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100-BZM-01-IGDO ©2025, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
(WSPS) 1 877 494 WSPS (9777) | 905 614 1400 | WSPS.CA
Resources
• Choosing lifejackets and personal flotation devices (PFDs)
• Wilderness Water Safety « Ontario Camps Association
2. Drowning – Aquatics Staff
Hazards Prevention Tips
Drowning can happen to anyone,
including those with aquatic
certifications. Lifeguards perform
in-water rescue, which poses
additional risks to the rescuer.
Drowning individuals frequently
panic, grabbing anyone and
anything nearby as they fight for
life.
Main activities and risks
exposing aquatics staff to
drowning risk include:
• In-water rescue
• In-water rescue involving
multiple swimmers in
distress
• Teaching swimming
lessons, especially to
non-swimmers and poor
swimmers
• In-service training
• Swimming for fitness
• In-water maintenance
such as removing
hazards from the
swimming area
• Swimming area seasonal
set-up / take-down
• Uniforms / clothing
weighing down rescuers
• Caught in dangerous
currents and undertows
during rescue
• Exhaustion
Work Practices
• Require aquatics staff to always carry a buoyant aid while guarding and in the
water teaching lessons or leading activities.
• Develop procedures for safely entering the water. For water less than 2.5 m
deep, or where hazards under the surface may not be visible, the only
acceptable method is feet first.
• Develop safety supervision ratios and protocols following applicable standards.
Include requirement that aquatics staff always work in teams, never alone.
Training
• Provide regular in-service training, including practice in self-rescue techniques
should a swimmer grab a guard or instructor.
• Lifeguard your lifeguards – ensure safety supervision is provided during in-
service trainings and staff fitness swimming. Staff who are training, such as
during staff fitness swimming, are unable to provide simultaneous safety
supervision to others performing the same activity.
• Never allow aquatics staff to swim alone, including swimming for fitness.
• Train staff on how to identify
Policies and Procedures
• Develop written drowning prevention policies and procedures, including
during water rescue.
• Consider the impact of uniform policies on safety – heavy clothing such as
sweatpants and sweatshirts easily become waterlogged and can impede both
bather rescue and aquatics staff ability to self-rescue. Provide uniforms made
of light, UV blocking material that does not easily absorb water.
Resources
• Lifesaving Society Waterfront Safety Standard
