LIFE Saving Victoria (LSV) has announced its highest yearly drowning total in 20 years following the release of the 2020\/21 Victorian Drowning Report.<\/p>\n
The report includes daunting statistics related to drowning in the last financial year, the most eye-opening being the 61 total lives lost.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
Geelong Aquatic Centre owner, Geoff Gill, said COVID-19 has weakened the swimming skills of children across the country.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“The number released by LSV should be worrying to everyone,” Mr Gill said.<\/p>\n
“COVID has played a huge part in this.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Given this number, people who live in regional Victoria are almost twice as likely to drown than those who live in metropolitan areas.<\/p>\n
Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club president Lyndie Freestone said this number was the product of two factors.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“For those who have swum less, they need to be cautious of what they tackle in the water as well.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Ms Freestone said more than double the number of residents and visitors attended Ocean Grove beaches last summer.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
People can access the full drowning report via LSV’s website at www.blog.lsv.com.au.<\/p>\n
You can also find patrolled locations this summer by visiting www.beachsafe.org.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n