, another patron alerted the Lifeguards to the fact that the man wasn't moving and was in trouble. He was rescued, but it was again, too late.

WSI (and lifeguard) Ken Mignosa took this photo of a lifeguard on duty Saturday, July 22, 2006 at the JSSL (Junipero Serra Swim League) Championships his son was competing in. (If lifeguards need to talk to anyone while on duty they should do it briefly without looking away from the pool. The lifeguard text also points out that: "Social conversations should not be held while on duty.")

When the responsible people are asked why they did not respond to the person on the bottom of the pool, they say they thought the body was a blemish, smudge or a towel, not a human being. In one case, the lifeguard said he thought the victim was walking on the bottom of the pool for exercise! Guards, coaches and instructors also don't expect people to be sitting at the bottom of the shallow water section of the pool with their backs to the wall holding their breath, as has been the case in some deaths.

see also: Deathly Shallows. A poorly understood phenomenon is killing strong swimmers. Experts say it's time for the aquatics industry to take action or face the consequences. (Copy the URL below and paste it into your browser.)

www.aquaticsintl.com/2011/nov/1111_breathe.html

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If you stand at the edge of many pools and look straight down you can see that the pool gutter sticks out farther than the deck edge. If you decide to jump in you need to be certain that you jump out far enough from the edge that you don't hit your tailbone on the gutter. Unfortunately people don't always look before they leap into a pool and sometimes have jumped on a swimmer underwater near the pool edge.

Lane lines should be used only for temporary support.

Reasons to not hang on the lane lines:

1) they break

2) lifeguard might think you are in trouble

3) no room for people who really are in trouble

4) submerges it so it can't be seen (especially important if it is a swim area boundary at a lake, for example).

This page won't have all the safety rules for the class, many will apply only to equipment we are using or skills sessions as we go along. It would be impossible to list all the rules, so pay attention to lectures on the subject, and descriptions in the book of how to do activities safely.

Running on the deck or trying to push people into the pool are only a couple of the things that could cause injury. Think before you act in a rowdy manner. No more holding on to the backstroke flags pole and spinning around it while trying to leap over a starting block. No more trying to catch something thrown to you while you jump of the diving board. No more cartwheels into the diving well.

Immediately clear the pool at the first sound of thunder or sight of lightning, and do not use showers or a phone connected to a land line. Wait 30 minutes after the sound of thunder before swimming again. "Our coach always lets us swim if the storm if far enough away" is not a valid excuse. If rain is heavy enough that we can't see the bottom of the pool, no one swims.

It is a violation of the health code to have a dog on the pool deck or in the pool.

Report any injuries and equipment or facilities problems immediately to your instructor.

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also of interest:

STOP THAT CRAMP! 4 causes -- and solutions -- for muscle cramps during exercise

http://www.usms.org/news/newsitem.php?n=29

from: Navy Seal Drowns in Shallow End of Honolulu Municipal Swimming Pool

"On March 26, 1998, a Navy Seal who was training for the U.S. Free Diving Team, approached the two Lifeguards on duty at a municipal swimming pool and explained he was training to hold his breath for a prolonged period of time while underwater in order to gain a spot on the U.S. Free Diving Team. The Lifeguards gave the individual permission to practice in the shallow end of the pool.

This individual then went to the shallow end, directly in front of the Lifeguard stand, went through a series of breathing and swimming exercises, then hyperventilated and attempted to hold his breath, while still located in the shallow end directly in front of the Lifeguard stand. In order to assist him in staying underwater, he draped a weight belt across his hips.

Meanwhile the Lifeguards, rather than being appropriately stationed in the elevated Lifeguard stands, both sat together under the tarp on deck-level bleachers on the opposite end of the pool. According to testimony provided by the Lifeguards, they lost sight of this individual, and several patrons approached the Lifeguards and asked by the man was laying on the bottom of the pool. Their reply was that he was practicing holding his breath.

Approximately 30 minutes after the individual submerged himself in the shallow end of the water, the Lifeguards investigated the potential incident and when they realized he was in trouble, they entered the water and removed him. Emergency resuscitation procedures were not effective because of the prolonged submersion time."