Surf Life Saving Queensland’s confronting new swim safety campaign

Queensland parents are in the crosshairs of a new swimming safety campaign after a surge in rescues involving poorly supervised children during the school holidays.

SURF lifesavers have launched a confronting campaign targeting parents as rescue statistics involving poorly supervised children surge over the holidays.

There have been 30 drownings recorded nationwide in the past 25 days.

Don’t Let Your Child Become a Drowning Statistic, features an educational video produced in collaboration with Griffith University students.

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It portrays a mother taking her daughter to a secluded stretch of beach.

The girl runs into the surf but soon strikes trouble.

Her mother is unable to hear her screams as she is engrossed in a book.

When she finally looks up, her daughter has vanished.

“Please supervise your children and avoid swimming alone” is a key message, along with “always swim between the flags”.

A still from Surf Life Saving Queensland’s new campaign, Don’t Let Your Child Become A Drowning Statistic.

The video, gathering momentum on social media, follows new data that shows 192 children aged under 10 have been rescued along the Queensland coast since July 1-23 more than the same period last year.

There have been 955 rescues from July 1 to Christmas, compared to 746 in the same 2017 period.

A broader trend of rising numbers of five to 18-year-olds being rescued, linked to a stark decline in swimming ability among school-aged children, sparked The Courier-Mail’s Save Our Schoolkids campaign this year.

This led to a new $3.7m State Government water safety initiative.

While children are not heavily represented in this summer’s water-related death statistics, which stand at 12, lifesavers fear they might in the future due to the high numbers being pulled from the surf.

The new SLSQ campaign was created in collaboration with film students from Griffith University.

Surf Life Saving Queensland regional manager Aaron Purchase told The Courier-Mail that children had become “a fair chunk of our rescues”.

He said lifesavers appreciated that it was sometimes a challenge to keep track of excited kids. However, it was still their responsibility to keep an eye on them.

“We see many unattended children and kids who have got away from their parents. It’s easy to become distracted, but it’s so important to keep them close by and to know their limitations. If they are not strong or confident in the surf, keep them in shallow water. When they are small even a little wave or backwash can knock them off their feet.”

SLSQ has extended patrols over the holidays. Most popular locations are patrolled 7am to 6pm.

Patrolling member and Summer Surf Program Ambassador Jules Grana. Picture: Nigel Hallett

CONQUERING HER FEAR

JULES Grana was terrified of the ocean after she almost drowned but conquered her fear to protect others.

The Brazilian-born surf lifesaver volunteers at Surfers Paradise. Ms Grana, 36, said she had a lucky escape in the surf in her early 20s and the event had shaped her future.

“I joined (surf lifesaving) last year when one of my friends convinced me to do my Bronze and go back to the surf. I had swimming lessons and confronted my fears and have not looked back.’’

Ms Grana, who has progressed from waitress to bistro manager at Surfers Paradise SLSC’s Supporters Club, is now an ambassador for the Summer Surf Program.

This has seen her meet CEOs, visit Parliament House in Brisbane, visit schools and be part of many surf lifesaving projects. including raising funds to promote water safety and buy rescue equipment.

Originally published as Surf Life Saving Queensland’s confronting new swim safety campaign