Ryde Beach Lifeguards have been busy delivering sea safety awareness courses to over 800 local school children this Summer.
Broadlea, Godshill, The Bay, Gatten and Lake, Dover Park, Queensgate, St Marys, Haylands, St Georges, Oakfield and Nettlestone Primary Schools have all been involved in the courses, with some 40 sessions held.
The program was aimed at pupils in Years 5 and 6, with all Island schools invited to book onto sessions free of charge – thanks to grant funding from Southern Water and Hovertravel.
The Sea Safe sessions were run over 2 weeks, with a week at Sandown Beach followed by a week at Ryde Beach due to both beaches being lifeguarded in the summer months by Ryde Beach Lifeguards – part of Waterside Community Trust.
The hour-long sessions taught the children and their teachers about how to stay safe at the beach, where to get advice and what to do in an emergency. This was followed by an immersive experience with the children being taken into the sea and learning about cold water shock, how to get out of danger and how to summon help.
Each child was provided with a free Southern Water swim hat as well as an RBLG Sea Safe Certificate.
Todd Miller, Beach Manager, created the program and hopes it will greatly decrease the risk of accidental drowning on the Island:
“I believe that prevention is key and something that is at the forefront of the service at RBLG. In running the Sea Safe Sessions we are able to deliver potentially life-saving knowledge and skills in a fun way, which I hope will ensure they can all enjoy our amazing beaches safely.
“Drowning can happen so quickly, and I often remind myself of an incident in 2014 where an 8 year old boy drowned at Ryde and would have certainly lost his life that day, if it hadn’t been for the expertise and speed of all the emergency services involved that day. So I hope by delivering Sea Safe, Beach Rookies and always improving the quality of service we provide to Ryde and Sandown, that that will day will never be repeated.
“A huge thank you to Southern Water and Hover Travel, whom without the program wouldn’t have been possible”.
The beach lifeguards operate at Ryde and Sandown beaches, between 11:00-18:00 until the end of August.
