Fully clothed swimming makes a splash in Brampton

Event held on national drowning prevention week

Bramptonguardian.com
July 23, 2018
Lian Colpitts

Tiernan Murphy says swimming lessons are more than doing cannonballs in the deep end and having fun. First and foremost is water safety.

On Wednesday, July 18, Making Waves, Murphy's chain of swim schools in Brampton, Milton and Vaughan, put a special spin on water safety with its 25th annual Water Safety Day, where children at all three locations took part in swimming lessons with clothes on to simulate falling into the water unprepared.

“Most people that end up (falling) in the water aren’t expecting to be there," said Murphy, who has been operating Making Waves since 1994.

"They run into problems and the clothes really weigh them down. It’s one thing to swim in a bathing suit or pair of shorts, but it’s another thing when you have a sweater and a pair of jeans on.”

Making Waves held its Water Safety Day during National Drowning Prevention Week. The school has a staff of more than 200 working out of three locations to service over 6,000 students all year around.

Drowning is the second leading cause of preventable death for children ages 10 and under. That considered, Making Waves touches base on a lot of elements of drowning prevention, such as injuries and the importance of life-jackets.

What's troubling to Murphy is seeing a lot of families boating over the summer without wearing life-jackets.

“From my point of view, that’s a crazy situation to put yourself in, like not having your seatbelt on in a car,” he said.

Summer may be the peak time for swimming, so the risk of drowning seems greater, but Murphy says it's also important for people to know when it's safe to walk on ice and what to do if they fall through ice.

“Obviously (water safety) is really focused on at this time because 65 per cent of drownings are between May and September, but there’s also another 35 that’s happening between September and May," he said. "We try to address those issues with the parents and kids also throughout the year.”