Another National Drowning Prevention Week complete! This year was a special year for this campaign. Not only because we were able to reintroduce normal activities back into our lives and gather socially again, but also because drowning prevention messaging is needed now more than ever. With Aquatic Centre closures occurring on and off since March 2020, swimming lesson accessibility and water safety messaging has been relatively sparse. Access to swimming lessons is crucial for controlling a more silent epidemic called the drowning problem. Unfortunately, across the globe, we witnessed an increase in accidental death through drowning since the onset of the pandemic. In part, from limited accessibility to swimming lesson instruction.
This year was our most successful drowning prevention week yet! The Chevron Aquatic Centre saw 326 visitors the week of July 18-24 which is over double the attendance from last year. In addition, our Lifeguard team challenged the Fox Creek Fire Department to a friendly “Rescuers Relay Race” at the Splash Park…much fun was had!
