Experts: 10 rules of swimming
Bernard Okome, 27, trains a pupil how to swim at Woodmere apartments in Nairobi last Wednesday. He is the founder and director of Elite Swimmers.
The water whose presence on a planet signifies life was the same liquid that took Hellen “Wendy” Nyabuto’s life.
A 24-year-old who was determined to rescue her family from the clutches of poverty by working in Canada, Hellen had her life figured out until a swimming pool accident on August 18 took it all down the drain.
She post-humously gained fame because she was live-streaming her swim when the tragedy happened. The Toronto Star reports that Hellen will be celebrated this weekend in Toronto.
Yet, Hellen wasn’t the first person to drown in a swimming pool in different circumstances.
In Hellen’s case, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that on the day she died, she had done a morning shift at a long-term care home in Owen Sound, Ontario.
“It was 2pm when she arrived back at the motel where she was staying. Shortly after, she went for a swim in the motel’s pool while recording herself through a Facebook Live,” says the outlet in a report published on Wednesday.
The police said in a statement that Hellen “was removed from the pool and pronounced dead after life-saving measures were unsuccessful”.
The Sunday Nation engaged local swimming coaches who watched the video that captured Hellen’s tragic death. Not in any way blaming her, the trainers pointed out what went wrong and gave important tips — dos and don’ts — on swimming.
Bernard Okome noted that her strokes were not perfect. “She was fighting the water all along. Always be gentle with water.”
Kenneth Wena said Hellen was okay in the shallow-end but could have ventured into the deep end unknowingly.
On the other hand, Martin Wafula , pool attendant, swimming instructor and lifeguard at the Grand Royal Swiss Hotel in Kisumu, said one should always try not to be alone when swimming
Below are 10 general swimming pool rules as collected from the experts:
The 10 rules for safe swimming
1. Never, ever swim alone
“Swimming alone is risky because there are times when you can get an emergency while inside the water. If you’re alone, no one will help you,” advised Wafula.
To which Okome added: “However good you are, never swim alone because it’s always possible to die in the shallow end of a pool. Why? Because when you dive inside water, you hold your breath. And the lack of breathing affects the brain and it can shut down. You just die like that, because the oxygen is not there. You may think you’re comfortable holding your breath but you are dying.”
Wena also weighed in: “Even for us (expert) swimmers, we are told not to swim alone. There has to be someone; you never know what happens.”
2.Know the shallow and deep ends
“Always make sure you know where the deep and the shallow ends are, so that you can differentiate them. This is because when swimming, most people close their eyes. You can open your eyes when you’re in the deep end and start wondering what you’ll do. The moment you start to ask yourself those kinds of questions, that’s when fear gets in, and once the fear gets in, that’s when drowning follows,” advised Okome.
He went on: “So long as you’re a pro-swimmer, you can swim anywhere in the pool. A pro-swimmer doesn’t always look for the deep or the shallow end.”
Wena said people need to get more education on the basic parts of a swimming pool and to understand the deep and shallow ends.
3. Panicking only helps the water to kill you
Okome believes that most incidents of pool drowning happen as a result of panicking and throwing arms all over yet one should remain calm. Calmness, he said, helps one float in water of whatever depth.
Said Okome: “Always calm down and relax. The water will always carry you over. You will always float when you relax; don’t panic. That panic is what makes you sink. So, don’t panic, always float. You can even sleep on water looking at the sky, then the water will always carry you. The moment you start fighting water, it will fight you back.”
4. You are not a fish
“When around water, always be careful. We are not fish, and that’s all I can say. Any water body that you see around is harmful. Always be cautious, however shallow it may be,” Wena cautioned.
5. Don’t swim while intoxicated
Wafula said there is a risk of death if someone goes swimming when intoxicated. You won’t get a clearer warning on this than the one that is on the US army website under an article titled “Alcohol and water don’t mix”. It was published in 2019 and is written by Pamela Doty of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
6. Train well that an immobilised limb won’t cost you
“You know, a muscle pull only attacks just one leg. But for swimming, you can swim with your legs only or your hands only. It’s not a must that you engage both. So, your legs may cramp but you can use your hands on your way to safety,” said Wena.
Equally, said Okome, a person should train so well that even when they have no rubber tube or a floating device, they can swim comfortably.
“You always need to know how to survive in the water with or without those floaters because it can find you anywhere; maybe a flood or something,” he said.
7. Follow the rules
In any pool, you are likely to encounter instructions. Wafula said it will be foolhardy to ignore them.
“The poolside should always have those rules and regulations. They should always be put in a place where they can be seen clearly and in a place where anyone can see and read,” said Wafula. Rules like taking a shower before going into the pool and having proper swimming attire are common.
8. Get an expert to train you
“Many people know how to swim in their minds,” said Okome. “In fact, everybody you meet will tell you that they know how to swim. But that’s very wrong. Be genuine with yourself and always do what you’re very sure about. If you don’t know how to swim, don’t try. Water always assumes that everyone that gets inside it knows how to swim. So, don’t try swimming if you know very well you don’t know how to,” he added. Okome recommended that everyone learns how to swim, as it is a life skill. He also noted that the adventure-filled swims by children in rivers, lakes, oceans and other water bodies may not provide enough skills to survive drowning.
9. Not all pools are to be dived into
Your idea of a swimming pool might be the Olympics type where agile men and women dive in and compete like fishes in water. However, not every side of a pool is worth diving into, as Wafula explained. He added that it pays to listen to one’s lifeguard and to avoid distracting the guard with too many conversations.
10. Master the art of taking and holding breaths
A good swimmer takes in a deep breath, dives into the pool, releases it gradually in the water, then returns to the top for another fresh breath before returning, explained Okome. “If you take a deep breath, you will get in the water while holding it. But you can’t hold it all day long,” he said.
