Children learning crucial surf survival skills
Lifesaving skills for beach safety have been drummed into a group of Rangitı¯kei schoolchildren ahead of summer.
Pupils from Marton School have this week been taking part in a beach education programme at Himatangi Beach, run by Surf Life Saving New Zealand.
Learning about safety at the beach, where many drownings happen, is important. According to Surf Life Saving NZ there has been an average of 32 drownings over the past 10 years, a 70 per cent higher beach and coastal drowning rate per capita than Australia.
The programme consists of a one-day dry-land survival skills course from Swimming NZ, then three weeks of a Kiwi swim-for-life programme at a pool.
Surf lifesaver Millie Malin helped run the session yesterday, teaching children to be sun smart, to identify rips and the 10 surf safety rules people should know on the beach.
She said it was important for children to learn about being safe in the water.
‘‘New Zealand is surrounded in water. We have way too many drownings a year so it’s really important to teach the kids from an early age how to swim, how to look for rips and just everything they need to know about the beach.
‘‘They also go back home and tell their parents. Sometimes their parents don’t know how to swim or know much about the beach.’’
Many schools go through the programme and Malin said learning safety skills in the surf was different from learning to swim in a pool.
‘‘It’s good to get them actually into the ocean because we get heaps of kids coming through saying ‘I’ve never been in the ocean before’. It’s crazy.’’
Teacher Kevin Randle believed water safety was important for children to learn.
‘‘We’re surrounded by water and with the number of drownings we have in New Zealand, that’s why we decided to focus on water survival skills.
‘‘The whole point of today is to teach these guys about when we go to the beach to look for the flags and swim between the flags, and if they’re at the beach and there’s no flags, to look for the danger of [the water].’’
The group wasmeant to go swimming as well, but poor weather meant the children went on a treasure hunt instead.
Randle said the school was looking at doing a river survival programme next year.
Marton School, a Kidscan partner school, was given a $3800 Cadbury grant to put its pupils through the programme, aimed at developing confident swimmers. About 120 pupils, from years 3 to 8, took part.