To kick off National Drowning Prevention Week, a special event was held at Kinsmen Water Park, with the assistance of some of Prince Albert’s finest in the form of on-duty Firemen and Lifeguards.
It marks the first of the five days of educational events being held within the City of Prince Albert, with more local organizations getting involved.
“The fire department is here to promote safety in water, PFD’s, and for kids not to play around the riverbank,” said James Dorward, one of three firemen out for the afternoon fun.
“They got some water, and we’ll have a little bit of fun with the kids. We typically try and do this every year.”
The afternoon consisted of a quiz game of sorts, led by City recreation worker Reed Braaten who asked the participating children questions about year round water safety. The harder the question, the more water the kid answering the question would be allowed to hurl at the lifeguard or fireman of his or her choice.
Towards the end of the game, one of the contestants made her prize to splash a large bucket of water on Braaten’s head, which he took in good stride.
“I had a sneaking suspicion, but as it went on, I was like ‘Oh, maybe I’m safe’,” Braaten joked. “Actually, it was quite refreshing because it was actually quite hot out here!”
On a more serious note, Kinsmen Water Park has a variety of demonstrations and safety activities planned throughout the week. Tuesday is ‘Swim to Survive Day’, while on Wednesday, paramedics from Parkland Ambulance will show up for a demonstration.
“We’re going to go through a mock rescue that everyone can see, including (Parkland Ambulance) taking our ‘victim’ away on a stretcher,” Braaten explained. “Thursday, Sun Smart Saskatchewan is coming to do some activities and talk about being safe in the sun. Then on Friday, we’re going to have ‘Lifeguard Olympics’. We’re going to have a bunch of guards to do some events and win some prizes and make people hype and stuff.”
More than 20 Prince Albert youth were on hand to take part in Monday’s kick-off event. Shayla Preston, one of the lifeguards participating lifeguards, said she was pleasantly surprised at how much they knew.
“I thought a couple would have had a bit more trouble with the numbers, and taking a guess on the number of drownings. I struggled with it, so having kids younger than me being very confident with them was a shock,” Preston said.
“I’m very excited thinking about the rest of the week. I’m pumped just thinking about it. I think everybody should come out and have a little gander at it!”
The National Drowning Prevention Week activities will all be taking place at Kinsmen Water Park.