There was a segment on 60 Minutes last night about Shallow Water Blackout. You may or may not have seen this.
Shallow Water Blackout is said to be the number one cause of drowning deaths for competent swimmers.
Shallow Water Blackout occurs when a person holds their breath for a period of time underwater. It also also know as hypoxic drowning.
For quite some time at Just Swimming, we have followed the guidelines set by Swim Australia.The guidelines state that participants are not to undertake any form of hypoxic training or any extended breath holding activities in any of our programs. This includes all Just Swimming learn to swim levels and squads.
A common and well known backyard swimming pool game is to swim as far as you can underwater and try to beat each other in distance. If this is a game you play in your pool at home, the information provided should help to educate people of the dangers it can cause.
Instances of Shallow Water Blackout have only been reported to occur in backyard pools or in elite competitive swim training programs, however there are no reported cases known in learn to swim programs.
Swim Australia’s full statementÂ
At Just Swimming, our focus is on teaching breath control. This is taught under the guidance of our qualified and experienced teachers and differs greatly from extended breath holding activities. All Swimming Teachers are educated on the importance of teaching appropriate breath control activities and encourage participants to blow bubbles as required.
If you missed out on viewing the 60 Minutes segment on Shallow Water Blackout, we strongly recommend you view it.
If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
SwimTV UPDATE – What is Hypoxic Training? (September 2014)
