Play it Safe by the Water

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Triathlon Victoria’s (TV) partnership with the ‘Play it Safe by the Water’ (PISBTW) campaign supports affiliated triathlon clubs to lead water safety awareness, attitudes and practices of the triathlon community (events, clubs and individual members).

Together, we act as leaders and advocates for water safety by ensuring improved water safety practices (open water training sessions and events), regular communication, strong branding, engagement in water safety training and by providing clubs with appropriate resources.

TRIATHLON VICTORIA OPEN WATER SWIMMING GUIDELINES

The guidelines below are designed to provide triathletes and their clubs and squads with some recommendations to ensure participant safety when swimming in open water aquatic environments. Supervision is an incredibly important part of playing it safe by the water and hence all activities in supervised pools and open water swimming in SLSA patrolled areas are considered suitable aquatic venues to train and recreate in without the need for additional safety measures.

To download the Triathlon Victoria "Open Water Swim Guidelines", please click Triathlon Victoria Open Water Swim Guidelines.

SUMMARY OF OPEN WATER SWIMMING GUIDELINES

All activities in supervised pools are acceptable
Open water swimming is acceptable in SLSA patrolled areas
Open water swimming in SLSA non-patrolled areas is acceptable provided that the club/squad has developed and implemented an appropriate risk management plan which, as a minimum, considers the risk of a swimmer requiring outside assistance
Template Aquatic Activity Risk Guidelines and Management Form - for clubs open water swimming sessions - Click Here
Every triathlete is responsible to make sure they play it safe by the water and therefore the risk checklist is suitable for everyone prior to swimming in open water

How do I monitor conditions?

Beach Safe – Search the beach where you are training to see if it is patrolled, check the hazard rating and find out about the area
BOM – Check the weather forecast via the Bureau of Meteorology
EPA – The Environmental Protection Authority regularly updates it’s website with water quality forecasts for 36 beaches across Port Phillip Bay.
Coastal Watch – Visit Coastal watch to find out the latest surf conditions and forecasts

WATER SAFETY EDUCATION RESOURCES:

Learn Water First Aid - WaterFirst is a FREE community program designed by St Johns Victoria to educate you on how First Aid can save lives around the water. This online program teaches you how to save a life in just five minutes – the five minutes that could matter most in an emergency scenario.
LSV Everyday Lifesaver App - Transforming the way we teach Safety Education, the Everyday Lifesaver App uses gamification to make learning water safety, emergency response and CPR more engaging. The App is targeted at Year 7 & 8 students, however could possibly be suitable from Year 5 to Year 10 students.
LSV Education from Anywhere – Water safety education resources for schools and clubs
More coming soon!

Champion club program

The ‘Champion Club’ program continues in 2018/19 with a purpose to support and resource clubs to provide and maintain a safe aquatic environment.

Last year the “Champion Club” program saw 7 clubs be supported to increase resources around water safety, among a wider campaign to raise awareness to water safety. This year, we are again opening the opportunity for clubs to become a “Champion Club” and be supported to increase awareness and focus on water safety within training and events; with capacity to support up to 17 clubs.

Expressions of Interest for the 2018/19 Champion Club program have now closed.

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