Call to teach children water skills

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 28

Call to teach children water skills

PA Wellington The education system is not equipping young children with basic water survival skills, says the Water Safety Council’s chairman, Mr Mike Frolich. The 190 drownings for 1985 were a record, he told a Wellington Rotary meeting. The tragedy was that a lot of those people could swim.

Drownings had “increased dramatically” in the highest fatality agegroup, 16 to 20 years. Of the twenty-two January drownings this year, onethird were in this age bracket.

Children gained swimming certificates for swimming two widthhs of the school pool, but did not learn the basic water survival techniques, Mr Frolich said.

New Zealand per capita had the highest involvement in water sports, including boats, canoeing, board sailing, rafting and

snorkelling, he said. It * was important for chil- ® dren to be taught survival =< skills for these activities. ’

Mr Frolich said the -»• council was supplying in- * formation to the public, as « well as running advertls- * ing campaigns. s Practical instruction in .• boat-owner courses and " swimming lessons were > areas in demand, he said. *

Drowning figures ; for J the under 15 age-group « were decreasing steadily, * helped by the council’s « high profile and increased * sponsorship. • . , . »

There were 60 volun- a tary committees through- * out New Zealand trying ,to ’ satisfy demands for co- - 1 ordination courses - and-J demonstrations of how to « cope in emergencies, said £ Mr Frolich. ; \ .• «

The council was work- . ing closely with education i boards, and the . council’s 2 field officers 'were * demonstrating water « safety skills at schools. »