Introduction
The UK has some magnificent water resources available for sports and recreation, surrounded by water, it is an island. There are over twenty five thousand miles of rivers, streams, and canals, and above three hundred thousand acres of water space. Considering most people live close to some stretch of water, sea, lake, canal, reservoir, stream, pond, etcetera, we are surprisingly casual about its danger.
We educate about health and safety and about fire, why not water safety? To place more of an emphasis on people effecting rescues without entering water is sensible, to ensure the safety of both rescuer and victim, what better place to start than in school and college classrooms?
Water Safety Questions for Game Purposes:
1 Your ball is floating out to sea. What do you do? Let it go or you may be carried out with it.
2 What should always be worn when canoeing? A life preserver or lifejacket
3 What is the best way to learn how to canoe?
Join a club and learn from the experts
4 What should you do if a boat capsizes and you cannot right it? Stay with it until help arrives.
5 Why can it be dangerous to make your own raft? They usually sink or fall apart and are impossible to steer
6 How can a garden fish pond be made safe when there are toddlers around?
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Cover it with mesh which is securely fastened to the sides
7 Why is it important to empty a toddler plastic paddling pool after use? A toddler may fall in and drown when no one is about.
8 Name three things which could be useful to help pull a person out of water?
Branch, stick, scarf, rope, towel, jumper
9 What telephone number do you dial in an emergency?
10 On a frozen pond where would the ice be thinnest? Why? Near the middle
11 What colours are the flags which show an area in which it is safe to swim? Red and Yellow
12 Give two distress signals at sea
Orange smoke signals
The tying of an article of clothing to a raised oar, a square flag with a round object either above or below it
13 Give another name for the coma position. Recovery position
14 When would you place a person in a recovery position? When they are unconscious but breathing, after resuscitation
15 Why should you not run along the side of a swimming pool? Could slip and fall in
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16 Why is it important to tilt the head back of a casualty before giving resuscitation? To be sure to get a clear airway
17 About how often do we breathe normally? Every five seconds or twelve to fifteen times per minute
18 Why are locks on canals especially dangerous? Sides can be very slippery – impossible to get out
19 If you fall into deep water and cannot get out, what should you do? Keep calm, call for help, float on your back attract attention by waving one arm
20 How would giving resuscitation to a baby be different from an adult? You will puff air gently instead of deep breaths from your lungs. Blow in mouth and nose together
21 In a car accident your car plunges in a deep river and sinks with you inside. What do you do?
22 Going through the ice when skating on a deep water pond, what should you do? Go forward, tread water or turn around and try to climb out?
23 How thick should ice be before anyone should venture on it to ice skate? Canadian Red Cross, suggest four inches, as the minimum.
24 What is a rogue wave and why is it dangerous?
25 To drown in fresh water, assume three minutes, sea water, five minutes. Account for the difference?
26 Why is it not recommended to swim with exposed open cuts or sores in outdoor locations?
Weil’s disease is picked up through diluted rat urine in open water scenic lake locations and this disease kills approximately fifty people per year in the UK
27 On a dark and rainy night you are walking alone along a quayside which is unfamiliar to you. The level of the water is some six feet below the top of the quay, on which you are standing. A number of small boats are moored nearby. There is a large amount of driftwood on the water. You hear shouts of ‘help!’, and the noise of splashing coming from the water about twenty yards out. What would you do?
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28 Suppose you are a passenger in a boat, on a large lake, the boat suddenly overturns and you find yourself in the water. What do you do and why?
29 What is hypothermia? How is it caused? How do you prevent it?
30 At the side of a pool you notice a man inhaling and exhaling before he dives into the water and starts to swim underwater. After a time he fails to surface, what could have happened?
31 Explain the term hyper ventilate. Why is it dangerous?
32 Suppose you are in charge of a group of inexperienced swimmers at a sea beach. Give fifteen of the recommended rules that they should follow to ensure they swim in safety. What would you advise them to do to help one another should anyone get into difficulties?
33 Suppose you are in charge of a group of children between the ages of eight to thirteen from an inland town at a holiday camp by the sea in mountainous country. The beach is sandy and shelves gradually but is near the estuary of a river. The children can all swim. How would you encourage them to gain the greatest benefit from swimming in the sea? What warnings would you give them and what precautions would you take? Tell them how to avoid danger and how to help themselves, if in difficulties.
34 It is not always necessary or the best action for a rescuer to swim to effect a rescue. What other courses are open to him or her? Give an example of the type of incident when each could be used. What factors should be considered before entering the water to do a rescue by swimming?
35 An unconscious woman on whom you have been doing AR has not responded, it is a hot summer day and she is wearing a scarf. Blowing air in through her mouth and nose fails to make the chest rise. What is the problem and how is it remedied? Stoma
36 Write a water safety jingo or song and present and perform it in class.
37 At a wedding reception by the side of a pool one of the guests starts to choke. He turns purple, as he fights to breathe. Nobody seems to know what to do, and people thumping him on the back have failed to dislodge the obstruction. What could be done to help this person?
38 Why is it not advisable to swim after a heavy meal? Blood is being used to digest the contents of the meal which means there is less available to work the muscles and so it can lead to cramp being produced and that can be painful, as well as lethal. Sometimes swimming in cold water also produces cramp and the lack of salt in a diet.
39 What is cramp? Cramp is an involuntary contraction of the muscles or group of muscles that prevents them working properly. There are different kinds of cramp conditions
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40 How is cramp treated in the leg muscles?
41 What is a stitch? How is it cured?
42 What is Oxygen Debt?
43 What is fatigue and why might it occur in a swimmer? How do you delay the onset of fatigue?