When visiting a water park, safety should always be a top priority. With that in mind, the team at Wild Waterworks in Confederation Park has implemented the Water Smart Program to teach safety to visitors and lifeguards alike.
“Water safety and safety in general is our top priority at Wild Waterworks,” says manager Shane Ormerod. Which is why they hire only qualified, certified lifeguarding staff, who receive an additional 40 hours of training in CPR skills and defibrillator use before the park even opens.
Once the park is open, lifeguards are positioned throughout the facility to monitor all guests at all times.
But water safety doesn’t stop with the lifeguards. At Wild Waterworks the Water Smart Program is geared toward school groups. Used to supplement their school water safety curriculum, the program is offered to students between junior kindergarten and Grade 8.
The program itself takes place in the morning, when the students are divided into groups based on age. The youngest kids, from JK to Grade 2, focus on “really basic water safety, stuff that the kids can understand, such as swimming with a buddy, what to do in an emergency, and the very basic things such as calling 911,” says Ormerod.
The Grade 3 to 5 students focus more on the details of what to do in case of emergency, including the use of assists to help rescue someone who cannot swim, while the oldest group of Grades 6 to 8 focus on performing rescue breathing. This group also learns about boating safety, which includes the use of life jackets and other personal floatation devices, and some information on hypothermia.
Upon completion of the morning program, students are free to use the facilities for the remainder of the day.
But the Water Smart Program doesn’t have to end as soon as the kids leave the park. After the students have gone for the day Wild Waterworks provides additional information to the teachers. “There’s activities they can do in the classrooms, such as having the students make up their own emergency plan,” Ormerod explains.
The costs of the Water Safety Program are reasonable. Starting as low as $8.75 per student, the price can increase to $15 if including a meal or a tube rental. Lifejackets are also available for rental to all Wild Waterworks guests.
For more information on Wild Waterworks and the Water Safety Program, visit
www.conservationhamilton.com.
