Aug. 2013, Ottawa

In Canada last year, 344 people drowned according to the National Life Saving Society and almost all of those deaths were preventable.

The main cause among children, according to Kathleen Finn, is simply lack of adequate supervision. The biannual drowning report published by the National Life Saving Society states that in 2012, 61 per cent of children who drowned were left alone near or in the water and 87 per cent of those children were alone for only a momentary absence or lapse in caregiver attention.

The Life Saving Society deals with water safety, drowning prevention and rescue training. Finn is the vice president of training programs for the organization and is also on the board of directors.

Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children but youth and young adults still have the highest drowning rate of any age group according to the report. The majority of the victims in this age group are male said Finn.

“They will take greater chances.They will jump off higher things.They will jump into unknown water and they will go in boats without lifejackets. They will challenge each other to do things that are not within their skill level.”

She said the skew toward male victims is also prevalent among adults. There is often alcohol involved as well, usually in a fishing or boating setting.

She mentioned a recent rise in drownings among the portion of the population aged 50-64 years and said that this could be because of a shift in attitude toward aging. They still think they can do the types of activities at the same level that they did when they were 20.

She said this is one of the reasons behind almost all drownings—people overestimate their abilities and get into trouble.

“I’ve actually watched and rescued a fellow lifeguard,” she said. “You can put yourself in situations where even the most confident swimmer gets into trouble.”

At the national lifeguard championships in Regina she said she had to rescue numerous competitors — lifeguards and lifeguard instructors. They’d push themselves too hard and get into trouble.

“These are some of the top aquatic athletes in the world,” she said.

On safety precautions, she said that children and adults should know how to swim. People should try to swim in areas where lifeguards are present and they should never swim alone.

She said the safest place to swim is at a pool or beach where lifeguards are present and that less than one per cent of drownings happen in these environments.

When boating, she said life jackets are important. “I know they’re not cool. I totally get that, but there are some really good options.” You can get vests that inflate when they hit the water, she said.

For young children, constant supervision is essential. For older children and teens, she said it’s not necessarily age that’s important but rather responsibility and swimming ability.

“I am really reluctant, even as a parent and an aunt of really great swimmers, of letting them even near the water without an adult. Especially open water.”

She said when supervising children in the water there should always be one adult who is specifically responsible for watching the water and they should not be drinking.

On the topic of flotation devices she said water wings, flutter boards and noodles are not acceptable substitutes for lifejackets and PFDs. Ideally they should wear a lifejacket that will flip them onto their back in the event that they go unconscious.