On 8^th and 9^th February, the Rutherford College sports committee was involved in a water safety programme held by ‘Drowning Prevention Auckland’.   Topics covered included:

• Showing how to sight drowning with distress and without distress
• How to recognise drowning
• Scanning the pool and understanding the signs of distress
• Dead water – this is an area of the pool that cannot be seen (nor supervised due to factors specific to the water, pool design and/ or human behaviour.

Drowning can occur without being noticed, even with a lifeguard nearby.

It was very beneficial to have this water safety programme made available to our students and teachers and the information is invaluable.  I would also like to say a huge thank you to Drowning Prevention Auckland for providing us with their time and this opportunity.  It is imperative that we are all aware of the dangers and hazards that water can bring and understanding what to recognise quickly to avoid a potential emergency situation.