Lesson 9 – 40 minutes
Learning outcomes
- Recognise how body boards can be used to assist a distressed swimmer
- Demonstrate skills required to assist a distressed swimmer
Preparation
- Nipper Boards
- Water Safety Personnel (1:5).
IMPORTANT
- If you are not confident coaching the skills in this lesson bring in a surf sports athlete or coach to help deliver the lesson.
- Discuss the surf conditions and safety considerations before entering the water.
Discuss
- When you might use a body board to assist a distressed swimmer (i.e. when you’re already out in the water on a body board and you see someone in trouble).
- The importance of a careful approach to a distressed swimmer:
- They will want to grab onto anything and could pull you under, they might be panicking and not in control of their actions.
- What to do if the distressed swimmer grabs hold of you (head under the water, a distressed swimmer won’t want to go underneath the water with you because they are trying to stay above the water).
Demonstrate
- Ask a participant to pretend to be a distressed swimmer while you are the body boarder.
- Pretend to body board over to the distressed swimmer.
- When in voice range reassure the swimmer and let them know what you are going to do.
- When a safe distance away slide off your board and pass the board to the swimmer so they can take a hold of it.
- When they have hold of the body board signal for ‘assistance required’.
Activity 1
- Pair up the participants and give each pair a body board.
- Have each pair practice helping a distressed swimmer, same as the earlier demonstration.
- Ensure everyone has a turn being the distressed swimmer and the rescuer.
Activity 2
- Repeat Activity 1 in the water in an area close to shore and marked out by Water Safety Personnel.
ASSUMED SKILLS
This lesson assumes participants have acquired previous skills from earlier awards:
- basic bodyboarding technique.
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