Safety Tips

Winter Safety Tips

• Clothing and good footwear are critical to the enjoyment of outdoor activities. Don’t be tempted to wear too much, but don’t skimp either. The trick is balance.

• Go for the layered look. Add or remove layers as needed depending on how active you are. Start with an under layer of long underwear (synthetic materials work better than cotton). A middle insulating layer of wool, down or synthetic. The outer layer should be a jacket that is waterproof, windproof and breathable.

• Your mom was telling the truth – up to 40-50% of your body heat escapes through your head. Wear a thick, tightly knit hat or headband that covers the ears.

• Always wear a CSA, SNELL, ATSM or EN approved safety helmet when downhill skiing, sledding, snow boarding, skating or playing hockey.

• Children should play indoors if the temperature falls below –25 degrees Celsius.

• You can still get a sunburn – even in the winter! Wear sunscreen with a minimum SPF #15 or higher with UVA and UVB protection.

• When you see your breath in cold weather, you’re actually seeing vapor (water) escaping your body. The drier and colder the air the more water you will lose through breathing and sweating. Drink plenty of water, juice or milk to keep hydrated. Coffee and non-herbal tea are diuretics and can contribute to dehydration.

Sources: www.taketheroofoffwinter.com and www.goforgreen.ca

Ice Safety Tips:

• A rule to go by when judging the safety of ice: "Thick and blue, tried and true. Thin or crispy, way too risky." Dark blue, transparent ice is always the strongest, whereas white, cloudy looking ice is weaker.

• Always bring a whistle and rope with you when you are skating or doing other ice-related sports. This way, your rope will be a great tool to help your buddy out if they fall through. The whistle will let others know that you’re in trouble.

• Beware of ice around partially submerged objects, such as trees, logs, brush, embankments or dam structures.

Sun Safety Tips:

• Understand SPF: Wearing sunscreen with SPF (Sun Protection Factor) 15 means that you can stay out in the sun 15 times longer than you can with bare skin. For example, if your bare skin burns after being exposed to sun for 15 minutes, then having SPF 15 sunscreen on will allow you to stay in the sun for 3 hours and 45 minutes before reapplication.
• Make sure to reapply sunscreen after swimming and drying yourself off with your towel. This takes off most of your sunscreen, waterproof or not!

Boat Safety Tips:

• Always wear a PFD that is in your weight range and is DOT approved (Department of Transport).

• If your boat capsizes, remember to either hold onto it as a floatation device, or at least stay as close to it as possible.

• With a craft 5.5m or less, always remember oars, a whistle or other sound device, a bailer, PFD’s for everyone, and a fire extinguisher.

General Safety Tips:

• Always swim with a buddy! This way, if one of you gets in trouble, the other can either help you themselves or call someone else to help you. If you are in trouble in the water and alone, your chances of being rescued are much slimmer.

 

• Always make sure that your children are swimming in a well supervised area....if you can’t be there yourself, make sure that another parent is, a babysitter, adult friend, or a lifeguard.

Benefits of Aquatics

Socialize:

• You'll meet lots of new people from different schools.
  

• The group activities in swimming lessons often involve teamwork (great icebreakers!).

• You'll meet people to attend open swims with.

Learning very useful skills:

• You'll learn skills that will help you in more places than just a pool! (boats, lakes, etc.)

• You'll learn resuscitation other first aid skills that will teach you what to do if someone is in trouble.

• You'll learn fast, efficient ways to swim that would help you to rescue a victim faster.

Swimming keeps you healthy!

• Swimming is low impact but high resistance.. this means that your joints won't suffer as much as they do with land based activities.

• Swimming is great exercise. It's very beneficial for your body to do something after a long day of sitting (ie: after being in school all day).

Why HRM?

When you choose HRM, you're not only getting a membership to one pool - you're getting a membership to multiple facilities, including the Wavepool, Needham Centre, Bedford Lions Pool, and many more.

This means that you have a choice and convenience of location.

HRM facilities are a great idea for birthday parties. Customers are allowed to use the pool for a full hour as well as a party room for an additional hour.

Having a pool party for kid's birthdays is incorporating exercise with fun!

HRM also has many great programs to offer adults. Aquafit is a fun way to stay fit and meet people your age. Adult swim is another.