Kalgoorlie kids have a go at lifesaving
Goldfields kids and adults enjoyed a splashing good time last weekend, as Royal Life Saving WA brought its Have a Go Day to town. This free event provided the 61 children who attended with an opportunity to try their hand at a range of lifesaving skills, with sessions run by accredited instructors.
The Royal Life Saving WA staff, including our Talent Pool team, not only conducted a range of pool lifesaving skills sessions at Goldfields Oasis as part of the event, but children also had an opportunity to have fun on the inflatable and water slide and enjoy a BBQ. So much fun was being had that many of the children's parents also tried their hand at the lifesaving skills! latest National Drowning Report highlighted the fact that 57% of WA's drowning deaths happened outside the metro area in 2019-20, with people 3.8 times more likely to drown in regional and remote areas of WA.
Royal Life Saving WA Senior Manager Swimming and Water Safety Education, Trent Hotchkin, says “the fact that people in regional and remote areas of our state are at such high risk of drowning is concerning. It highlights the need for improved access to appropriate lifesaving, swimming and water safety programs to ensure they have the knowledge and skills needed to participate safely in the unique aquatic environments that exist in these areas.”
By conducting these fun events across regional areas of our state Royal Life Saving WA is making significant inroads into drowning prevention. Such events give children an opportunity to get together and learn new swimming and lifesaving skills in a fun and interactive environment.
Trent Hotchkin says it’s crucial that we get children engaged in swimming and water safety programs. “Learning to Swim and Survive is a vital life skill that all Western Australian children need to safely participate on, in and around water. Building swimming and water safety skills in young children is vital work and the single most important investment we can make as a community to prevent drowning.”.jpg?h=200&w=300&la=en&hash=63D488BE6A7088C63FB8CF76003D8B32CA18222C)
Royal Life Saving WA hopes the event has encouraged local families to get involved in the swimming and water safety programming regularly available at the Oasis, and give the local children an insight into the range of fun aquatic activities that learning swimming and lifesaving skills can open up to them.
The Goldfields Have a Go Day was supported by Principal Community Partner BHP.
You can learn more about the sport of Pool Lifesaving at the link below.
