Class hits beach for safety lesson

BEACH BOOGIE: Mauriceville School student Shakahne Sutton, 7, surfs the waves at Riversdale Beach aboard a boogie board. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Mauriceville School hit the surf and sand for a Beach Ed class this summer with some students swimming in the sea for the first time.

Principal Rebecca Stevens said the swimming programme students took part in the scheme at Riversdale Beach, learning from experienced lifesavers about surf and beach safety.

She said the entire student roll, which comprises children aged five to 12, completed the class and "some pupils had never been in sea water before".

All Mauriceville School teaching staff had completed Kiwi Swim Safe professional development during the summer holidays, she said, and the Beach Ed class was specifically designed for primary and intermediate pupils.

The programme aimed to deliver "a safe, fun and educational day at the beach", she said.

Mrs Stevens said the school was fortunate to be holding its class at the Riversdale Surf Lifesaving Club, which is one of the most successful operators of Beach Ed in New Zealand.

"Regional surf lifesavers Murdoch, Sam and Alicia took pupils through an education session on rips, swimming between the flags and other aspects of beach safety and then taught students how to walk through waves, boogie board, see hazards and keep themselves safe in the water," Mrs Stevens said.

Drowning is consistently the third highest cause of unintentional death in New Zealand, behind road vehicle crashes and accidental falls, according to the Water Safety New Zealand organisation, Mrs Stevens said.

Water Safety statistics showed 81 people drowned in New Zealand last year, she said, of which five had occurred in the Wellington and Wairarapa region.

Mrs Stevens said Water Safety New Zealand noted that beaches "were the environment with the highest number of drowning fatalities in 2013, and swimming had the highest number of recreational drowning fatalities".

Surf Life Saving New Zealand is a national association formed in 1910 that comprises 73 surf lifesaving clubs across New Zealand that patrol over 80 locations throughout the summer months.

The surf lifesaving service runs at Riversdale Beach from Labour Weekend to Easter.

For more information on Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Beach Ed go online to: http://www.surflifesaving.org.nz/ and for more information on water safety go to http://www.watersafety.org.nz/