Alarming drowning stats prompt safety warning

LIFE Saving Victoria (LSV) has announced its highest yearly drowning total in 20 years following the release of the 2020/21 Victorian Drowning Report.

The report includes daunting statistics related to drowning in the last financial year, the most eye-opening being the 61 total lives lost.

The report showed men and young children were over-represented in the statistics, according to LSV, with a quarter of which children aged zero to 14 years of age.

This number could have been significantly higher, as over the past year there were 104 non-fatal incidents, a 13 per cent increase on the 10-year average (2010 to 2020).

Geelong Aquatic Centre owner, Geoff Gill, said COVID-19 has weakened the swimming skills of children across the country.

This comes after 20 months of disrupted swimming programs and pool closures, a disruption that could take years to re-establish skill levels amongst younger swimmers.

“The number released by LSV should be worrying to everyone,” Mr Gill said.

“COVID has played a huge part in this.

“Lots of kids haven’t had a swimming lesson in almost two years because of lockdowns and that has a tremendous impact on a child’s ability in the water.”

There was a 27 per cent increase in the number of coastal drownings for 2020/21 with a 56 per cent increase in inland waterways, compared to the 10-year average for Victoria dating back to 2010.

Given this number, people who live in regional Victoria are almost twice as likely to drown than those who live in metropolitan areas.

Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club president Lyndie Freestone said this number was the product of two factors.

The first being the sheer volume of people attending beaches in the state over the last year alone. The second being not enough people swimming between the flags.

“My best advice I can give to people this summer is to swim between the flags, go to patrolled beaches, don’t park kilometres away and don’t settle for an unwatched beach,” Ms Freestone said.

“For those who have swum less, they need to be cautious of what they tackle in the water as well.

“If you haven’t done as much swimming, be conservative with how far you go out and what you can do based on your ability.”

Ms Freestone said more than double the number of residents and visitors attended Ocean Grove beaches last summer.

LSV’s message to all Victorians ahead of summer is to remember the reason you want to get back out of the water safely, and to keep kids away from danger.

People can access the full drowning report via LSV’s website at www.blog.lsv.com.au.

You can also find patrolled locations this summer by visiting www.beachsafe.org.au.