tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/swimming-640/articlesSwimming – The Conversation2024-03-14T13:28:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227832024-03-14T13:28:31Z2024-03-14T13:28:31ZThe problem with seeing young sportspeople as athletes first, children second<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580928/original/file-20240311-28-snw1iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C66%2C3991%2C2362&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-girl-swims-freestyle-pool-377909347">RomanSo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/swim-england-promises-change-after-report-points-culture-fear-clubs-2024-03-06/">recent report</a> commissioned by Swim England, the national governing body for swimming in England, has found evidence of a “culture of fear” in swimming clubs. The report finds that children involved in competitive swimming can be treated like professional athletes, and the importance of sporting performance held above all else. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/1461?articlesBySimilarityPage=3">Sport can be</a> a positive influence on young people’s wellbeing. Children are encouraged to participate in sport, and the aspiration to become an elite athlete is widely seen as an admirable goal. </p>
<p>Many children will find competitive sport enjoyable and rewarding. But problems can occur when the athletic identity of a young person overshadows their identity as a child. There is a risk that clubs, coaches and parents may treat young people as athletes rather than as children. And this can take place at all levels of sport, from children taking part in sports like swimming at local clubs to those who compete at the highest level. </p>
<p>One participant in the Swim England report said that a focus on swimming performance led to their social and academic life suffering, and that they would frequently push themselves in training to the point of vomiting or collapse to please their coach. “The way in which the sport is delivered to children and hiding under the label of ‘high performance athletes’ is driving people away from the sport they once loved,” they said. </p>
<p>“We’re not here to have fun, we’re here to win!” one parent told a researcher for the Swim England report. </p>
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<p>A focus on sporting success above all can compromise children’s wellbeing and safety. Young people may be exposed to environments that are highly pressurised, psychologically demanding and often tolerant of abuse. </p>
<p>Certain practices that take place in youth sports, such as coaches and parents <a href="https://uefa-safeguarding.eu/video-my-magic-sports-kit-nspcc">screaming on the sidelines</a>, that would be considered unacceptable in other settings. A teacher would be unable to behave like this towards their charges in a school setting, for instance. </p>
<p>In football academies, child athletes are potential future stars – and money spinners. A business mindset shifts the focus from nurturing children to moulding them <a href="https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/77510669/Rights_risks_and_responsibilities_Accepted_Aug_2019.pdf">into “assets”</a> for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2023/sep/05/youth-academies-premier-league-clubs-revenue-stream">potential profit</a>. </p>
<p>Treating children like products rather than unique individuals with their own childhood experiences overshadows children’s vital developmental needs. </p>
<h2>Accelerated adulthoods</h2>
<p>Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recently spoke about the need to protect young football players, including from <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68429635#:%7E:text=Liverpool%20manager%20Jurgen%20Klopp%20moved,win%20against%20Southampton%20on%20Wednesday">media attention</a>, as academy youth players made their debut in senior-level games. “But from tomorrow, leave the boys in the corner, please. And don’t ask: ‘Where are they now? Where are they now? Where are they now?’” <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/jurgen-klopp-makes-luke-littler-28720774">he told reporters</a> after Liverpool’s FA cup win over Southampton.</p>
<p>Darts player Luke Littler competed in the World Darts Championships and other major darts tournaments at the age of 16. Littler has received intense levels of public scrutiny that extended beyond the reaches of sport: his private life, including his relationship status, has <a href="https://www.gbnews.com/sport/other-sport/luke-littler-girlfriend-eloise-milburn-world-darts-championship">made headlines</a>. </p>
<p>Attention on the personal life of a minor rushes them towards adulthood but also shows a lack of respect for the privacy of young athletes: a significant safeguarding concern. </p>
<p>Children’s names have even been included in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/14/kamila-valieva-free-to-compete-at-winter-olympics-after-provisional-doping-suspension-overturned">reports about doping</a>. <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kamila-valieva-was-plied-with-56-medicines-between-ages-of-13-and-15-25tnw3d52">Kamila Valieva</a>, a Russian figure skater, experienced the unwelcome publicity of having her <a href="https://apnews.com/article/valieva-russian-doping-skating-beijing-olympics-strawberry-9f1e97255796d56841cc278c1f753087">positive test</a> revealed at the age of just 15, causing controversy at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.</p>
<p>This stands in stark contrast to practices elsewhere, such as in <a href="https://yjlc.uk/resources/legal-terms-z/anonymity">courts of law</a>. Article 16 of the <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UNCRC_summary-1_1.pdf">UN Convention on the Rights of the Child</a> outlines children’s right to privacy. </p>
<h2>A balanced approach</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21640629.2021.1990655">Children have the right</a> to be protected from all forms of harm in sport. This extends to their right to participate in sports within a safe and enjoyable environment. There are evidently distinct challenges that arise when young people compete in elite and often adult-dominated sporting spaces. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2023.2268555">abuse of children in sports</a> is a concern at both community and elite levels. It is essential to address these concerns to ensure that the pursuit of athletic excellence does not come at the cost of the fundamental rights and safety of young people. </p>
<p>When children are treated solely as athletes, the excitement around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/14/freddy-adu-was-just-like-messi-what-happened-to-americas-pele?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">their potential</a> means that the fact that they are still minors may be forgotten. They must be recognised as children first, especially when their performance in elite sports takes place prior to reaching adulthood. </p>
<p>It is the moral obligation of all adults involved in sport to develop an approach that keeps children in sport safe, even when they are classed as elite athletes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A focus on sporting success can compromise children’s wellbeing and safety.Ellie Gennings, Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching, Bournemouth UniversityAlice Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220852024-02-21T21:23:29Z2024-02-21T21:23:29ZSporting change: How an elite swim club in Western Canada is addressing bullying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576048/original/file-20240215-28-469ztc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C17%2C3970%2C2640&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Since sport participation has been linked to numerous benefits, it’s essential to foster an environment that allows individuals to engage in it free from bullying.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While most of the news coverage about <a href="https://athletescan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/prevalence_of_maltreatment_reporteng.pdf">maltreatment in sport</a> is focused on sexual abuse, a lesser-discussed, but <a href="https://sirc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Safe-Sport-Lit-Review.pdf">still prevalent and damaging aspect, is bullying</a>.</p>
<p>Bullying is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102205">one of the leading causes of sport dropout</a>. Bullying can have <a href="https://www.stopbullying.gov">profound and long-term effects on individuals</a>, resulting in depression, health issues, behaviour challenges, low self-esteem and burnout, among others.</p>
<p>Since sport participation has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2020.1850152">linked to numerous benefits</a>, including lower levels of drug use, depression and anxiety, it’s essential to foster an environment that allows individuals to engage in it free from bullying.</p>
<p>The prevalence of bullying in sports poses a threat to sport participation, demanding a proactive approach to the issue. But <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/27/abuse-canada-sport-inquiry-hockey-gymnastics-soccer">what should sport communities be doing to address bullying?</a></p>
<h2>Dare to Care in Sport</h2>
<p>In an effort to create a team culture that combats bullying, <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/anti-bullying-program-sparks-positive-change-within-university-of-calgary-swim-club">the University of Calgary Swim Club implemented a pilot program in September 2017</a> that adapted the <a href="https://www.daretocare.ca/sports">Dare to Care program</a> to focus on sport.</p>
<p>The program required all members of the club — administration, athletes, parents, guardians and coaches — to participate in a bullying prevention workshop.</p>
<p>Over seven months, more than 1,000 club members took part in 1.5 to two-hour workshops designed and delivered by a national expert in bullying prevention and a former Team Canada swimmer. The workshops were offered at numerous times and locations for convenience. </p>
<p>The goals for implementing the Dare to Care workshops included educating and training team members on how to address and prevent bullying, reducing bullying behaviour, equipping the organization with skills to handle any bullying-related issues, and ensuring 90 per cent of members completed the training. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person in a t-shirt that says 'Coach' across the back faces toward a swimming pool and away from the camera" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576032/original/file-20240215-22-eefdfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s important that all members of sport organizations are equipped with the proper definition of bullying and have tools to deal with it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The content for each workshop was interactive, age-appropriate and designed to equip participants with the tools and confidence to address bullying behaviour. </p>
<p>At the end of the seven months, members were invited to participate in my ongoing study investigating the impact of the Dare to Care program. I presented this research at the <a href="https://worldantibullyingforum.com/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/WABF-2019-Abstract_Book.pdf">World Anti-Bullying Forum in Ireland 2019</a>.</p>
<p>Since conducting this research, I have begun training and working for Dare to Care to deliver their anti-bullying workshops to sport organizations and clubs.</p>
<p>Participants were asked to complete a survey about bullying in the club and their opinions of the Dare to Care in Sport program. Some were also invited to participate in an interview for more in-depth information on bullying and the impact of the Dare to Care program.</p>
<h2>Program feedback</h2>
<p>In the surveys and interviews, club members said they believed bullying was present in sport, even if they personally had not seen it. </p>
<p>Participants believed there were a few reasons for the presence of bullying in sport. The first reason given was jealousy. One parent interviewee said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Someone is good and someone wants to be better, and rather than do the work to be better, the bullying could be a shortcut; it is just sheer jealousy. Even if it doesn’t get you there by taking the other person down, it might make you feel better because you are making them feel worse, right?” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second reason identified was competition. Another parent interviewee said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Part of it has to do with the winning at all costs or a ‘whatever it takes’ mentality. The pressure can be immense and some use whatever advantage is available, including bullying and harassment.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The third and final reason suggested was parental involvement. One parent interviewee said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I can see the pressure from a parent affect the athlete, and how they treat people impacts their success in their sport.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Club members also felt that educational programs to address bullying were very beneficial. The Dare to Care in Sport program was praised for being mandatory and inclusive of all members. One interviewee said: “It was just super clear to know that the swimmers were on the same page, the coaches were on the same page.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young woman and a young man in swimsuits high five while standing in an indoor pool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576045/original/file-20240215-16-h8oh65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Encouraging participation in sport should go hand-in-hand with a commitment to fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity and fairness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Key takeaways from the program included a common definition of bullying and identification of acceptable behaviours, consequences for bullying, tools and strategies for addressing bullying as it occurs and appropriate and safe reporting mechanisms for bullying incidents and behaviours. </p>
<h2>Making sport safer</h2>
<p>The benefits of sport participation at any level are tremendous. It’s important that all members of sport organizations are equipped with the proper definition of bullying and have tools to deal with it. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.169">Many harmful behaviours in sport have been normalized over the years</a> as “just part of the game” or “building character.” Programs such as Dare to Care in Sport are taking a stand against these behaviours and making sport a more safe, inclusive and respectful environment for <em>all</em> participants. </p>
<p>Encouraging participation in sport should go hand-in-hand with a commitment to fostering a culture of respect, inclusivity and fairness. An additional resource leaders can use to accomplish this is the <a href="https://anchor.fm/sporting-change"><em>Sporting Change</em> podcast</a>, which focuses on many of these aspects.</p>
<p>It is critical to <a href="https://sirc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Safe-Sport-Lit-Review.pdf">continue to educate and ensure a safe sport experience</a> is created for all. Providing a comprehensive bully prevention education is one step forward to improving the culture of sport.</p>
<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge the contributions from the Dare to Care Team (Lisa Dixon-Wells, Mathieu Constantin and Raine Paul) to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Booke works for Dare to Care. After completing the research explained in this article, she began training as a facilitator to deliver the Dare to Care in Sport workshops. </span></em></p>The prevalence of bullying in sports poses a threat to sport participation, demanding a proactive approach to address the issue.Julie Booke, Associate Professor in Health and Physical Education/Sport and Recreation Management, Mount Royal UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2206652024-02-13T00:15:02Z2024-02-13T00:15:02ZA theatre production … in the pool? This new play in Perth leaves the audience buoyed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574899/original/file-20240212-18-6k7w86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C3004%2C2013&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel J Grant/BSSTC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>My obsession for public pools began when I was growing up in Perth at the iconic 1960s Beatty Park. Living in Melbourne I swam in the “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-breakfast/fitzroy-pool/11523190">aqua profonda</a>” of the Fitzroy pool, listened to the underwater music (which in the 1980s was novel) at the Prahran pool and lapped at the pool that attracts attention for being named after a drowned prime minister — <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Holt_Memorial_Swimming_Centre">the Harold Holt</a>. So, I was looking forward to Black Swan State Theatre Company’s new production The Pool, and it doesn’t disappoint.</p>
<p>Playwright Steve Rodgers’ love of swimming is the play’s genesis. A regular lap swimmer, Rodgers was struck by the diversity of people who gathered at pools and started to imagine their stories. What followed were interviews with workers at community pools and in aged care, teenagers, family and friends, and a play that celebrates the pool and its capacity to create community. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-timeless-appeal-of-an-ocean-pool-turns-out-its-a-good-investment-too-127912">The timeless appeal of an ocean pool – turns out it's a good investment, too</a>
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<h2>Watching on from poolside</h2>
<p>Directed by Kate Champion, the production of this play has been cleverly conceived as a site-specific work at the Bold Park Aquatic Centre’s outdoor Olympic pool. Given Perth’s current heatwave, this venue is welcomed. But beyond this, it enables us to experience the pool’s atmosphere – the smell of chlorine, sound of water lapping at the sides – and to be part of the action. </p>
<p>Seated poolside, we observe the goings on in and around the pool just as Rodgers did. But we don’t have to imagine the stories. Equipped with headphones, we eavesdrop on conversations and are privy to the characters’ inner thoughts in carefully woven monologues, as these characters reminisce, reveal long held secrets and whisper their fears.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Actors in a pool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574900/original/file-20240212-30-yxtap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Given Perth’s current heatwave, this poolside venue is welcomed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel J Grant/BSSTC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Pool’s characters represent the diversity of people who gather at pools and the myriad of reasons they go. </p>
<p>Loved-up teens Safiyah (Edyll Ismail) and Ananda (Tobias Muhafidin) are escaping the censuring gaze of adults. The over-60s trio of Roy (Geoff Kelso), wife Greta (Polly Low) and her buddy Val (Julia Moody) are healing their ageing bodies and family rifts. </p>
<p>Roy and Greta’s 40-year-old daughter Joni (Emma Jackson) is facing her fears. Quinn (Anna Gray) is looking for recognition. Morgan (Carys Munks) is seeking freedom. </p>
<p>Keeping these regulars afloat are poolside staff Kirk (Joel Jackson) and Sandra (Kylie Bracknell) with their own reasons for being there. The actors, from equally diverse backgrounds and with a range of acting experience, create a convincing ensemble. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Actors on the edge of a pool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574901/original/file-20240212-17-kdfbw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The actors are from diverse backgrounds and with a range of acting experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel J Grant/BSSTC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Passion for the pool</h2>
<p>Conviction and authenticity are at the heart of this production. Rodgers’ passion for water and the pool washes through his play. The dialogue is carefully crafted to sound natural and not overwritten, allowing the audience to piece the stories together as we would in life. It also allows space for Champion’s expert direction. </p>
<p>In the program, Champion writes she has “always been drawn to art that recreates a sense of authenticity”. She has achieved this in The Pool with details that blur the distinction between reality and theatre. </p>
<p>As we are ushered into the space, swimmers are in the pool, prompting somebody near me to speculate on whether they were actors or actual lap swimmers. As a finale, members of the audience can choose to join the cast in an aqua aerobic session. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A line of swimmers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574906/original/file-20240212-26-go150s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Pool is greatly enhanced in its subtle shifts away from realism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel J Grant/BSSTC</span></span>
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<p>The actors’ movement in and around the pool and their entrances and exits are carefully choreographed not only to retain focus on the main action but to replicate the rhythms and patterns of people at public pools.</p>
<p>The Pool is greatly enhanced in its subtle shifts away from realism. Champion picks up on the aesthetics of the public pool, focusing on the sensuality of its water and beauty of its objects: handrails, ramp, deckchairs and lane ropes. Actors’ interactions with these features have been shaped to highlight the grace in our everyday movements. </p>
<p>Key to this poetic strain is a chorus of swimmers who appear throughout. They are sublime, morphing from being regulars lounging, lapping, diving and performing impressive bommies to performing carefully choreographed water sequences that frame and comment on scenes. </p>
<p>Their inclusion greatly contributes to the poignancy of the play. </p>
<h2>A place of connection</h2>
<p>Crucial to all this is the audio. The use of headphones for the audience creates an intimacy with the characters. Composer and sound designer Tim Collins’ finely nuanced score supports the action without dominating, and without any hitches. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An aqua aerobic session." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574902/original/file-20240212-26-3p863l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">As a finale, members of the audience could choose to join in.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel J Grant/BSSTC</span></span>
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<p>There are <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/56605/RLSSA-Social-Impacts-Report-Final-November-2021-Web-and-Print.pdf">more than 2,000</a> swimming pools open to the public in Australia. They have been sites of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/21/freedom-ride-revisiting-the-dip-in-the-pool-that-changed-a-segregated-town">protest and social change</a>. This production shows they are also a space where we can have a laugh, shed our skins and find or lose ourselves – and ultimately find connection with others. </p>
<p>At a time when we sorely need it, The Pool speaks to our humanity. The opening night audience left buoyed. </p>
<p><em>Black Swan State Theatre Company’s The Pool is on until 25 February.</em> </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/take-a-plunge-into-the-memories-of-australias-favourite-swimming-pools-128928">Take a plunge into the memories of Australia's favourite swimming pools</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Trenos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In Black Swan State Theatre Company’s new production The Pool, playwright Steve Rodgers’ love of swimming is the play’s genesisHelen Trenos, Lecturer (Theatre & Creative Arts), Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200432023-12-21T00:28:00Z2023-12-21T00:28:00ZAustralian beachgoers are told to always ‘swim between the flags’ – but what if there aren’t any?<p>This summer, millions of people will flock to Australia’s beaches – and tragically, not all will survive. Last summer, 54 people <a href="https://issuu.com/surflifesavingaustralia/docs/slsa_summerdrowningreport_2022.23">drowned</a> along the Australian coast. This included 28 people in New South Wales – the highest number in the state’s recorded history.</p>
<p>About 80% of the drownings occurred at beaches and almost half were due to people caught in offshore flowing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825216303117">rip currents</a>. </p>
<p>Crucially, all of these drownings occurred in locations not patrolled by professional lifeguards or volunteer surf lifesavers. That is a stark statistic. </p>
<p>The core safety message promoted to beachgoers is to always “swim between the flags” on patrolled beaches. But clearly, unpatrolled beaches represent the major beach safety challenge in Australia – and this must be addressed.</p>
<h2>All drownings are preventable</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023000961">recent study</a> showed coastal drowning rates in Australia did not change between 2004 and 2021. This was despite significant financial investment into coastal safety by all levels of government during this time.</p>
<p>And in 2023, the NSW government <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/splash-for-surf-life-saving-as-patrol-season-begins">announced</a> the biggest ever funding commitment to Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) – A$23 million over four years.</p>
<p>This raises important questions for both beach safety providers and their funding bodies. Are we doing enough to address the issue of drowning on unpatrolled beaches? Why aren’t we seeing a decrease in the number and rate of beach drowning? Is the current approach working? Are we doing enough evaluation? </p>
<p>These questions need to be answered because beach drowning, like all types of drowning, is preventable.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drowning-risk-increases-during-heatwaves-in-unexpected-ways-heres-how-to-stay-safe-this-summer-212095">Drowning risk increases during heatwaves in unexpected ways -- here's how to stay safe this summer</a>
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<h2>The ‘swim between the flags’ message is not enough</h2>
<p>The safest place to swim on Australian beaches is between the red and yellow flags, under the supervision of trained lifeguards and surf lifesavers. This is the core safety message promoted to beachgoers, and should always take precedent. </p>
<p>But it’s unrealistic to assume beachgoers will always adhere to the message – in part, because the flags and lifeguards aren’t everywhere at all times. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/02/ai-rip-detection-technology-australia-beach-safety-drownings#:%7E:text=Fewer%20than%205%25%20of%20Australia%27s,is%20unpatrolled%20or%20temporarily%20unpatrolled.">Less than 5%</a> of Australia’s 11,000 beaches are patrolled, and most of those are patrolled only seasonally. Patrols rarely cover early mornings and evenings when many people choose to swim, and the supervised flagged area may only cover a tiny percentage of the length of the beach. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/22/909/2022/">recent study</a> documented why beachgoers swim at unpatrolled beaches. The reasons included proximity to their holiday accommodation and because the location is quieter and less crowded than patrolled beaches. </p>
<p>So while most Australians know they should swim between the flags, many choose not to, or simply don’t have the option. This can have fatal consequences. Surf Life Saving Australia’s latest National Coastal Safety Report <a href="https://issuu.com/surflifesavingaustralia/docs/ncsr23?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ">report</a> reported that 75% of the 902 coastal drowning deaths over the previous decade occurred more than 1km from a surf lifesaving service. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-is-the-right-time-for-children-to-learn-to-swim-173144">When is the right time for children to learn to swim?</a>
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<h2>Getting it right</h2>
<p>There’s an obvious need in Australia for a beach safety campaign that directly addresses safety on unpatrolled beaches. But we have to get it right – and taking an evidence-based approach is crucial.</p>
<p>For example, it seems logical to teach beachgoers how to identify dangerous rip currents. But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278434322000760?casa_token=pYdktxnHyagAAAAA:mBxg-eaXyKJUNDOCJWFSntEcDV7jE6uDEg0bRxugetG7rHelw-_v8zuEXPwUKoGxkL-DNYI">research has shown</a> that people armed with this knowledge might become emboldened to swim at unpatrolled beaches. </p>
<p>In 2018, Surf Life Saving Australia launched the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j47ML57SPyk">Think Line</a>” campaign, which encourages beachgoers to spend a few minutes thinking about beach safety when they arrive at the beach. It’s a simple concept that could become generational over time. But it requires more promotion, more collaboration between beach safety providers, and more research into whether the message is changing beachgoer behaviour in a positive way. </p>
<p>Other efforts to improve safety on unpatrolled beaches include investment in technology such as <a href="https://www.surflifesaving.com.au/emergency-response-beacons/#:%7E:text=The%20ERB%20uses%20the%20latest,reassurance%20in%20an%20emergency%20situation.">emergency response beacons</a>. However, to date there’s been little to no evidence-based evaluation of their effectiveness.</p>
<p>Research into beach safety is a powerful tool. It provides evidence that can identify which educational approaches are working and which are not. Yet, funding of beach safety research pales in comparison to the amounts invested in untested safety interventions, or upgrades to existing surf club facilities and equipment. </p>
<p>It’s globally accepted that lifeguards are the best beach safety intervention. So why aren’t we directing more funding into increasing the presence of local government lifeguard services?</p>
<p>This expansion should involve extending lifeguard patrol hours during the summer on patrolled beaches and adding seasonal lifeguards on popular but hazardous unpatrolled beaches.</p>
<h2>Staying safe this summer</h2>
<p>Preventing drownings on our beaches requires a new approach – and some serious questions about where funding should be best directed. Otherwise, the terrible drowning death toll will continue.</p>
<p>In the meantime, you might find yourself wanting to swim at an unpatrolled beach this summer, or to swim early in the morning before lifeguards start duty. To help you understand the hazards and stay safe, UNSW Sydney has developed a new <a href="https://news.unsw.edu.au/en/if-in-doubt--don-t-go-out">educational resource</a>, including a <a href="https://youtu.be/3qXDBvO8mdc">video</a>. They are both worth a look; in fact, they may just save a life.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3qXDBvO8mdc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220043/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Brander receives funding from Surf Life Saving Australia, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Australian Research Council</span></em></p>All 54 drownings on the Australian coast last summer occurred in locations not patrolled by professional lifeguards or volunteer surf lifesavers. That is a stark statistic.Rob Brander, Professor, UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193332023-12-13T23:53:27Z2023-12-13T23:53:27ZWhen the heat hits, inland waters look inviting. Here’s how we can help people swim safely at natural swimming spots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564158/original/file-20231207-21-tzvzwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1532%2C1022&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/visiting-and-exploring-nsw/penrith-beach">Penrith Beach/NSW government</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People love to hang out around water, especially on hot summer days. And, for those who aren’t near the ocean, Australia is blessed with beautiful inland waterways. In New South Wales, the government wants to increase access to these “blue” natural environments, especially for people living far from the coast. </p>
<p>One of these swimming sites is <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/visiting-and-exploring-nsw/penrith-beach">Penrith Beach</a>, which has just opened to the public for the summer. This new site in the heart of Western Sydney is part of the state government’s <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/open-space/open-spaces-program/places-to-swim">Places to Swim</a> program. It’s likely to be an important refuge for locals to seek relief from <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/top-urban-planners-grim-warning-western-sydney-will-be-hottest-place-on-earth-within-months/news-story/8b4e1a6b9bb4564bda2d704330bc6f92">intense summer heat</a>.</p>
<p>Our recently published <a href="https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:73705">research</a> informed the government’s new <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/places-to-swim-guideline-draft-public.pdf">Places to Swim guide</a>. Now out for public consultation, the draft guide aims to help anyone involved in establishing or managing a swim site.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A new public beach has been opened at Penrith in Western Sydney.</span></figcaption>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/olympic-swimming-in-the-seine-highlights-efforts-to-clean-up-city-rivers-worldwide-210714">Olympic swimming in the Seine highlights efforts to clean up city rivers worldwide</a>
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<h2>People want natural swimming spots, but are they safe?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/open-space/open-spaces-program/places-to-swim">Places to Swim</a> program responds to two government surveys, covering <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/open-space-and-parklands/the-greater-sydney-outdoors-study">Greater Sydney</a> and <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/open-space-and-parklands/nsw-regional-outdoor-survey">regional NSW</a>. These showed:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>people see access to water as very important – about half enjoy outdoor water recreation activities at least once a week</p></li>
<li><p>swimming in natural areas is growing in popularity </p></li>
<li><p>demand for access points and storage facilities for activities such as kayaking and paddle-boarding is increasing.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>But are natural waterways safe to use? Recreation involving waterways inherently entails risks like <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-hot-and-your-local-river-looks-enticing-but-is-too-germy-for-swimming-198506">exposure to waterborne contaminants</a> and potential for injury and drowning. As new swim sites are opened, the risks need to be identified, monitored and managed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-hot-and-your-local-river-looks-enticing-but-is-too-germy-for-swimming-198506">It’s hot, and your local river looks enticing. But is too germy for swimming?</a>
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<h2>Time spent in ‘blue’ nature has many benefits</h2>
<p>Our report, prepared by the <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/urban-transformations">Urban Transformations Research Centre</a>, outlined the benefits of opening swim sites across the state. </p>
<p>Spending time in “blue” nature has many <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-microbes-to-forest-bathing-here-are-4-ways-healing-nature-is-vital-to-our-recovery-from-covid-19-188458">physical</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/blue-space-access-to-water-features-can-boost-city-dwellers-mental-health-122995">mental</a> benefits. Other social, cultural, economic and ecological spin-offs are equally valuable. </p>
<p>These natural sites are freely available to all (and pleasingly chemical-free). People come together at these places, which strengthens sense of community and belonging.</p>
<p>Economic multipliers arise from the increase in visitors to an area.</p>
<p>An increased public focus on ensuring the water is clean also benefits the wider ecosystems that depend on it.</p>
<p>We also provided a checklist of things to consider when setting up or managing a swim site. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the need to assess upfront, and then continually monitor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-hot-and-your-local-river-looks-enticing-but-is-too-germy-for-swimming-198506">water quality</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/parks-and-green-spaces-are-important-for-our-mental-health-but-we-need-to-make-sure-that-everyone-can-benefit-142322">equitable physical access</a> and transport points</p></li>
<li><p>risks and hazards in what can be physically tricky sites</p></li>
<li><p>environmental considerations, including any critical habitats, in what might otherwise be an undisturbed natural environment</p></li>
<li><p>any required planning processes and formal approvals </p></li>
<li><p>ongoing governance arrangements, which might involve more than one body.</p></li>
</ul>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-love-the-great-outdoors-new-research-shows-part-of-the-answer-is-in-our-genes-175995">Why do we love the great outdoors? New research shows part of the answer is in our genes</a>
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<h2>Learning from the best</h2>
<p><a href="https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:73705">Our report</a> also offered six case studies of projects in Australia and New Zealand, Canada and Europe. These provide good examples of how to proceed. </p>
<p>The case study from New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/swimming/">Can I swim here?</a> program has an <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/swimming/">interactive map</a> to help people find the best places to swim across the country. This public advice, provided by the <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/about">Land, Air, Water Aotearoa</a> partnership, includes weekly water quality test results.</p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://greatlakes.guide/ideas/citizen-science-in-the-great-lakes-toronto">Toronto on Lake Ontario</a> showcases innovative water-quality monitoring that directly involves the community. It’s done by volunteer “citizen scientists” co-ordinated by a government-funded charity, Swim Drink Fish.</p>
<p>As confirmed by research on <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-a-second-nature-into-our-cities-wildness-art-and-biophilic-design-88642">biophilia</a> – our innate affinity with nature – bringing people closer to nature is not just about direct benefits to individuals. It also encourages us to look after the natural ecosystems on which we ultimately depend. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/many-urban-waterways-were-once-waste-dumps-restoration-efforts-have-made-great-strides-but-theres-more-to-do-to-bring-nature-back-206407">Many urban waterways were once waste dumps. Restoration efforts have made great strides – but there's more to do to bring nature back</a>
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<p>Recognition of the benefits of spending time in “blue” nature will continue to grow. We therefore need to put more effort into designing water-based activities as part of life in our cities and towns. It’s especially important for those without ready access to coastal beaches. </p>
<p>It’s time to get more active in promoting and improving these great water resources. These facilities will also need to be closely monitored and managed. The investment is worth it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicky Morrison received funding from the NSW government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian A. Wright received funding from the NSW government.</span></em></p>People love natural swimming spots, but it’s important to manage them well to protect both swimmers and the environment.Nicky Morrison, Professor of Planning and Director of Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney UniversityIan A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2120952023-09-07T20:02:01Z2023-09-07T20:02:01ZDrowning risk increases during heatwaves in unexpected ways – here’s how to stay safe this summer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546791/original/file-20230907-17-gmk89q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C154%2C4264%2C3098&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/HuXaTzMDNWc">Dallas Morgan/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We know <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/72752/Royal-Life-Saving-Summer-Drowning-Report-2023.pdf">more people drown in summer</a>. It’s the perfect time to visit the beach, river or local pool. Aussies love hitting the water to cool down. </p>
<p>But the connection between drowning and heatwaves in Australia has not been explored until now. Our new research, published today in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044938">Injury Prevention</a>, is the first to examine this link. </p>
<p>We found drowning risk during heatwaves was highest for males, older people and teenagers. But people of all ages were more likely to die from swimming or bathing in the heat. Drowning risk increased during low-intensity heatwaves and was higher still during severe heatwaves, but dropped back a little during extreme heatwaves, though the risk remained higher than usual. </p>
<p>Based on our findings, we want to raise awareness of drowning risk ahead of predicted heatwaves. We also offer strategies people can use to reduce their risk of drowning.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFOBqExhZPw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2022 reveals a disturbing trend.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drowning-for-love-5-ways-to-protect-your-life-while-youre-trying-to-rescue-someone-in-trouble-in-the-water-197411">'Drowning for love' – 5 ways to protect your life while you're trying to rescue someone in trouble in the water</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Drowning and climate change</h2>
<p>Drowning deaths are at an <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/67687/RLS_NationalDrowningReport2022_SPG_LR.pdf">generational high</a> in this country. Fatalities are the highest they’ve been since 1996. </p>
<p>A range of factors contribute to this upward trend, including climate. Drowning is inextricably linked to climate drivers such as extreme rainfall, as seen in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-28/lismore-flood-emergency-levee-breaks-largest-on-record/100866296">tragic flood emergencies across northern New South Wales</a>. In 2021-22, 13% of drowning deaths in Australia were flood-related. </p>
<p>Overseas, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0241222">warmer winters</a> have led to an increase in drowning deaths in typically ice-covered regions, due to ice instability. </p>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>Using data from both the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Bureau of Meteorology we looked at Queensland between 2010 and 2019. We examined the “incidence rate ratio” of drowning on a heatwave day compared to a non-heatwave day. </p>
<p>This means we compared the 248 non-heatwave drowning deaths and 603,892 non-heatwave days, with the 92 heatwave drowning deaths occurring on 191,420 heatwave days. In this way, we sought to identify any increased risk of drowning. </p>
<p>Queensland is a vast state that experiences wide variations in climate, so it’s a good case study. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We identified a 17% greater risk of drowning during a heatwave, compared to non-heatwave days. Within this though, there are variations. </p>
<p>Men were 22% more likely to drown during a heatwave than during non-heatwave days, compared to 5% for women. People 65 and over were 36% more likely to drown on heatwave days. This was higher than children and teenagers (24% more likely) and 20-64-year olds (7% more likely). </p>
<p>There was also a difference in terms of the activities we are doing in the water. </p>
<p>Drowning risk during heatwaves was highest for swimming and bathing-related drowning with a 28% increase compared to a non-heatwave day. </p>
<p>The risk of drowning due to a water transport-related incident (such as boating) was 27% lower during a heatwave. </p>
<h2>The level of risk varies</h2>
<p>We also found the link between heatwaves and drowning risk is not linear, meaning risk doesn’t necessarily climb as the temperature does. As heatwave intensity increases, so does drowning risk but only to a point. While risk rises from 17% during low-intensity heatwaves to 26% during severe heatwaves, risk of drowning reduced to just 9% during extreme heatwaves (the highest intensity). </p>
<p>Our results suggest hotter temperatures see more people in the water and therefore exposure to risk of drowning increases. For those with pre-existing medical conditions <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00484-023-02430-6">exacerbated by the heat</a>, this likely also contributes to drowning risk.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/your-first-emotion-is-panic-rips-cause-many-beach-drownings-but-we-can-learn-from-the-survivors-210982">'Your first emotion is panic': rips cause many beach drownings, but we can learn from the survivors</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Staying safe this summer</h2>
<p>It’s important to communicate the increased drowning risk ahead of predicted heatwaves, just as we do ahead of other <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8056972/drowning-warning-as-australia-day-nears/">peak periods for drowning</a> such as public and school holidays. It is also vital to educate people on simple strategies they can take to reduce their risk of drowning. </p>
<p>Some advice is pertinent regardless of the temperature. These include encouraging people to swim between the flags at <a href="https://beachsafe.org.au/">patrolled beaches</a>, supervising young children around the water, and wearing a lifejacket when boating or rock fishing. </p>
<p>But other safety messaging may be even more relevant during heatwaves. Alcohol intoxication dramatically increases drowning risk and our previous research on alcohol consumption at rivers shows a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6256-1">clear link</a> between excessive drinking and the air temperature. That is, the hotter it is, the more people drink. </p>
<p>And given drowning risk <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8863">increases for people with particular medical conditions</a>, such as epilepsy and cardiac conditions, it is important to be mindful of the increased risk to health that is present during a heatwave, even before entering the water. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WOOK_jJl7Wg?wmode=transparent&start=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Surf Life Saving Australia’s 2018 powerful public safety campaign.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What it means for those who keep us safe</h2>
<p>Our research findings also have important implications for those who provide supervision around water, such as pool lifeguards and surf life savers. </p>
<p>During heatwaves, patrols could be staggered, starting earlier, with a break in the middle of the day, and extending longer into the evening, particularly with the sun setting later and warmer temperatures continuing into the night. </p>
<p>Extra resources are likely to be needed during low and severe heatwaves, but not necessarily heatwaves which reach extreme levels, as there appears to be a change in people’s behaviour and thus reduced drowning risk. </p>
<p>Those who respond to drowning emergencies must also prepare for more drowning incidents during heatwave conditions. Our excess mortality calculations identify heatwaves contributed to an additional 13 drowning deaths between 2010 and 2019. </p>
<p>Action on climate change is urgently needed for a range of reasons, including <a href="https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/28/2/185">drowning risk</a>. With global heat records being broken, Australia needs to be prepared for a potentially cruel summer and if you’re planning to hit the water, we urge you to be safe. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-8-deadly-days-of-christmas-how-to-stay-safe-from-drowning-in-australia-this-summer-167440">The 8 deadly days of Christmas: how to stay safe from drowning in Australia this summer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Peden is an honorary Senior Research Fellow with Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and is the co-founder of the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group. She receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Mason receives funding from the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jemma King is affiliated with the Australian Health Promotion Association and holds an executive position with the Queensland Branch. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Franklin receives funding from Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science, Agrifutures, and Queensland Government Fire and Emergency Services. He is affiliated with Royal Life Saving Society - Australia as a Volunteer Board Member and Senior Research Officer, Kidsafe as President and Board member, Farmsafe Australia as a Board Member, Australasian College of Tropical Medicine as a Board Member, and the Public Health Association of Australia as Co-Convenor of the Injury Prevention Special Interest Group.</span></em></p>New research reveals drowning risk increases during Australian heatwaves, especially severe heatwaves. Here’s who is most at risk and what we can all do to stay safe.Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW SydneyHannah Mason, Research assistant, James Cook UniversityJemma King, Lecturer, Public HealthRichard Franklin, Professor, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2054642023-08-21T12:24:11Z2023-08-21T12:24:11ZCan you cry underwater?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526625/original/file-20230516-17-o38owg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=149%2C0%2C1889%2C1352&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tears prevent your eyes from drying out and protect them from irritation and infection. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/sea-of-tears-royalty-free-image/108365270?phrase=crying+underwater&adppopup=true">Vizerskaya/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Can you cry underwater? – Rosie, age 17, Bedford, New Hampshire</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Your eyes are constantly coated by tears, <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/what-are-tears-made-of#composition">made of oil, water and mucus</a>.</p>
<p>When someone is emotional, their eyes make extra tears to let people know they are unhappy, hurting or even overjoyed. <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/why-do-we-cry#getting-needs-met">Crying releases</a> <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23040-endorphins">natural chemicals</a> in the body like endorphins that produce feelings of happiness and reduce pain, and oxytocin, a hormone that helps people feel bonded with others and builds trust and love. A good cry can help you feel better. </p>
<p>The tears themselves are also helpful in many other important ways. <a href="https://directory.hsc.wvu.edu/Profile/28506#biography">I am a pediatric ophthalmologist</a> – a doctor who specializes in the treatment of children’s eyes. Tears are an important part of my job, and they are vital to maintaining healthy eyes, even when you are asleep at night or swimming in a pool.</p>
<h2>Tears keep eyes moist and healthy</h2>
<p>Tears are <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tear-glands-and-tear-ducts/img-20008059">produced by the lacrimal glands</a>, or tear glands, in the upper eyelids and below the eyebrows. Their main job is to keep the eyes lubricated and protected.</p>
<p>Tears gently wash across the eyes all the time to prevent them from drying out. Whenever you blink your eyelids, you are helping tear film spread out over the surface of your eyes to keep them moist. If you wear comfortable contact lenses, the lenses actually float on this layer of tears. If there are too few tears, your contacts can stick to your eyes and become quite uncomfortable. </p>
<p>When you are asleep, you make fewer tears. But they are still working to keep your eyes moist so when you wake up your eyes will focus well – even though you might also need glasses to see clearly. Tears also lubricate the eyes to help the eyelids blink smoothly and avoid scratching the eyes – a bit like turning on the water for a swimming pool slide so you don’t stick to it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a man's red irritated eye coated in tears" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539357/original/file-20230725-29-vayem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tears help keep eyes healthy and soothe irritations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-one-annoyed-red-blood-eye-of-a-man-royalty-free-image/947299424?phrase=crying+irritated+eyes&adppopup=true">ViDi Studio/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>Tears wash away dust, smoke, bugs and other stuff that may get into the eyes. When someone has allergies to plants or pets, tears help to wash away the irritants. They help to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/01/19/145466010/how-tears-go-pac-man-to-beat-bacteria">prevent eye infections</a>, and when someone does get a <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8614-pink-eye">pinkeye infection</a>, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meet-the-eye-microbiome/">tears help to</a> kill the germs and wash them away. Finally, tears are important for carrying nutrients from the bloodstream to the eyes so they stay clear and healthy for life. </p>
<h2>Tears in a watery environment</h2>
<p>When you are swimming underwater, your tears are still there. You can still cry underwater, even though the water will wash tears away quickly.</p>
<p>Since most water where you’d take a dip contains eye irritants like chlorine, bacteria or sand, swimming with your eyes open will cause your tear glands to produce tears to wash them all away. Wearing goggles or keeping your eyes closed underwater would help protect your eyes and keep them more comfortable.</p>
<p>Tears can help to wash the chlorine in pool water and salt in ocean water from your eyes so they don’t feel scratchy for too long once you’re on dry land.</p>
<h2>Where do tears go?</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Diagram of a tear gland and duct" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526630/original/file-20230516-40672-sd9byh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tear glands produce tears, and tear ducts absorb them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Geoffrey Bradford</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Some tears will evaporate. You also have tear ducts in the inner corners of your eyes that are like drains for your tears to flow into. Tear ducts carry away old tears into your nose and then to your throat, where you swallow them. That’s why when you cry a lot, your nose will run. And sometimes when you use eye drops, you can taste the medicine on the back of your tongue. </p>
<p>Some babies have <a href="https://aapos.org/glossary/nasolacrimal-duct-obstruction">blocked tear ducts</a> when they’re born. All their tears flow down their cheeks instead – their constantly watery eyes make it look as if they are crying, even when they are not upset. Doctors can help these babies get their tear ducts open so their eyes look bright and healthy.</p>
<p>Sometimes tear glands <a href="https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-dry-eye">produce fewer tears</a> when a person gets older. With fewer tears, eyes can burn and feel scratchy all the time. That’s one reason some adults use drops called artificial tears to help their own natural tears keep their eyes moist and more comfortable. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoffrey Bradford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An ophthalmologist explains how important tears are to keeping your eyes feeling good and working well – whether you’re on dry land or swimming in a body of water.Geoffrey Bradford, Professor of Pediatrics and Ophthalmology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2109822023-08-09T01:54:17Z2023-08-09T01:54:17Z‘Your first emotion is panic’: rips cause many beach drownings, but we can learn from the survivors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541682/original/file-20230808-20-sxwagj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C254%2C4245%2C2826&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A rip current flows straight out to sea.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Brander</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Danger lurks in the surf beaches of Australia in the form of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hCZuYzNujI&t=208s">rip currents or rips</a>. These narrow, fast-flowing, seaward channels of water are responsible for an average <a href="https://issuu.com/surflifesavingaustralia/docs/slsa_ripcurrentsreport_2021">26 drownings a year</a> and 80-90% of the thousands of surf rescues. Yet, unlike other well understood and feared natural hazards such as bushfires and floods, the ever-present menace of rip currents is often overlooked. </p>
<p>Until now, the firsthand effects of rips on the people caught in them had also been overlooked. <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-get-sucked-in-by-the-rip-this-summer-21207">Not enough was known</a> about the human element of rip currents – who is getting caught, what their experience is actually like, what they know about rips, and what information about rips people are likely to understand and remember. </p>
<p>Research concentrated <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825216303117">more on physical characteristics</a> of the hazard, such as flow dynamics and types of rips. This is important, and such findings have been used to develop the best strategies to escape a rip. But understanding the human element is essential too.</p>
<p>With this in mind, we interviewed 56 rip current survivors for our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hpja.785">newly published research</a>. Their recollections painted a vivid picture of their experience. They offered invaluable insights into how people respond to being caught in a rip.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-hCZuYzNujI?wmode=transparent&start=208" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How to survive beach rip currents.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-get-sucked-in-by-the-rip-this-summer-21207">Don't get sucked in by the rip this summer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Many survivors were naive about the risks</h2>
<p>Many interviewees had been naive and unprepared for encountering a rip. They knew little about rip currents and didn’t understand the dangers. They confessed to overestimating their swimming abilities and underestimating the conditions.</p>
<p>Some described approaching the ocean as though it was a swimming pool. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We just basically ran into the water, as you do when you arrive at the beach, you throw down the towel, and we just raced into the water.</p>
</blockquote>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WOOK_jJl7Wg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Think Line is a strategy to stop people just rushing into the water without thinking about the risks.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drowning-for-love-5-ways-to-protect-your-life-while-youre-trying-to-rescue-someone-in-trouble-in-the-water-197411">'Drowning for love' – 5 ways to protect your life while you're trying to rescue someone in trouble in the water</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<h2>What is being caught in a rip like?</h2>
<p>Once caught in the rip’s grip, panic was a very common response, leading to a mental “fog” that hampered decision-making. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Even if you know what to do it’s hard to put that into action when you’re actually in the rip […] because your first emotion is panic.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This visceral fear led to dangerous mistakes. Many survivors had tried to swim directly against the powerful current - a potentially fatal strategy. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I actually did think I was gonna die, I thought, ‘Oh my God that’s it, I’m gonna drown, that’s ridiculous […] how can I drown? That’s ridiculous,’ but I really did think that was it. […] I couldn’t think clearly enough to work out what to do. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The aftermath of these experiences painted a distinct picture. All the interviewees emphasised nothing could match the actual experience of a rip current for understanding its force and handling its threats. They felt <a href="https://beachsafe.org.au/surf-safety/ripcurrents">current safety information</a>, though plentiful, wasn’t as effective as it could be.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Perhaps if people can get a sense of when they’re in a rip what are some of the sensations […] it’s about giving people some pointers of what it feels like to be in a rip […] I think for a lot of people it doesn’t really mean anything, particularly visitors, if they haven’t had a lot of experience.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These interviews underscore the complex human aspects of the problem. Our strategies can’t just focus on stopping people from entering rips. This is practically impossible, as people will always want to swim at <a href="https://www.beachsafetyresearch.com/unpatrolled-beach-users">unpatrolled locations</a>. </p>
<p>Survivors shared a conviction that personal experience was the greatest teacher. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Once you understand rips, I think the fear of them disappears because you can use a rip to your advantage.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view over a long, curved beach with rips visible at intervals among the waves" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541180/original/file-20230804-28-ygrmno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Several rip currents can be seen at intervals along Lighthouse Beach, New South Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Brander</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-spike-in-summer-drownings-what-the-media-misses-109948">Australia's spike in summer drownings: what the media misses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the lessons for surviving rips?</h2>
<p>While throwing everyone into a rip current for “experience” is hardly feasible, innovations such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32744527/">virtual reality</a> could provide a safe, controlled approximation of the experience. The importance of personal experience also underscores the need for Surf Life Saving programs such as <a href="https://www.surflifesaving.com.au/members/members-info/junior-activities-nippers/">Nippers</a> – immersive education for children and young people in a controlled environment. As one survivor told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Most of us learn from our experience, and I think you have to experience things before you appreciate the reality of them. I certainly all these years have never really truly appreciated the enormity of a rip until I got caught into one.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our study identified the potential for psychological prompts to jolt swimmers out of their “rip fog”. These prompts could guide them to make the best escape decisions and resist panic that could cloud their judgement. Signs could be placed on the beach, providing simple, clear messages such as “REMAIN CALM” if caught in a rip. </p>
<p>One interviewee recalled having to “slap” a person during a rescue to get him to focus on escaping the rip.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just as I got to him he had just given up […] I could see it in his face as I was swimming to him, and the only thing above the water was this much of his arm and that’s what I grabbed, and I pulled him up out of the water, and I slapped him across the face because […] I saw the look in his eye as he went under and it was sort of, well I don’t know, resignation? And so I smacked him and yelled at him that, you know, he had to help me, that I couldn’t do this by myself.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our research underscores the need for innovative, behavioural solutions, such as Surf Life Saving’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOOK_jJl7Wg">Think Line</a> campaign. This “line in the sand” aims to get people to stop to think about the risks before entering the water, look for rips and other dangers, and plan how to stay safe.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person walking on a surf beach along a line with the words in the sand: Stop. Look. Plan." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541842/original/file-20230809-31-na05ia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Think Line: Stop, Look, Plan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOOK_jJl7Wg">Crowdy Head SLSC/YouTube</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By integrating these insights into rip current safety strategies, we can promote a safer, more informed relationship between beachgoers and the sea. And that could reverse the tragic trend of <a href="https://issuu.com/surflifesavingaustralia/docs/ncsr_2022">increased drownings</a> at our beaches.</p>
<p><em>For more about rip current safety and to find your nearest patrolled beach visit <a href="https://beachsafe.org.au/">Beachsafe</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Cornell was employed as a Research Assistant by the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group to conduct this work. The UNSW BSRG received funding from Surf Life Saving Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. She maintains an honorary affiliation with Royal Life Saving - Australia as a Senior Research Fellow. The UNSW Beach Safety Research Group receives funding from Surf Life Saving Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Brander receives funding from Surf Life Saving Australia and the Australian Research Council.
</span></em></p>Rip currents are one of the great dangers of Australian beaches. We can learn a lot about avoiding and escaping this natural hazard by asking survivors what being caught in a rip is really like.Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate, UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, School of Population Health, UNSW SydneyAmy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW SydneyRob Brander, Professor, UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107142023-08-03T02:04:05Z2023-08-03T02:04:05ZOlympic swimming in the Seine highlights efforts to clean up city rivers worldwide<p>One year out from the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, Paris has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66238618">announced</a> it will reopen the River Seine for swimming competition and then allow public swimming, ending a century-long ban. This ban was in place to stop people immersing themselves in river waters polluted by stormwater, sewage and chemicals.</p>
<p>But after many years of <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/down-to-earth/20230602-olympic-cleanup-swimming-in-the-seine">stormwater management work</a>, three Olympic and Paralympic events will be held in the Seine in 2024 – the swimming marathon and the swimming legs of the Olympic triathlon and Para-triathlon. The Seine will also <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/whats-new-paris-2024-opening-ceremony">feature in the opening ceremony</a> when, instead of the traditional athletes’ parade in a stadium, a parade of boats will carry the teams along the river.</p>
<p>The clean waters of the swimmable Seine are being promoted as a positive legacy of these games. But it’s not the first time Olympic swimming events have been held in the famous river. And with <a href="https://futurearchitectureplatform.org/programme/59/swim-city/">growing commitments</a> to <a href="https://popupcity.net/insights/the-renaissance-of-urban-swimming/">swimmable cities</a> around the world, it is unlikely to be the last.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ay4ghAR1DD0?wmode=transparent&start=30" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The newly swimmable Seine will have a starring role in the 2024 Olympic Games.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-hot-and-your-local-river-looks-enticing-but-is-too-germy-for-swimming-198506">It’s hot, and your local river looks enticing. But is too germy for swimming?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A brief history of river swimming</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Old photo from 1900 showing swimmers being helped out of a river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540647/original/file-20230802-15-2o1z8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Freddie Lane emerges from the Seine after winning Olympic gold.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fred_Lane_1900.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the 1900 Paris Olympics, Australia’s <a href="https://www.olympics.com.au/olympians/fred-lane/">Freddie Lane</a> won <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article182856835">two swimming events</a> in the Seine. These were the 200 metres freestyle and a <a href="https://www.olympedia.org/results/4433">200m obstacle race</a>. This unusual event required the 12 athletes from four countries to climb over a pole, scramble over a row of boats and then swim under another row of boats. </p>
<p>Historians Reet and Max Howell <a href="https://biblio.com.au/book/aussie-gold-story-australia-olympics-howell/d/1278889924%255D">quoted</a> Lane describing his winning strategy: “[Knowing] a bit about boats [I] went over the sterns […] unlike the majority of competitors who fought their way over the sides.”</p>
<p>Following the tradition of linking to classical history that was common in the Games at the time, this event referenced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequana">Sequana</a>, the Gallo-Roman goddess of the Seine. She is typically represented standing on a boat: clambering over and swimming under the river’s vessels was clearly for mere mortals.</p>
<p>That was the first and only time the Olympics included an obstacle race. But swimming competitions at the time were often held in rivers, harbours, lakes and other natural water bodies. The swimming races at the first modern Olympics, in Athens in 1896, were held in the Bay of Zea on the Piraeus peninsula. It wasn’t until 1908 in London that swimming moved to landlocked pools.</p>
<p>Swimming in rivers has a very long history related to pleasure and politics. Competitive river swimming remained common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. </p>
<p>Freddie Lane <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121813599">won</a> the New South Wales mile championship in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga in January 1899.</p>
<p>“Professor of swimming” Fred Cavill helped pioneer swimming lessons for the masses in Sydney – including girls and women. He gave <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96889583">promotional swims</a> in the Murray River on his arrival from the United Kingdom in 1880. Later that year he had to abandon a <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28388381">much-touted river swim</a> from Parramatta to Sydney due to strong tides. One of Cavill’s sons, Arthur “Tums” Cavill, emigrated from Sydney to the United States where he introduced an <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857098/summary">annual winter swim</a> in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in 1909. </p>
<p>And while it wasn’t an Olympic feat, in 1918 Alick Wickham made a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642520802193205">world record high dive</a> of 205 feet 9 inches (62.7 metres) into the Yarra River in Melbourne. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/watered-down-what-happened-to-australias-river-swimming-tradition-69728">Watered down: what happened to Australia's river swimming tradition?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="front page of Chinese newspaper" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=847&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540680/original/file-20230802-15-rgmprg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chairman Mao’s swimming of the Yangtze River was front-page news in the Liberation Army Daily in 1966.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even Chinese leader Mao Zedong <a href="https://outdoorswimmer.com/featured/chairman-of-the-rivers-the-strange-swimming-history-of-mao-zedong/">used river swimming</a> to promote his health and political image. </p>
<p>More recently, the <a href="https://www.espn.com/oly/summer00/triathlon/s/2000/0913/741700.html">swim leg</a> of the triathlon for the 2000 Olympic Games was held in Sydney Harbour, where divers were <a href="https://www.asiatri.com/2016/07/retrospective-triathlon-in-the-olympic-games-sydney-2000/">on shark patrol</a>.</p>
<p>However, like the 1900 obstacle race, organised and informal river swimming in cities <a href="https://theconversation.com/watered-down-what-happened-to-australias-river-swimming-tradition-69728">became uncommon</a>. In rivers such as the Seine in Paris and parts of the Yarra in Melbourne, it was even <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-25/yarra-river-is-it-safe-to-swim/9790820">illegal</a>. </p>
<p>The rise of built pools contributed to this shift, and for good reason. The novelty and modern design of concrete pools might have been part of the reason people abandoned city rivers and natural waterways. However, these new facilities also offered <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2022.2149842">safety from sharks and stormwater</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01490400.2019.1627963">bacteria, chemicals and pollutants</a>. Admittedly, questions of hygiene have also swirled around pools, especially before <a href="https://tarsonpools.com/2020/07/21/lets-explore-the-history-of-chlorine-in-pools/">chlorine</a> was added. </p>
<p>Ocean <a href="https://thamesandhudson.com.au/10-glorious-photos-from-ocean-pools-by-chris-chen-and-marie-louise-mcdermott/">baths</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/the-wet-wild-and-wonderful-ocean-pools-of-new-south-wales-a-social-history">pools</a> served a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-timeless-appeal-of-an-ocean-pool-turns-out-its-a-good-investment-too-127912">similar purpose</a>. As regulated spaces managed by local governments, pools meant <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/opinion/drowning-public-pools-america.html">swimmers were safer</a>: lifeguards could watch over them and swimmers had access to more discreet changing facilities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-tale-of-2-rivers-is-it-safer-to-swim-in-the-yarra-in-victoria-or-the-nepean-in-nsw-130791">A tale of 2 rivers: is it safer to swim in the Yarra in Victoria, or the Nepean in NSW?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The quest for swimmable cities</h2>
<p>Pools have remained popular, but river swimming <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/apr/27/10-best-organised-swims-britain-2021-lochs-lakes-rivers">never disappeared</a>. In recent years, a resurgence in interest has been buoyed by the environmental movement’s efforts to rehabilitate waterways and growing research supporting the health benefits of outdoor swimming. </p>
<p>The Seine will reopen for swimming thanks to a €1.4 billion (A$2.3 billion) regeneration project to “<a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/pariss-river-seine-is-getting-a-major-makeover">reinvent the Seine</a>”. It began in 2017 and includes floating hotels, walkways and other social spaces as well as swimming and diving areas.</p>
<p>The revival of swimming in the Seine is just one example of how outdoor and “wild” swimming is contributing to better caring for rivers. In England, there’s pressure to improve the water of the <a href="https://octopi.co.uk/thames-bath/%255D,">River Thames</a> in London as well as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-66075574">broader movements</a> to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-66139245">stop sewage outfalls</a> on rivers. In Denmark, Copenhagen harbour has <a href="https://svoemkbh-kk-dk.translate.goog/havnebade?_x_tr_sl=da&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=da&_x_tr_pto=wapp">summer swimming sites</a>. In Beijing there is a somewhat subversive <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/beijing-china-swimming-holes.html">outdoor swimming subculture</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-waters-are-too-polluted-to-swim-in-but-european-countries-offer-answers-202013">UK waters are too polluted to swim in – but European countries offer answers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In Australia, too, a number of new swimming sites have opened. In Sydney, sites <a href="https://urbanplunge.sydneywater.com.au/">along the Parramatta River</a> and in the harbour – one spot at Barangaroo <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/summer-surprise-barangaroo-cove-to-open-for-swimming-this-week-20230108-p5cb3r.html">opened this year</a> – complement established river and harbour swimming areas, including the famous Dawn Fraser Baths. In Melbourne, there are calls for a chain of <a href="https://www.regen.melbourne/swimmable-birrarung">city swimming spots</a> along the Birrarung/Yarra.</p>
<p>The growth in awareness of the important role that blue spaces – oceans, rivers, lakes, canals and other waterways – play in human health and wellbeing comes alongside a revival of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-going-for-a-swim-in-the-ocean-can-be-good-for-you-and-for-nature-150281">popularity of outdoor swimming</a> and immersion. While we know this is good for people, public interest in clean, swimmable waterways for our own health, wellbeing and pleasure can also have great benefits for these environments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Olive receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Osmond does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Seine will be used for Olympic events in 2024 and remain open for public swimming, ending a century-long ban. It’s part of a global movement to make city rivers healthy and swimmable again.Gary Osmond, Associate Professor of Sport History, The University of QueenslandRebecca Olive, Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2089222023-07-21T12:28:45Z2023-07-21T12:28:45ZRip currents are dangerous for swimmers but also ecologically important – here’s how scientists are working to understand these ‘rivers of the sea’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537611/original/file-20230716-21935-qbqsh8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C15%2C5168%2C3430&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The gap between breaking waves in North Carolina indicates a rip current flowing away from shore.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.weather.gov/images/safety/photo/rip_nc18-1.JPG">National Weather Service</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever waded into the ocean for a swim and suddenly realized that the shore is getting farther away, not closer, you may have encountered a rip current. Common at beaches worldwide, these powerful currents flow from the shore toward the sea at speeds up to several feet per second.</p>
<p>It’s important to know what rip currents are and how to <a href="https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/ripcurrentscience/">look for them</a>, because they are a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/30/florida-beach-drownings-currents/">leading cause of drownings</a> in the surf zone near shore. According to one recent estimate, rip currents have accounted for <a href="https://floridapanhandle.com/blog/rip-current-statistics/">435 drownings in the U.S. since 2017</a>.</p>
<p>National Weather Service offices that serve coastal communities issue forecasts that predict where and when rip currents are likely to occur. Those forecasts draw on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.09.008">decades of research</a> into the physics of rip currents. Many scholars, including our research group, are finding innovative ways to discover more about rip currents – including their important roles in coastal marine ecosystems. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RJ4hcaJ91TY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Rip currents are narrow currents in the surf zone that move quickly away from shore.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Not all rip currents are the same</h2>
<p>All rip currents have similar effects, but they can form in several ways. </p>
<p>One type of rip, known as a bathymetric or <a href="https://www.weather.gov/safety/ripcurrent-science">channel rip current</a>, forms when there are gaps between breaking waves. As waves break, they push water toward the beach and raise the level of the water slightly. </p>
<p>If waves break on a sandbar, but not in a deeper channel that cuts through the sandbar, the extra water that the waves have pushed toward the beach escapes back to the ocean through the channel. The flow of the escaping water acts like a conveyor belt, moving water, unsuspecting swimmers and small marine organisms offshore. </p>
<p>Another type, known as a transient or <a href="https://www.weather.gov/safety/ripcurrent-science">flash rip current</a>, forms when surf is choppy. The edges of breaking waves push on the water and make it spin, like a fast ice skater bumping into someone. </p>
<p>This creates whirls known as eddies, which can combine to form larger whirls, with currents that act like temporary conveyor belts. Flash rip currents are an active area of research. </p>
<h2>Swim, float, call for help</h2>
<p>Choosing beaches with lifeguards and paying attention to <a href="https://www.weather.gov/media/tae/RipCurrentFlags.pdf">beach flag warnings</a> are the best ways to avoid rip currents. However, if you get caught in one, here are some techniques for getting safely back to shore. </p>
<p>Think of a rip current as a swift river cutting through the surf away from the shore. Swimming against the current is going to tire you out and put you at risk of drowning. Instead, swim parallel to the beach – think of heading for the “river banks” – until you are out of the rip current’s pull. Once you’re no longer fighting it, you can swim back to shore. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A barricaded pathway to a beach with a sign warning of drowning risk and barring swimming and surfing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537619/original/file-20230716-138859-f52ks8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New York City closed public beaches in September 2019 after Hurricane Dorian caused strong rip currents along the Atlantic coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sign-alerts-beach-goers-at-rockaway-beach-that-swimming-and-news-photo/1172788123">Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another strategy is to float until the rip current carries you offshore beyond the breaking waves. Rip currents slow down here, so you can swim away from the rip current and back to shore. </p>
<p>If you believe you’re in danger, try to stay calm. Wave your arms and call for help. If you see someone caught in a rip current, throw them a flotation device and alert a lifeguard. </p>
<h2>Forecasting rip currents</h2>
<p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s <a href="https://www.weather.gov/beach/">rip current hazard model</a> provides advance forecasts of the likelihood of encountering hazardous rip currents given wave conditions at specific beaches. NOAA works continually to make these hazard forecasts more accurate, including through an ongoing partnership with the <a href="https://www.usla.org/">U.S. Lifesaving Association</a>. This partnership works to compare modeled predictions with lifeguard reports of rip current hazards and to recalibrate the model for different regions and waves. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1678467698731409408"}"></div></p>
<p>At the University of Washington, we are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-17-0076.1">evaluating NOAA hazard forecasts</a> against the latest rip current science. This helps us assess predictions for different types of rip currents, such as unexpected flash rips. </p>
<p>To measure rip currents, we sometimes put on scuba gear and battle the waves to set up <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/the-riddle-of-rip-currents/">instruments in the surf</a>. But this work can be expensive, and it relies on knowing where rips will occur beforehand. That isn’t possible for flash rips, so we need different methods to analyze those.</p>
<p>We use supercomputers and <a href="https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/wave-lab">massive wave tanks</a> the size of an Olympic swimming pool, with paddles at one end that produce waves, to simulate flash rips. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2023.104327">Wave tank laboratory experiments</a> and <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022AGUFMOS42A..06N/abstract">computer simulations</a> allow us to control the types of waves we produce and make it easier to collect a lot of data. This work is improving our understanding of the relationship between wave conditions and flash rips, which can help improve hazard predictions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Waves in a large laboratory tank, stained with pink dye to track currents." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538371/original/file-20230719-27-t5e2i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pink dye exits the surf in a flash rip current (yellow arrow) during large-scale wave tank experiments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christine Baker</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Expressways for marine life</h2>
<p>Rip currents aren’t just a safety issue. Scientists are beginning to better understand the crucial ecological role they play in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010816-060514">redistributing small marine organisms</a>, as well as plastic, pollutants, sediment and debris in coastal waters. </p>
<p>Many marine organisms, including oysters, barnacles, fish and coral, rely on <a href="https://tos.org/oceanography/assets/docs/20-3_pineda.pdf">ocean currents during their larval stage</a> to find suitable habitats. These organisms swim up or down or attach to floating or sinking material and are transported by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-032122-115057">multiple ocean processes</a>. </p>
<p>Rip currents are a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1265">key mechanism</a> for dispersing larvae to deeper waters or recirculating them in shallow waters. The rip current type and behavior may affect the movement of marine organisms. </p>
<p>Water temperature and salinity can change the behavior of rip currents – and send organisms on alternate routes – by modifying the water’s density. Our group has analyzed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091675">imagery taken from low-flying planes</a> and found that warmer rip currents carry water farther offshore at the surface, whereas <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072611">cooler rip currents</a> spread beneath the surface in different patterns.</p>
<p>Our research group and other scientists are using computer simulations and numerical “larvae” to investigate how temperature, <a href="https://pinc.ucsd.edu/">salinity</a> and other factors may affect transport of marine organisms. With better understanding of these surf-zone conveyor belts, we aim to help keep swimmers safe and assess how rip currents affect aquatic ecosystems near the shore.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Shie Nuss receives funding from National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Audrey Casper receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine M. Baker receives funding from the National Science Foundation and a Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa Moulton receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Walter Torres receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. </span></em></p>Rip currents are a leading cause of near-shore drownings, but there are effective ways to survive one. And these phenomena also play important ecological roles that are an emerging research area.Emma Shie Nuss, PhD Student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of WashingtonAudrey Casper, Data Analyst, NOAA Hazard Forecasting, University of WashingtonChristine M. Baker, Postdoctoral research scholar, North Carolina State UniversityMelissa Moulton, Research Scientist/Engineer, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of WashingtonWalter Torres, Postdoctoral Scholar, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2098632023-07-19T20:00:25Z2023-07-19T20:00:25ZThe Northern Territory does not have a crocodile problem – and ‘salties’ do not need culling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538192/original/file-20230719-27-ek02my.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4260%2C2831&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, a 67-year-old man was bitten on the arm by a saltwater crocodile at a waterhole in the Northern Territory’s Top End. Predictably, the incident has prompted debate over whether a crocodile cull is needed. </p>
<p>The incident occurred in Litchfield National Park at Wangi Falls, a popular tourist spot. The man was hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries. Authorities later removed and killed the 2.4 metre crocodile responsible for the attack.</p>
<p>Fatal crocodile attacks in the NT <a href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/record-year-for-fatal-crocodile-attacks-in-northern-territory/news-story/e71d7ee8dd4b30641447d9b114cb1039">peaked in 2014</a> when four people died. The last fatal incident in the territory occurred in 2018 when an Indigenous ranger <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/12/indigenous-ranger-attacked-and-taken-by-crocodile-in-northern-territory">was killed</a> while fishing with her family.</p>
<p>Despite the low number of fatal attacks in recent years, NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said last week the territory’s crocodile population had risen dramatically in recent decades and “it’s time for us to consider” if culling should be reintroduced.</p>
<p>This is an over-reaction to a fairly isolated incident. Data suggest the saltwater crocodile population in the NT does not need to be culled and their management does not need changing. </p>
<h2>Getting to grips with ‘salties’</h2>
<p>Saltwater crocodiles, fondly known in Australia as “salties”, are the <a href="http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/18%20--8088e67a.pdf">largest</a> in the crocodilian order of reptiles and can grow to six metres.</p>
<p>Hundreds of saltwater crocodile attacks on humans are reported globally each year. This, as well as demand for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-12/should-crocodile-culling-be-reintroduced-in-the-nt/102588160">crocodile skins</a>, has resulted in the species being eradicated from much of its former range. </p>
<p>The saltwater crocodile was once found <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372405960_Sideleau_and_Nguyen_2021">widely</a> across the Indo-Pacific region. Now, there are no saltwater crocodiles in <a href="http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/18%20--8088e67a.pdf">several countries</a> including Cambodia, China, Seychelles, Thailand and Vietnam.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537799/original/file-20230717-184356-pfat4r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Current and historical distribution of the saltwater crocodile. Green = present, yellow = possibly present, orange = extinct.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CrocAttack: The Worldwide Crocodilian Attack Database</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Elsewhere, saltwater crocodile populations declined dramatically last century. In the Northern Territory, crocodile numbers dropped to <a href="https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/443581/crocodile-management-program.pdf">about 5,000</a> before a culling ban was introduced in 1971. The species’ numbers have since rebounded to <a href="https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/202579/crocodile-populations.pdf">more than 100,000</a>.</p>
<p>In some areas, recovering crocodile populations come into conflict with humans. This can occur when, for example, humans destroy the species’ habitat or their prey becomes scarce due human activity such as overfishing and poaching. This can force the species to relocate, bringing them closer to people.</p>
<p>Saltwater crocodiles have long been known to enter Wangi Falls during the wet season, when the location is closed to the public. In fact, a 3.4 metre crocodile <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/crocodile/massive-croc-caught-at-popular-swimming-spot-c-9622519">was captured</a> there in January this year. </p>
<p>It’s never 100% safe to swim at locations within the natural range of saltwater crocodiles. However, Wangi Falls is considered reasonably <a href="https://becrocwise.nt.gov.au/crocodiles-and-me/stay-safe-while-swimming">safe</a> for swimming during the dry season (May to October) because park officials survey and remove crocodiles before it opens to the public each year. </p>
<p>So what went wrong in this case? We don’t know for sure. The crocodile in question was relatively small: perhaps it wasn’t spotted during surveys. Or it could have just arrived after surveys were conducted.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-reckoning-with-an-animal-that-sees-us-as-prey-living-and-working-in-crocodile-country-160260">Friday essay: reckoning with an animal that sees us as prey — living and working in crocodile country</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="a saltwater crocodile" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537798/original/file-20230717-219717-qhspp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A saltwater crocodile incident last week has reignited the debate about culling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brandon Sideleau</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The current approach works</h2>
<p>Following last week’s crocodile attack, Fyles said culling may be needed, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-11/natasha-fyles-saltwater-crocodile-culling/102585956">telling the media</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’s time for us to consider: do we need to go back to culling considering the significant increase in the crocodile population, and the impact it’s happening, not just on our tourists and visitors, but also locals?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These comments are surprising. Recent data for the Top End <a href="https://depws.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/437639/SW-Crocodile-Monitoring-Report-2014.pdf">suggests</a> crocodile populations are stabilising. And the rarity of fatal attacks on humans indicates the territory’s <a href="https://becrocwise.nt.gov.au/crocodile-management/crocodile-management-program#:%7E:text=The%20NT%20Government%20uses%20a,techniques%20appropriate%20to%20the%20location">crocodile management plan</a> is effective.</p>
<p>The plan involves, among other measures, removing problem crocodiles, raising public awareness around safely co-existing with the animals, and monitoring their impact. </p>
<p>Since 2018, the NT has experienced one fatal saltwater crocodile attack while <a href="https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/227434/crocodile-attacks-queensland.pdf">Queensland</a> has experienced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/03/human-remains-found-in-euthanised-crocodile-believed-to-be-missing-queensland-fisher">two</a>. That’s despite an average saltwater crocodile density in the territory <a href="https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/244613/qld-estuarine-croc-monitoring-program-2016-19-report.pdf">of 5.3 individuals per kilometre</a> – three times more than in Queensland. </p>
<p>This, coupled with data from outside Australia, suggests the frequency of crocodile attacks depends more on human behaviour and population density than how many crocodiles are in a given area.</p>
<p>In Indonesia, crocodiles <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/02/crocodile-catch-conservationists-warn-against-proposed-queensland-cull">killed at least 71 people</a> last year alone. Yet the crocodile population there is likely small and recovering, based on the limited number of surveys conducted.</p>
<p>In the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, for example, crocodiles killed <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF20237">at least 60 people</a> between 2009 and 2018. Yet surveys suggest their average density is <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/591/1/012044">only 0.4 per kilometre</a>. The situation is similar on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320990083_Impacts_of_anthropogenic_pressures_on_the_contemporary_biogeography_of_threatened_crocodilians_in_Indonesia">the island of Sumatra</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.thestar.com.my/news/environment/2023/07/15/culling-sabah039s-crocodiles-will-not-reduce-croc-attacks?fbclid=IwAR0Jn_Dn-wOc9X5CXDsI7ucgZi_ost8WJ5WNCSaPeH2bNP9D1fBURfK9Y2Q">parts</a> of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358152489_Human-Crocodile_Conflicts_in_Sarawak_Malaysian_Borneo_An_analysis_of_crocodile_attacks_from_2000_until_2020">Malaysia</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-did-crocodiles-survive-the-asteroid-that-killed-the-dinosaurs-172390">Curious Kids: how did crocodiles survive the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="saltwater crocodile swimming underwater" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538197/original/file-20230719-23-su836y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said crocodile culling may be needed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The downsides of culling crocs</h2>
<p>Culling saltwater crocodiles isn’t just bad for the species. It can also have negative consequences for humans.</p>
<p>The public could be <a href="https://theconversation.com/crocodile-culls-wont-solve-crocodile-attacks-11203">lulled into a false sense of security</a> and think a location is safe for swimming, even though crocodiles remain. </p>
<p>And seeing saltwater crocodiles in the wild is <a href="https://www.kindnessproject.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Crocodile-Transition-Plan-final.pdf">important to the NT’s economy</a>. Culling them could damage the NT’s reputation as an ecotourism destination.</p>
<p>Lastly, culling dominant male crocodiles can be dangerous. Saltwater crocodiles are the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cm-Gienger-2/publication/319502789_Patterns_of_human-crocodile_conflict_in_Queensland_A_review_of_historical_estuarine_crocodile_Crocodylus_porosus_management/links/5c4a0b87a6fdccd6b5c59d4a/Patterns-of-human-crocodile-conflict-in-Queensland-A-review-of-historical-estuarine-crocodile-Crocodylus-porosus-management.pdf">most territorial</a> of all crocodilians. When one is removed, other large crocodiles <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0126778&type=printable">begin to compete</a> for the newly available territory. This can present a threat to public safety. </p>
<p>The crocodile population in the NT does not need to be culled. Indeed, the territory’s current crocodile management plan is an example of large predator conservation done right.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-living-alongside-crocodiles-can-teach-us-about-coexisting-with-wildlife-139144">What living alongside crocodiles can teach us about coexisting with wildlife</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brandon Michael Sideleau is a member of the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group</span></em></p>A non-fatal crocodile attack on a tourist last week made headlines. But talk of culling is an over-reaction to a fairly isolated incident.Brandon Michael Sideleau, PhD student studying human-saltwater crocodile conflict, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2086262023-07-03T11:15:30Z2023-07-03T11:15:30ZA brief history of British lidos – and new hope for their return to glory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534607/original/file-20230628-22-tm4f87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5309%2C3363&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vivacity Lido in Peterborough.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/peterborough-uk-september-6-2021-aerial-2041341503">Clare Louise Jackson/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The oldest outdoor swimming pool in the UK – the Grade II listed <a href="https://www.clevelandpools.org.uk/">Cleveland Pools</a> in Bath which first opened in 1815 – will reopen during the summer of 2023, after significant restoration. With a new 50-metre outdoor pool having opened in <a href="https://www.sealanesbrighton.co.uk/">Brighton</a>) in June and a council-funded <a href="https://www.hcandl.co.uk/albertavenue">restoration</a> under way in Hull, the simple pleasure of the public outdoor pool is seeing a return to popularity to the UK.</p>
<p>In the early 20th century, an explosion of new outdoor pools opened across Britain. Taking the name “lido” from the Italian word for coastline, the boom of construction in the 20th century was part of <a href="http://filestore.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pdfs/small/cab-24-75-gt-19-6880.pdf">the post-war public works programme</a>, which aimed to create jobs and promote health. While indoor pools had been gender segregated, public lidos were deliberately mixed and became synonymous with fun and socialising.</p>
<p>Lidos at coastal towns such as <a href="https://storiesfromscarborough.wordpress.com/tag/lido/">Scarborough</a> and <a href="https://www.lancs.live/news/local-news/nostalgia/blackpools-beautiful-open-air-paradise-24474326">Blackpool</a> were destinations for residents and tourists. Lido design between the 1920s and 1940s was <a href="https://c20society.org.uk/casework/bathing-belles-in-peril-lasting-lidos">innovative and drawn from exotic</a> sources, such as European resorts and cruise ships. They incorporated sumptuous sundecks, sophisticated outdoor restaurants and cafes, alongside vast inviting bathing areas. Impressive diving boards challenged those brave enough to leap theatrically and please the crowds. These lidos were able to accommodate thousands of visitors as wholesome, accessible leisure destinations. </p>
<p>Some of the most iconic lidos are the magnificent art deco sites in <a href="https://saltdeanlido.org/">Saltdean</a>, <a href="https://plymouthactive.co.uk/centres/tinside-lido/">Plymouth</a> and <a href="https://jubileepool.co.uk/">Penzance</a> in the south of England. These stunning sites have thankfully been saved from demolition, many others were not. Lido lovers remain hopeful that another art deco site, <a href="https://broomhillpooltrust.org/">Broomhill in Ipswich</a>, will one day be restored.</p>
<p>Lidos were grand constructions and monuments of civic pride, both for those who created them and for those who frequented them. <a href="https://c20society.org.uk/lost-modern/super-swimming-stadium-morecambe">They reflected times of change in society and great optimism</a>. At their peak, there were more than 300 active public outdoor pools in the UK, with 11 in Liverpool and 68 in London.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Aerial view of Brockwell Lido in south London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534610/original/file-20230628-17-cjzjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Brockwell Lido in Brockwell park, south London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-february-2019-aerial-view-brockwell-1336565642">William Barton/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Lidos closures</h2>
<p>The 1960 Wolfenden report, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Sport_the_Community.html?id=gg0XAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y">Sport and the Community</a> and the 1968 Sports Council report Planning for Sport were catalysts for the demise of outdoor swimming pools in policy. The mandate was that “<a href="https://sportsleisurelegacy.co.uk/chapter-1-harlow-and-early-foundations/">as a general rule, [pools] should be indoors</a>”. </p>
<p>Lidos fell into disrepair and were steadily <a href="https://www.lostlidos.co.uk/lost-lidos-search-hub/">replaced or destroyed</a>, after councils no longer saw them as part of their leisure facilities and reduced or stopped funding. At the turn of the century, only around 130 public outdoor pools remained, predominately in the south of the UK. That number hardly changed in the following two decades.</p>
<p>The steady loss of these lidos didn’t go unnoticed. The Thirties Society’s report <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Farewell_My_Lido.html?id=gHZdwgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Farewell my Lido</a> (1991) and then Janet Smith’s important 2005 English Heritage-funded book <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Liquid_Assets/0PNSAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Liquid+Assets++janet+smith%C2%A0&dq=Liquid+Assets++janet+smith%C2%A0&printsec=frontcover">Liquid Assets</a> (with a forthright foreword from artist Tracey Emin) document the history and argued passionately for a brighter future for these much-loved public luxuries.</p>
<p>But as local councils faced financial crises in 2008 and central government reduced spending further from 2010, leisure was treated differently. Responsibility for lidos was transferred to charitable trusts. Those that remained were preserved and saved by community groups or trusts and some local authorities, who understood their public value.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1664392963965829121"}"></div></p>
<p>During the last two decades – and recently accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic where outdoor swimming was one of the few activities allowed for a while – there has been <a href="https://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2021/05/04/wild-water-swimming-said-to-have-almost-tripled-in-popularity-since-2019-scottish-news/">a steady growth</a> in outdoor, wild and lido swimming.</p>
<p>And there are cultural markers of a resurgence, too. Fashion label Radley created a limited-edition <a href="https://www.radleycollector.com/radley-lido/">lido handbag</a> in 2016. In 2019, crowdfunding helped create The <a href="https://unbound.com/books/lidoguide/">Lido Guide</a>. The same year, a heart-warming novel, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Lido/VIXkuQEACAAJ?hl=en">The Lido by Libby Page</a>, beautifully captured the community spirit, history and value of lidos. </p>
<p>Photographer <a href="https://architecturetoday.co.uk/lido/">Christopher Beanland</a> paid homage to lidos in 2020 through a global collection of outdoor pools and their stories. And then this year, Brit Pop band Blur choose the iconic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/sep/27/gourock-lido-martin-parr-swimmer-in-picture">2014 Martin Parr image of a solitary swimmer in Gourock Pool</a> for the cover of their upcoming album, The Ballad of Darren.</p>
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<p>Over <a href="https://futurelidos.org/about">30 lido schemes</a> have emerged from 2021 onwards. They’ve been nurtured by the Future Lidos Group and their <a href="https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/lidos-recieve-vital-national-lottery-funding/">National Heritage Lottery funded pooling resources project</a>. The design emphasis is once again on innovation, taking the lessons of lido heritage and the human connection which formed in these inclusive sites into consideration.</p>
<p>If Sport England’s policies can recognise the diverse value of lidos to public health and leisure, the next decade could see a further resurgence in restorations. Even more lidos could soon be making a welcome return across Britain, allowing more access to outdoor swimming – whatever the weather.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208626/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Wood founded the Future Lidos Group in 2021 and is a volunteer on the steering committee for the Pooling Resources project. The Pooling Resources project received funding from National Heritage Lottery Fund in January 2023 to create a toolkit to support the restoration and creation of lidos. He has been a volunteer with the Friends of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool for 9 years. He has not personally received any fees for any of this work.</span></em></p>The boom of lido construction in the 20th century was part of the post war public works programme, which aimed to create jobs and promote health.Michael Wood, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2061922023-05-29T20:08:47Z2023-05-29T20:08:47ZThinking of quitting your child’s swimming lessons over winter? Read this first<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528158/original/file-20230525-19-o6pgti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C19%2C6359%2C4195&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The weather is getting chilly and the pool is looking less inviting than ever. At this time of year, with cooler temperatures and shorter days, swimming can be the furthest thing from our minds. It’s no wonder during winter many parents pause their child’s swimming lessons. </p>
<p>Many local pools in <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/Aquatic-Risk-and-Guidelines/aquatic-research/the-state-of-aquatic-facility-infrastructure">country areas</a> close during the cooler months, often reopening in spring.</p>
<p>So, does it matter if kids stop swimming lessons over the winter? Here’s what to consider before you pull the plug.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528161/original/file-20230525-25-397arn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The weather is getting chilly and the pool is looking less inviting than ever.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-is-the-right-time-for-children-to-learn-to-swim-173144">When is the right time for children to learn to swim?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>The more time in the water, the better</h2>
<p>The first thing to note is that a pause can easily turn into stopping lessons altogether. Or, it can make restarting lessons in summer tricky, as children try to remember skills they haven’t practised in months. </p>
<p>And it’s important to remember drowning risk, particularly for young children, is present 365 days a year. </p>
<p>Almost a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpc.14668">third of all drowning deaths</a> of children under five occur in autumn and winter.</p>
<p>Learning to swim is <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/about/campaigns-and-programs/keep-watch/keep-watch-actions">one strategy</a> for parents to reduce a child’s risk of drowning, alongside active supervision, restricting access to water and learning CPR. </p>
<p>However, an estimated <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/Aquatic-Risk-and-Guidelines/aquatic-research/strengthening-learn-to-swim">40%</a> of children leave primary school without being able to swim the length of an Olympic swimming pool. Participation in swimming lessons declines significantly after age seven.</p>
<p>That means the younger years represent a valuable time to ensure your child has the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe in the water. </p>
<p>A 2015 <a href="https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol9/iss3/2/">study</a> I co-authored found that, when it comes to children mastering the skill of swimming, the more time in the water the better.</p>
<p>One potential benefit of keeping up with lessons over winter is giving children the opportunity to regularly and continuously hone their water safety skills.</p>
<p>Swimming lessons offer kids other bonuses too, including <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004430.2015.1096785">physical, cognitive and language skill development</a> benefits.</p>
<h2>Too many missed swimming lessons</h2>
<p>Ceasing swimming lessons in the cooler months may also mean you risk losing your preferred lesson timeslot. </p>
<p>It may even mean you lose your child’s place altogether, in an industry where demand often outstrips supply and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-09/swimming-lessons-waitlists-wa-south-west-shortage-of-instructors/101945516">waitlists can be long</a>. </p>
<p>Children’s swimming lessons have also been significantly affected by the COVID pandemic.</p>
<p>Research has <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/about/news-and-updates/news/work-needed-to-catch-up-on-missed-swimming-lessons">warned</a> too many kids have missed swimming lessons due to lockdowns, pool closures, swimming teacher shortages and long waitlists.</p>
<p>There are fears this will lead to a <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/about/news-and-updates/news/work-needed-to-catch-up-on-missed-swimming-lessons">generation</a> of Australian children leaving primary school without the basic skills needed to keep them safe and enjoy the water throughout adulthood.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528160/original/file-20230525-29-nhl8zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The younger years represent a valuable time to ensure your child has the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe in the water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What about a summer intensive?</h2>
<p>If you must discontinue swim lessons over winter, consider enrolling your child in a holiday or summer intensive swim course. This is where kids have lessons every day over a week or two. It may give your child the chance to catch up after taking the winter months off. </p>
<p>Given the near <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/67687/RLS_NationalDrowningReport2022_SPG_LR.pdf">record number of drowning fatalities in Australia</a> last financial year, and the disruption to swimming lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns, it’s important we don’t lose momentum now. </p>
<p>Giving your children every opportunity to learn how to swim is vitally important. It could even save their life one day. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-should-my-child-take-swimming-lessons-and-what-do-they-need-to-know-131136">Why should my child take swimming lessons? And what do they need to know?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206192/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. She maintains an honorary affiliation with Royal Life Saving Society - Australia as a Senior Research Fellow. </span></em></p>An estimated 40% of children leave primary school without being able to swim the length of an Olympic swimming pool.Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2034522023-05-10T16:20:16Z2023-05-10T16:20:16ZCold water therapy: what are the benefits and dangers of ice baths, wild swimming and freezing showers?<p><a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/6/461">Immersion in cold water</a>
is definitely an activity that divides people – some love it others hate it. But many now practice it weekly or even daily in the belief that it’s good for their mental and physical health. </p>
<p>Cold water therapy, as it has come to be known, can take the form of outdoor swimming – in lakes, rivers or the ocean – cold showers or even ice baths. It has been used for a while by <a href="https://theconversation.com/ice-bath-after-exercise-the-benefits-might-be-in-your-head-33597">sportspeople</a> <a href="https://www.today.com/health/ice-bath-benefits-why-do-athletes-take-ice-baths-do-t191381">as a way to</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2011.570380">reduce muscle soreness</a> and speed up <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40279-015-0431-7.pdf">recovery</a> time – with people typically spending about ten minutes after exercise in cold water that’s about <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5350472/">10-15°C</a>.</p>
<p>Cold water has also been used to help treat <a href="https://casereports.bmj.com/content/2018/bcr-2018-225007">symptoms of depression</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35021915/#:%7E:text=Conclusions%3A%20Cold%2Dwater%20immersion%20decreased,increase%20the%20quality%20of%20life.">pain</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1697736/">migraine</a>. Indeed, there are many accounts of how <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/52a91abf-7b2d-4026-8944-4028333e1aa7">cold water therapy</a> has changed lives, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/mar/23/how-cold-water-swimming-cured-my-broken-heart">cured broken hearts</a> and helped people during <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/ice-bath-cold-water-swimming-26539194">difficult times</a>. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://theconversation.com/ice-bath-after-exercise-the-benefits-might-be-in-your-head-33597">many studies</a> have shown benefits linked to ice baths and post-exercise recovery, research from 2014 found there could be a placebo effect going on here.</p>
<p>Indeed, research into the potential benefits of cold water therapy or outdoor swimming is in its early stages, but what is clear is that cold water immersion can have potentially <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2021/11000/ACSM_Expert_Consensus_Statement__Injury_Prevention.11.aspx">harmful effects</a> on the human body. </p>
<h2>Cold water risks</h2>
<p>With any activity that’s intended for therapeutic effect, the minimum requirement is that it “does no harm”. But we can’t say that about cold water – as it comes with a lot of <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/23/1332">risks</a>. </p>
<p>At the moment, the science to <a href="https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/health/study-suggests-cold-water-swimming-28060941">fully support cold water as a therapy</a> is not available and it’s not yet known if there is a certain duration or temperature that works best. But what we do know is that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7730683/">less is definitely more</a> when it comes to cold water immersion. In other words, going in colder water or staying in for longer is not better for you. In fact, it can have just the opposite effect. </p>
<p>In the UK, the water temperatures in natural environments are roughly between 10-28°C in the summer, falling to between 0-7°C in the winter. And it’s important to point out that open water temperatures lag behind air temperatures, so in April when the air temperature can be warm the sea temperature, even on the south coast, is likely to be below 10°C.</p>
<p>It might seem that when it comes to cold water therapy, showers and baths are a less hazardous option because you have greater control in terms of temperature and exposure time compared with open water. But due to the colder temperatures showers and ice baths can achieve and the solitary nature of the immersion they still pose significant risks. </p>
<p>One of the little-known problems associated with cold water immersion is what’s known as <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/EP091139">non-freezing cold injury</a>. When we are exposed to the cold, it’s normal for the hands and feet to feel very cold or numb and they may tingle or be painful on rewarming. For most people, these symptoms are transient, with normal sensations returning within a few minutes. But for those with non-freezing cold injury, these symptoms (pain, altered sensation and cold sensitivity) can persist in the affected areas for many years due to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28969380/">nerve</a> and <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/EP090721">blood vessel</a> damage. </p>
<p>It’s caused by prolonged exposure to cold and wet conditions such as those seen in the trenches during wars – hence its nickname “trench foot”. It’s not just the military who are susceptible though, cases have been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1080603220300089?via%3Dihub">recently reported</a> in rough sleepers and those undertaking <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1080603222000497?via%3Dihub">water sports</a>. </p>
<p>Another issue is that it’s not known how cold is too cold when it comes to cold water immersion and non-freezing cold injury. There are also a lot of differences in the way our individual bodies <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2022.2044740">respond to cooling</a>. For example, those from African and Caribbean backgrounds seem to be more <a href="https://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/165/6/400.long">susceptible to non-freezing cold injury</a> – so the risks from cold exposure will vary between different people.</p>
<p>Encouragingly though, one study from 2020 with cold water swimmers indicates that although they may have cold sensitivity, this was not associated with damage to the <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/EP088555">blood vessels in the skin</a>. </p>
<h2>Cold water tips</h2>
<p>So if you are wanting to give cold water therapy a go, here are some things to consider:</p>
<p>• Check with your GP beforehand to make sure it’s safe for you to do.</p>
<p>• Make sure you’re not alone and the water is safe – if outdoors consider tides, currents, waves, underwater obstacles, pollution and jelly fish. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Boy or man with closed eyes bathing in the cold water among ice cubes" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525149/original/file-20230509-16-v7ddvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Always make sure you’re careful when immersing yourself in cold water, don’t stay too long and look after yourself afterwards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vilnius-lithuania-april-30-2022-boy-2151783209"> Michele Ursi/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>• Plan how you’re going to get in and out of the water safely (remember that your muscles won’t work as well when you’re cold and you may not be able to feel with your hands and feet).</p>
<p>• Know how you’re going to get warm afterwards - make sure you have towels, dry clothes, windproofs, a hot drink and somewhere to shelter. Don’t drive or cycle until you have completely warmed up.</p>
<p>• Only stay in cold water for a short period of time, get out before you experience numbness, pain or shivering.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From depression to muscle soreness: what are the potential benefits of cold water therapy?Heather Massey, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Science & Health, School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science, University of PortsmouthClare Eglin, Principal Lecturer in the School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Science, University of PortsmouthMike Tipton, Professor of Human and Applied Physiology, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2034922023-05-03T12:07:00Z2023-05-03T12:07:00ZHeading to a beach this summer? Here’s how to keep harmful algae blooms from spoiling your trip<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523475/original/file-20230428-22-cp3c0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C5862%2C3926&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Warning sign at Lido Key Beach in Sarasota, Fla., March 15, 2023, during a toxic algae bloom.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sign-warning-of-the-red-tide-risk-is-displayed-at-lido-key-news-photo/1248835855"> Jesus Olarte/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plunging into the ocean or a lake is one of the great joys of summer. But arriving at the beach to find water that’s green, red or brown, and possibly foul-smelling, can instantly spoil the party.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brad-Reisfeld">toxicologist</a>, I study health risks from both synthetic and natural substances. I’ve conducted research into <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract_id/11137/report/0">early detection of harmful algal blooms</a>, or HABs, which are an increasing threat to humans, animals and the environment. </p>
<p>Toxins produced during these blooms have been implicated in human and animal illnesses in at least 43 states. Scientists have estimated that in the U.S. alone, freshwater HABs cause more than <a href="https://meetings.pices.int/publications/other/members/HAB-PolicyMakers.pdf">US$4.6 billion in damage yearly</a>. Here’s what to know about them if you’re bound for the water’s edge this summer.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Harmful algal blooms have become a regular occurrence along large stretches of Florida’s coast in recent years.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tiny organisms, big impacts</h2>
<p>Algae and cyanobacteria – often called blue-green algae – are simple, plantlike organisms that live in water. They can grow out of control, or “bloom,” especially when the water is warm and slow moving. Climate change is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/summary-for-policymakers/">making water bodies warmer</a>, increasing the risk of HABs. </p>
<p>The other major factor that drives blooms is high levels of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which fertilize algae. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-03/documents/facts_about_nutrient_pollution_what_is_hypoxia.pdf">Nutrient pollution</a> comes mainly from agriculture, wastewater treatment plants, septic systems and fossil fuel combustion.</p>
<p>Sometimes these blooms contain organisms that produce toxins – an umbrella term for many poisonous substances that <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002331.htm">come from animals or plants</a> and can make people and animals sick and adversely affect the environment. These events are called harmful algal blooms. </p>
<p>HABs occur <a href="https://hab.whoi.edu/maps/regions-us-distribution/">throughout the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://hab.whoi.edu/maps/regions-world-distribution/">worldwide</a>, in both saltwater and freshwater environments. They pose significant health risks to human, pets, livestock and wildlife; damage ecosystems; increase water treatment costs; restrict recreational activities; and cut into economic revenues.</p>
<p>People and animals can be exposed to HAB toxins through many routes. These include skin contact during activities such as swimming or boating; inhaling airborne droplets that contain toxins; swallowing contaminated water; or eating food or supplements that contain toxins. The most severe effects generally result from <a href="https://hab.whoi.edu/impacts/impacts-human-health/">consuming contaminated seafood</a>.</p>
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<h2>An array of toxins</h2>
<p>There are numerous <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/habs/pdf/ohhabs-algae-algal-toxins-and-other-pathogens-lists.pdf">HAB toxins</a>, including substances such as microcystin, saxitoxin, cylindrospermopsin, anatoxin-A and domoic acid. Each has a different action on the body, so HABs can have <a href="https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/resources/docs/humanhealth/hab_physician_guide_may2020.pdf">diverse harmful effects</a>.</p>
<p>Typical <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/habs/illness.html">symptoms of illness</a> from exposure to HAB toxins can include stomach pain, vomiting or diarrhea; headache, fever, tiredness or other general symptoms; skin, eye, nose or throat irritation; and neurological symptoms such as muscle weakness or dizziness. Depending on the toxin, higher levels of exposure can result in tremors or seizures, respiratory distress, kidney toxicity, liver toxicity and even death.</p>
<p>As with many environmental exposures, children and older people may be especially sensitive to HAB toxins. People who regularly consume seafood caught in HAB-prone areas are also at risk of long-term health effects from potentially frequent, low-level exposures to HAB toxins.</p>
<h2>Recognizing and responding to HABs</h2>
<p>It’s not possible to tell whether a bloom is harmful just by looking at it, but there are some warning signs. If the water appears green, red, brown or yellowish in color; has a strong musty or fishy odor; has foam, scum, algal mats or paintlike streaks on the surface; or if there are dead fish or other marine life in the water or washed up on the shoreline, it’s likely that a HAB may be occurring.</p>
<p>If you are unsure whether a bloom is harmful or not, contact your local health department or environmental agency for guidance. As a general rule, it’s good to check with local agencies to see whether there are any relevant warnings when you go to the beach. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqv2IclhKUm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>If you are notified of a bloom in a nearby body of water or in your public drinking water supply, the most important thing you can do to reduce your chances of getting sick is to follow local or state guidance. If you see signs of a bloom, stay out of the water and keep your pets out of the water.</p>
<p>It’s also important to follow local guidelines about consuming seafood caught through recreational fishing. It’s important to be aware that cooking contaminated seafood or boiling contaminated water <a href="https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/red-tide">does not destroy the toxins</a>. </p>
<h2>Be informed</h2>
<p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/habs/general.html">resources and recommendations</a> related to HABs and ways to stay safe. Pet owners should also learn <a href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/water_pdf/habspets.pdf">how to protect their dogs from HABs</a>. </p>
<p>Other federal agencies that offer information about HABs include <a href="https://hab.whoi.edu/">the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms</a> and the <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/algal-blooms/index.cfm">National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences</a>.</p>
<p>Many states conduct <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cyanohabs/state-habs-monitoring-programs-and-resources">HAB monitoring programs</a>, especially in areas that are known to be vulnerable to blooms, such as <a href="https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/products/1h6jc/what-are-habs">western Lake Erie</a>. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cyanohabs/state-habs-resources">HAB resources by state</a>. Apps used by water quality managers and state officials who make management decisions about public water supply safety, including <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.topcoder.epa">CyAN Android</a> and <a href="https://qed.epa.gov/cyanweb/">CyANWeb</a>, may contain useful information about HABs in your area.</p>
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<h2>What’s being done about HABs?</h2>
<p>Many efforts are underway to prevent, control and mitigate HABs and provide early warnings to water system managers and health officials. </p>
<p>One example in the U.S. is the
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/water-research/cyanobacteria-assessment-network-cyan">Cyanobacteria Assessment Network, or CyAN</a>, a collaborative effort across several government agencies to develop an early warning indicator system to detect algal blooms in freshwater systems. There are also several ongoing projects for <a href="https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/habs/hab-forecasts/">HAB forecasting by region</a>.</p>
<p>At the global scale, the <a href="https://data.hais.ioc-unesco.org/">Harmful Algal Information System</a> will eventually include harmful algal events and information from harmful algae monitoring and management systems worldwide.</p>
<p>Citizen scientists can provide invaluable help by monitoring local waters. If you would like to participate, consider joining the <a href="https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/monitoring-and-assessments/pmn/">Phytoplankton Monitoring Network</a> or <a href="https://cyanos.org/bloomwatch/">the Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative</a>, and download and use the
<a href="https://cyanos.org/bloomwatch/">Cyanobacterial bloom app</a> to report potential HABs in bodies of water you visit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203492/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Reisfeld received funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency to work on a project related to HABs detection</span></em></p>The tiny organisms that cause harmful blooms of algae can have a big impact on your trip to the shore. A toxicologist explains what causes these events and how to keep people and pets safe.Brad Reisfeld, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Public Health, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2030832023-04-11T16:28:34Z2023-04-11T16:28:34ZCost of living: why decreased access to swimming is harming children and young people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519526/original/file-20230405-20-svvpf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C4368%2C3040&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-happy-kids-swimming-pool-underwater-2142729027">YanLev/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Swimming is a unique activity. Not only is it an Olympic sport but it’s also a form of exercise and a life-saving endeavour. How many other physical activities can boast such a claim? </p>
<p>So, it is no surprise that swimming holds such appeal in the UK, where there is a diverse range of enthusiasts. We have Olympic champions, a world record holding <a href="https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/hall-of-fame/bio/swimmer/jane-asher">nonagenarian</a>, a new wave of <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-a-cold-water-swim-good-for-you-or-more-likely-to-send-you-to-the-bottom-89513">cold water dippers</a>, competitive swimmers and parent and toddler groups who all love the water. For children, swimming is both a sporting endeavour and a fun leisure activity that is frequently associated with hot summer holidays. </p>
<p>That’s what makes recent reports into the dire state of children’s swimming so concerning. Last summer, a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/62504602">BBC report</a> found that between 2019 and 2022, one in six local authorities in the UK had seen at least one swimming pool close, on either a permanent or temporary basis. Swim England, the national governing body for swimming, has <a href="https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/active-lives-children-young-people-report-2022/">estimated</a> that around 1 in 4 children leave primary school unable to swim 25 metres. That number is expected to rise to as many as 6 in 10 by 2025. </p>
<p>The situation is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64413464">even more parlous in Wales</a>. The chief executive of Swim Wales, Fergus Feaney, recently focused on some worrying statistics when he <a href="https://cofnod.senedd.cymru/Committee/13455">gave evidence to the Senedd</a>’s local government committee, as part of its inquiry into council leisure services. </p>
<p>Of particular note was that the cost of swimming lessons had almost doubled from £6.50 before COVID to a current average of £12.50. He also revealed that only 50% of Welsh primary schools take part in swimming tuition programmes. Feaney left the enquiry with a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-65114781">concerning statement</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re going to have a situation very soon, dare I say it, that white middle class children will be able to swim and the rest won’t. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This raises questions about what the consequences of a decline in access to swimming for young people may be. Broadly speaking, there is the risk to life if children are unable to swim but also an impact on physical health, mental health, and life skills. </p>
<h2>Drowning</h2>
<p>Almost 20% of the England’s population <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2022-0153/CDP-2022-0153.pdf">live</a> in coastal areas. In <a href="https://www.hutton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/publications/hutton_coast_booklet_web.pdf">Scotland</a>, more than 40% of people live near the coast, while in <a href="http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/marine_survey_report_final.pdf">Wales</a>, it’s more than 60%. </p>
<p>Along with the rise in interest in open water swimming in lakes, rivers and the sea, these combined factors means there are safety concerns about the reduction in the number of children who are not competent in the water. </p>
<p>Many academic studies have highlighted that <a href="https://web.s.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=15770354&AN=161251924&h=Hs9w7Cil5%2b0csRsb3oe3%2fdzvfZqjd3rvzMaEkCx3lwtkCWsd9Vy2iqJTxLv1VYL3MbT6kHkA4ok8OXYVq8f1DA%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d15770354%26AN%3d161251924">swimming lessons</a> provide significant protection against drowning. Although, this may seem intuitive, children’s lives are at increased risk in our waters and abroad if the trend towards decreased access to swimming lessons continues.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person wearing red stands next to a yellow surfboard on a beach next to the edge of the sea. Two yellow and red flags fly on a pole next to them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519587/original/file-20230405-16-g0il7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Almost 20% of the UK’s population live in coastal areas according to the Office for National Statistics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/red-yellow-flag-on-beach-lyme-479071357">Savo Ilic/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is now well known that physical activity has a positive impact on <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-813">physical health</a> and can protect against illness and poor health. Engagement in physical activity at a young age can have a significant impact on not only a child’s physical health but also on their health as they move into adolescence and adulthood.</p>
<p>An important issue raised by Swim Wales’ Feaney was the reduction in access for young people in deprived areas. These individuals are already at a <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-association-between-area-based-deprivation-and-Twaits-Alwan/546bab5579e88454c57a129f30be2c0b840fdff6">high risk</a> of obesity. So, removing access to swimming lessons takes away not just a fun activity but a protective factor against early obesity.</p>
<p>Swimming is also a low-impact activity that puts minimal stress on the joints and muscles, making it an ideal form of exercise for children who may be prone to injury or who have limited mobility. At the same time, it’s also a full-body workout that engages all of the major muscle groups and encourages the development of fundamental movement skills.</p>
<h2>Mental health</h2>
<p>Beyond the undeniable impact on physical health, swimming has positive impacts on mental health and general wellbeing. Swimming has been shown to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032717318669?casa_token=DGtImIuTQfEAAAAA:Pvde2ZApHF-RaOU4czB_jkjZ-vQdkyR6DBkWQ89fzEXN5TnnKVSHmPKLZwnvUyDfG3LMeExYsXc">improve depressive symptoms</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814064611?via%3Dihub">reduce anxiety</a>, and protect against mental ill health. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/suffer-the-children/201608/what-we-can-learn-michael-phelps-about-adhd">Michael Phelps,</a> arguably the greatest swimmer of all time, has spoken at length about how swimming enabled him to cope with his ADHD. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A smiling man wearing a gold medal around his neck holds his right hand over his heart." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519545/original/file-20230405-20-ednh6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">American swimmer Michael Phelps won 23 Olympic gold medals during his career.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rio-de-janeiro-brazil-08092016-michael-1856047420">Salty View/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, mental wellbeing is about more than the absence of poor mental health. Swimming can help maintain <a href="https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/88281/benefits-of-swimming-for-young-children">self-esteem</a> and increase confidence. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0031721716647026">It also facilitates the development of a growth mindset</a>, which is the belief that you can develop your skills through hard work.</p>
<p>Swimming from a very young age in parent and baby lessons even has the potential to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00315125221090203?journalCode=pmsb">influence cognitive and motor development</a> in infants.</p>
<p>Engagement in competitive swimming provides young people with transferable skills around discipline, time management, social interaction, teamwork and decision making. And whether for leisure or competitive purposes, swimming has the potential to be a lifelong activity, providing us with some of the very building blocks we need to maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle. </p>
<p>The UK’s swimming governing bodies have now united under a campaign, which aims to “<a href="https://scottishswimming.com/news/save-our-pools/">save our pools</a>”. Indeed, swimming should be viewed as essential for the health of the nation for years to come, and therefore needs to be protected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Howells does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Access to swimming in the UK has been hit by COVID and the cost of living crisis and that has consequences for children and young people.Karen Howells, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2021882023-03-21T20:04:42Z2023-03-21T20:04:42ZHow world sport got into a mess over trans athletes – and how it can get out of it<p>World sport has been convulsed over the past few months – indeed years – by questions about trans athletes, especially trans women, competing in their acquired gender. </p>
<p>Most recently, World Athletics announced <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/64373487">its “preferred option”</a> of a reduced 2.5nmol testosterone limit for trans women to compete, with a final decision due on March 23. </p>
<p>Other sporting bodies have proposed stricter eligibility rules, including Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, <a href="https://www.eurosport.co.uk/triathlon/british-triathlon-creates-open-category-for-transgender-athletes-to-compete-after-fina-swimming-and-_sto9021687/story.shtml">British Triathlon</a> and <a href="https://www.skysports.com/athletics/news/12040/12802213/uk-athletics-urges-government-to-change-legislation-on-transgender-athletes">British Athletics</a>, based on excluding male advantage gained through puberty or “androgenisation” (the process leading to irreversible musculoskeletal and cardiovascular changes at puberty) from female competition. </p>
<p>Like British Athletics, British Triathlon <a href="https://www.eurosport.co.uk/triathlon/british-triathlon-creates-open-category-for-transgender-athletes-to-compete-after-fina-swimming-and-_sto9021687/story.shtml">said it wanted</a> an “open” category for “all individuals including male, [male and female] transgender and those non-binary who were male sex at birth”, while World Aquatics will make trans women athletes ineligible from competing in elite women’s swimming and diving, saying “fairness was non-negotiable”. </p>
<p>Tensions are still very apparent, but there are some signs, with these new policies, of a shift on global policy from one based on testosterone levels to one based on male advantage acquired at puberty. And it is clear that the terrain has been shifting from the terrain of science to the terrain of ethics. </p>
<p>One new development has been a sort of quietening on the scientific front. Although you still get the odd piece trying to make the claim that testosterone suppression can remove male advantage, most of the serious people in the debate have given up on this claim. A <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/15/865.abstract">systematic review of studies</a> showed that, even if hormone therapy reduces levels to those seen in women, strength, lean body mass and muscle area remained higher for at least three years. And we always knew that the skeletal advantages remained.</p>
<p>This has led to an attempt to re-engineer the idea of “fair competition” itself. Some tend to argue that, even though <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-020-01389-3">trans women have residual male advantages</a>, it can still be reasonable for them to compete in the female category: something that proponents are now calling “meaningful competition”.</p>
<h2>Fair competition or ‘meaningful’ competition?</h2>
<p>Setting the new terrain here is the International Olympic Committee, which, following the researchers Joanna Harper and Yannis Pitsiladis, has given its blessing <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Athletes/Medical-Scientific/Consensus-Statements/2023_BJSM-Framework-commentary.pdf">to the twin ideas</a> of “meaningful competition” and “disproportionate advantage” in its policy documents. The general idea is that, if the advantage held by trans women is sufficiently small, so that they won’t win all the time, then it is permissible - and “meaningful” - for them to compete in the female category.</p>
<p>But there are at least three big things wrong with this approach, or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00948705.2023.2167720">so I’ve argued</a>. The first is that what matters about male advantage is not just its size but <em>the kind</em> of advantage it is. </p>
<p>There are two types of advantage in sport: <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2021.1943715?journalCode=tejs20#:%7E:text=In%20sport%2C%20this%20process%20has,the%20basis%20of%20eligibility%20rules.">competition advantages and category advantages</a>. Competition advantages are the sorts of things that we let play out in sport: who is the most skilful, or fastest, or the best tactician? And, yes, sometimes, we are interested in who has the biggest genetic gifts, like the lung capacity of cyclist Miguel Indurain or the wingspan of swimmer Michael Phelps – and what they can do with it.</p>
<p>Category advantages, on the other hand, are those that we control for, through categories. Some of these are between sports – like between e-bikes, motor bikes and road bikes, or between different formulae in motor sport. The more obvious ones are age, weight and sex categories. These categories exclude certain sorts of advantages by definition. If you want to allow these advantages, you must do away with the category itself. You can change how you categorise. We could shift male advantage from being a category advantage, for example, to a competition advantage.</p>
<p>But, since few people want to do away with female sport (at least explicitly), male advantage must be excluded from it. The so-called “Phelps gambit” – the idea that Phelps’ natural body shape gave him “unfair” advantages within his category, and therefore we should accept the male advantages of trans women in the same way – doesn’t work, because we don’t classify for Phelps advantages; they are competition advantages. But male sex advantages are category advantages.</p>
<p>The second big mistake is that the IOC misunderstands fair competition. Fair competition doesn’t mean that no one ever dominates – think Indurain, Phelps, Martina Navratilova, and Usain Bolt. Of course, we could organise a handicap version of every sport to allow, as near as possible, everyone to cross the line at the same time, so that who wins turns out to be arbitrary and at the whim of the handicapper. But our standard understanding of fairness in sport is a matter of processes (a “level playing field”) not outcomes (a “photo-finish”).</p>
<p>The third mistake is about the place of self-identity in categorisation. The IOC’s medical and scientific director, Richard Budgett, has endorsed the slogan “trans women are women”. But you don’t need, for now, to make your mind up on whether the slogan is true or not, because, either way, the logic of the IOC approach is wrong. If the slogan is true, then trans women should be eligible for women’s sport without having to pass any further tests. But if the slogan is false, then it’s difficult to see what motivates testosterone limits and tests, whether 10nmol or 5nmol or 2.5nmol, for two years, or three years or more, because women’s sport should only be for women.</p>
<p>Having looked at the science – and worried about the logic – World Aquatics, World Rugby, British Triathlon and British Athletics have come to more or less the same conclusion. </p>
<p>Everyone should be welcome into sport, of course, and everyone must have a fair category in which to compete. This can be done with a female category – which excludes anyone with male advantage - and an inclusive, open category for anyone who wants to compete in it. With a few details to sort out, this is a solution for almost all athletic sports, which is maximally inclusive and fair to everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Pike is on part of the advisory group for Sex Matters.</span></em></p>Why some now talk about ‘meaningful’ rather than fair competition in elite sport.Jon Pike, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1991662023-02-27T12:05:07Z2023-02-27T12:05:07ZSwimming pools v wild swimming – a germs expert on which is worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511428/original/file-20230221-18-axh3j6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C5464%2C3432&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.alamy.com/wild-or-open-water-women-swimmers-wearing-wetsuits-with-buoyancy-floats-enter-the-firth-of-forth-sea-north-berwick-east-lothian-scotland-uk-image416629506.html?imageid=FCA7E8A4-6ACE-4DCC-94AB-64CDB9B6F5C2&p=373051&pn=1&searchId=bf5dfdc822516e443cf4c25d554e4dd2&searchtype=0"> Sally Anderson/Alamy Stock Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210603-why-wild-swimming-is-britains-new-craze">Wild swimming</a> has grown massively in popularity in recent times. Not only is swimming outdoors a pleasant way to enjoy the sunshine, fresh air and green leafy surroundings, it can also <a href="https://www.swimnow.co.uk/the-psychology-of-swimming/why-do-humans-like-to-swim/">help to</a> relieve stress and elevate our endorphins. This creates a sense of wellbeing as well as burning calories and exercising muscles. </p>
<p>But along with the joys of outdoor swimming come some dangers. Not only are wild swimmers more at risk from tides, currents and swells, there can also be nasty bugs and bacteria lurking in the water. And with <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sewage-in-water-a-growing-public-health-problem">untreated sewage</a> regularly flowing into seas, rivers and lakes across the country, it can be hard to find a safe spot for a paddle.</p>
<p>Of course, swimming in a pool comes with its <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/dotw/rwis/index.html">own set of risks</a>. Urinary tract infections, ear infections and tummy bugs are the most common illnesses caught here. <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/a-grim-amount-of-people-pee-in-the-pool-heres-why-you-shouldnt-63515#:%7E:text=In%20one%20survey%2C%20at%20least,as%20high%20as%2040%20percent.">Dirty pools</a> can also cause your eyes to sting and harbour all sorts of bacteria and germs – including urine, faeces and sweat. In many ways, swimming pools are like a <a href="https://theconversation.com/faeces-urine-and-sweat-just-how-gross-are-hot-tubs-a-microbiologist-explains-198367">big bath</a> filled with lots of strangers.</p>
<p>But while it’s clear that swimming in outdoor waters carries different risks from swimming in a pool, the question of where’s safest to swim may not seem immediately obvious. So where’s cleanest for a dip: swimming pools, or rivers, lakes, canals and the sea? Let’s look at the evidence.</p>
<h2>Toxic waters</h2>
<p>Unlike swimming pools where waters are carefully monitored, outdoor waters are constantly changing in composition. This means that chemicals can leach into wild waters from nearby farms or industrial areas, animals can defecate in water, and in certain areas human sewage may be legally or otherwise dumped into the water (if you can see pipes, do not get in). </p>
<p>There may not be signposts warning of local dangers, and the presence of toxic agents might not be obvious. When in doubt about the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet/swim-healthy#:%7E:text=designated%20bathing%20waters.-,Health%20risks,are%20more%20susceptible%20to%20infection">chemical safety of outdoor waters</a>, it’s better to not enter them. If the water <a href="https://outdoorswimmer.com/featured/wild-swimming-how-to-spot-a-clean-river/">doesn’t look or smell right</a>, trust your instinct.</p>
<p>There are also natural hazards to outdoor waters compared with pools, especially in the summer. <a href="https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/cumbria-and-lancashire/blue-green-algae-in-cumbria-and-lancashire/user_uploads/blue-green-algae-leaflet.pdf">Blue–green algae</a> is a type of bacteria naturally found in lake ecosystems. In warm summers, the algae tends to multiply and form a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/24/it-stinks-lake-windermere-plagued-by-blue-green-algae-as-toxic-as-cobra-venom">powdery green scum</a> (known as a bloom) on the surface of the lake. This blue-green algae bloom can release toxins which are harmful to humans and occasionally <a href="https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/blue-green-algae-and-its-dangers-to-dogs">lethal to pets</a>.<br>
Swimming in or swallowing water containing toxin-releasing algal blooms can lead to skin rashes, eye irritation, severe gastrointestinal upset, fever, and muscle and joint pain.</p>
<h2>Bacteria and viruses</h2>
<p>Diarrhoea is the most common illness linked to open-water swimming, often due to sewage contamination. You become ill if you swallow <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/rwi/diarrheal-illness.html">contaminated water</a>, which can contain bacteria and viruses such as E.coli and Norovirus. </p>
<p>Rats living in sewers adjacent to freshwater rivers or canals can also carry in their urine the bacterial pathogen Leptospira, which causes <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leptospirosis/">Leptospirosis</a> (Weil’s disease). The infection occurs if soil or water from a lake, river or canal that contains urine from infected animals is swallowed, gets in a swimmer’s eyes or a cut. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/faeces-urine-and-sweat-just-how-gross-are-hot-tubs-a-microbiologist-explains-198367">Faeces, urine and sweat – just how gross are hot tubs? A microbiologist explains</a>
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<p>Leptospirosis can cause liver and kidney damage, and may be fatal if left untreated. If you develop flu or jaundice symptoms up to two weeks after swimming in a river or canal, it may be a good idea to ask your doctor for a Leptospirosis test.</p>
<p>As for the sea, <a href="https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/swimming-in-seawater-is-linked-with-an-increased-chance-of-some-illnesses/">a 2018 study</a> found that people swimming in seawater were more likely to experience infections of the ear, nose, throat and gastrointestinal system than those who stayed on the beach. So it’s a good idea to wash after swimming in any outdoor waters, and certainly before eating food.</p>
<h2>The verdict</h2>
<p>When you add it all up, even with the possibility of people peeing and pooping in the pool, a managed swimming pool will always be a safer environment for a swim. Especially when you consider things like jellyfish stings and the additional risks that come with <a href="https://rnli.org/safety/know-the-risks/cold-water-shock">swimming in cold water</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man swimming in pool." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511432/original/file-20230221-18-yofimv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Swimming pools are a safer bet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fit-swimmer-training-swimming-pool-professional-516633376">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compared with a pool, wild swimmers are more likely to become unwell from swimming in outdoor water as there will always be potentially <a href="https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/swimming-in-seawater-is-linked-with-an-increased-chance-of-some-illnesses/">disease-causing microbes present</a>. </p>
<p>Swimming pool water, with adequate chlorine disinfection levels and pH maintenance, is much less likely to contain infectious microorganisms and so represents a much safer environment for recreational swimming. Injuries and drowning are also much less likely in pools where trained <a href="https://www.lifeguardtv.com/why-you-should-swim-near-a-lifeguard/">lifeguards</a> and safety equipment are present.</p>
<p>Perhaps, then, an outdoor managed swimming pool offers the best of both worlds – a swim with the sun on your back in a sanitary environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Primrose Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As well as the joy that comes with swimming, there can also be some dirty risks.Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1985062023-01-29T19:08:28Z2023-01-29T19:08:28ZIt’s hot, and your local river looks enticing. But is too germy for swimming?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506732/original/file-20230127-18-rcv50u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C2594%2C1732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Himbrechts/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Swimming in rivers, creeks and lakes can be a fun way to cool off in summer. But contamination in natural waterways can pose a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6023190/">risk to human health</a>. </p>
<p>Waterborne pathogens can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/rwi.html">cause</a> acute gastrointestinal illnesses such as diarrhea and vomiting. Other common illnesses include skin rashes, respiratory problems, and eye and ear infections.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it can be hard to find out if a waterway in Australia is safe for recreation. By contrast, a comprehensive system in Aotearoa-New Zealand, called <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/swimming/">Can I Swim Here?</a>, provides timely water quality information for 800 beach, river and lake sites.</p>
<p>We have investigated the benefits and barriers associated with opening up waterways for recreation. Unsurprisingly, ensuring a local swimming site is safe is key to getting people using it. That includes giving people access to accurate information about water quality.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="two women jump into waterway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506729/original/file-20230127-14-zug4v0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can be hard to find out if a waterway in Australia is safe for swimming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Himbrechts/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can swimming really make you sick?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/rwi.html">Contaminated water</a> can exist in swimming pools and spas, as well as oceans, lakes, and rivers, exposing humans to a range of pathogens. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/beaches/is-it-safe-to-swim/what-are-the-health-risks-for-swimmers">official advice</a> in New South Wales, common waterborne pathogens include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E.coli) or Enterococci, that live in the intestinal tracts of all warm-blooded animals and can enter water as faecal matter (or poo). They can cause gastroenteritis, skin and ear infections and dysentery</p></li>
<li><p>viruses such as noroviruses and hepatitis. They can cause diarrhoea, vomiting, hepatitis and respiratory disease</p></li>
<li><p>protozoa such as giardia which, once ingested, can live as parasites in humans and animals and cause diarrhoea.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Australian <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/170/12/1469/157126?login=false">research</a> has documented a link between gastroeneritis and people swimming in public pools and freshwater sites such as rivers, lakes and dams. </p>
<p>Other water quality hazards for swimming include toxic <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/water/health-effects-of-blue-green-algae">blue-green algae</a> and exposure to chemical pollutants.</p>
<p>Recent floods in Australia have led to an elevated risk of water contamination. As others have <a href="https://theconversation.com/travelling-around-australia-this-summer-heres-how-to-know-if-the-water-is-safe-to-drink-196294">noted</a>, flood waters can be <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/environmental-information/water/heavy-rainfall-events/how-to-manage-waste-after-a-flood/health-risks-from-flood-waters#:%7E:text=Floodwater%20is%20often%20contaminated%20by,and%20skin%20infections%2C%20and%20rashes">highly polluted</a> with disease-causing organisms, including from sewerage overflows.</p>
<p>So how do swimming locations get contaminated? Pollution can come from untreated sewage, or runoff containing animal poo or fertilisers. The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/50-of-u-s-lakes-and-rivers-are-too-polluted-for-swimming-fishing-drinking">source could be</a> chemicals from nearby industrial activities, or the water users themselves.</p>
<p>Thankfully, most disease outbreaks from swimming are not fatal. An exception is the amoeba <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/naegleria-fowleri.aspx">Naegleria fowleri</a>. It lives in warmer waters and can cause amoebic meningitis, a potentially fatal brain disease.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-stunning-recovery-of-a-heavily-polluted-river-in-the-heart-of-the-blue-mountains-world-heritage-area-176246">The stunning recovery of a heavily polluted river in the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rubbish-strewn water with bird flying above" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506731/original/file-20230127-18-lvaol7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rain and flooding can cause pollutants to run into waterways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Ross/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How safe is your local swimming hole?</h2>
<p>In Australia, guidance on recreational water quality tends to focus on ocean beaches. For example, NSW’s <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/beaches/beachwatch-water-quality-program">Beachwatch</a> program cover more than 200 NSW coastal (and some estuary) beaches. The advice is based on likelihood of rain combined with testing swimming sites for faecal bacteria. </p>
<p>The Victorian government also <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/summer-water-quality/water-quality-across-victoria">provides</a> coastal swimming guidance for 36 beaches in Port Phillip Bay.</p>
<p>But away from the coast, information on the water quality of our local rivers, creeks and lakes, is sparse. </p>
<p>In NSW, advice exists for swimming and boating at <a href="https://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/waste-environment/environment/recreational-water-quality">four sites</a> on the Nepean River in Western Sydney. Information is provided for a recently reopened swimming site at <a href="https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/water-quality-lake-parramatta">Lake Parramatta</a> and for swimming at some <a href="https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/waterquality#recwater">Blue Mountains sites</a>.</p>
<p>In Victoria, the <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/summer-water-quality/yarra-watch">Yarra Watch</a> program monitors four swimming sites in freshwater stretches of the Yarra River, upstream of Melbourne. </p>
<p>And authorities in Canberra <a href="https://www.theswimguide.org/beach/8445">provide</a> regular water quality monitoring and swimming <a href="https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/news/news-and-events-items/water_quality_in_our_lakes_and_ponds#current_advice">advice</a> for lakes and rivers.</p>
<p>But in contrast to Australia, New Zealand provides far more detailed and broad guidance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="people swimming in river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1952%2C7947%2C3534&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506725/original/file-20230127-25-c9kdxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Authorities in Canberra provide regular water quality monitoring and swimming advice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How New Zealand does it</h2>
<p>New Zealand’s world-leading national program <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/swimming/">Can I swim here?</a> enables people to find the best places to swim across 800 beach, river and lake sites across the country. </p>
<p>The advice is provided by <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/about">LAWA</a> (Land, Air, Water Aotearoa), a collaboration between regional councils, the New Zealand government, scientific experts and academics, and a philanthropist organisation.</p>
<p>The data available includes both the latest weekly water quality test results, and results dating back five years.</p>
<p>The guidance also includes an <a href="https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/swimming/">interactive map</a> (see below) where users can zoom to swimming sites in their region.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="map of NewZealand showing red, orange and green dots" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=710&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=710&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=710&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506736/original/file-20230127-11-cprhoa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘Can I swim here?’ site features an interactive map.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">https://www.lawa.org.nz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More work is needed</h2>
<p>Everyone loves to be around, on and in the water, especially during summer. As well as providing a way to cool down, local swimming holes are great places for people to socialise, exercise and engage with nature – especially for those not near a beach.</p>
<p>Governments are recognising the <a href="https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/premiers-priorities/great-public-spaces/open-space/open-spaces-program/places-to-swim">real opportunity</a> to open up underused waterways for recreation across Australia. But for the sake of our communities, more work is needed on improving water quality and sharing information. </p>
<p>Australia has a lot to learn from New Zealand and <a href="https://www.bern.com/en/aare-river/floating-favorite-routes">other countries</a> on how to manage our waterways for recreational use. And ongoing research, partnering with government and industry, is clearly needed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/travelling-around-australia-this-summer-heres-how-to-know-if-the-water-is-safe-to-drink-196294">Travelling around Australia this summer? Here's how to know if the water is safe to drink</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian A Wright has received funding from industry, as well as Commonwealth, NSW and local governments. He formerly worked for Sydney Water Corporation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicky Morrison has received funding from industry, as well as NSW and local governments.</span></em></p>Ensuring a swimming site is safe is key to getting people using it. That means giving people timely information about water quality.Ian A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney UniversityNicky Morrison, Professor of Planning and Director of Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1972492023-01-23T12:26:22Z2023-01-23T12:26:22ZFour reasons swimming should be your next workout<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505087/original/file-20230118-7884-iae5bs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C5760%2C3828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A few swims a week can make a big difference for your fitness.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-man-swimming-pool-387198427">wavebreakmedia/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When most of us think of exercising, images of long runs on the treadmill or picking up heavy weights often come to mind. But although these are both great ways of keeping fit, they aren’t for everyone.</p>
<p>So if you’re someone who’s looking to keep fit but can’t stand the gym, it might be time for you to try something a little different: swimming. Not only is this exercise a fun change from your normal routine, it also comes with a slew of benefits that rival even the most intense gym workouts.</p>
<h2>1. It’s good for cardiorespiratory fitness</h2>
<p>Swimming just a few times a week can be a great way of boosting many aspects of your cardiovascular fitness – which may help to <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/379243">lower your risk of cardiovascular disease</a> and death from any cause. </p>
<p>For example, one study found that swimming 40-50 minutes three times a week for three months was shown to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22770506/">increase aerobic fitness</a>. These improvements to aerobic fitness can also be seen in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7125%5D(https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7125">young children</a> and <a href="https://journals.lww.com/jhypertension/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2006&issue=02000&article=00017&type=Fulltext">older adults</a> who swim regularly, too.</p>
<p>Swimming is also shown to improve cardiovascular health even in people diagnosed with conditions such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23602872/">cardiovascular disease</a> and <a href="https://biomedical-engineering-online.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12938-016-0274-y">stiff arteries</a>.</p>
<h2>2. It builds certain types of strength</h2>
<p>Since water is more dense and viscous than air, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4327375/">it adds resistance to our movements</a>. This would explain why swimming can help to improve many different aspects of strength.</p>
<p>Research shows regular swimmers have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09593985.2011.560239">greater respiratory muscle strength</a> compared to groups undertaking a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9741658/">cycling or running programme</a>. Respiratory muscle strength is the pressure your breathing muscles can generate when you breathe in or out. As such, swimming may be recommended for those with <a href="https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/health-and-wellbeing-benefits-of-swimming/">chronic respiratory disease</a> where respiratory muscle strength needs to be improved or maintained. And, the longer you keep up with swimming, the <a href="http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/Vol4-issue3/D0431820.pdf">more of these strength improvements</a> you’re likely to see.</p>
<p>Aquatic exercise (such as water aerobics) and swimming are great for rehabilitation and can also help <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25522928">improve hip muscle strength</a> in older adults, which may lower their risk of falls. These activities can also <a href="https://www.jrheum.org/content/43/3/666.long">improve grip strength</a> in people with osteoarthritis. Low grip strength is a predictor of increased risk of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0361073X.2020.1716157">functional limitations</a> and of reduced quality of life as we age. Therefore it is important to gain or maintain strength and function now to reduce the impact in later life. </p>
<h2>3. It’s less impactful on the joints</h2>
<p>Compared to land-based activities (such as running or cycling), swimming <a href="https://www.swimming.org/justswim/8-benefits-of-swimming/">reduces weight-bearing stress</a>. This means there’s less compression on joints than there would be exercising on land. This makes swimming a great way to be physically active for people who may otherwise find exercising difficult. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of older woman perform water aerobic in an indoor pool." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505090/original/file-20230118-17-bvppu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Swimming and other water-based exercises are great options for people who may otherwise find exercise difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-senior-women-working-out-foam-1472840882">karelnoppe/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, swimming can be great for people recovering from an injury or illness, with research showing swimming was able to moderately reduce pain and improve physical function in adults who suffered from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003999314002883">musculoskeletal conditions</a> (such as arthritis or joint problems). Swimming can also be beneficial for older adults, with one study showing the physical benefits of swimming could <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/180/8/830/2739186?login=false">reduce risk of falls</a>.</p>
<p>Swimming can also be great for women who are pregnant, especially those who suffer from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S187757561500035X?via%253Dihub">pelvic girdle pain</a>. People who are overweight may also benefit from swimming. Not only is this form of exercise easier on the joints, it may also be just as good as walking for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17119521/">reducing body fat</a>. </p>
<h2>4. It improves mental wellbeing</h2>
<p>There’s strong evidence that being physically active in general can prevent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379713004510">symptoms of depression</a>, and lower the risk of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/effect-of-experimentally-induced-sedentariness-on-mood-and-psychobiological-responses-to-mental-stress/AF5E6CE0506AAF6E349A4B4C9FA3A6FD">developing low mood and anxiety</a>. Exercise may also improve quality of life for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178115307721?via%253Dihub">people with depression</a>. </p>
<p>Swimming itself is associated with a range of <a href="https://www.e-jer.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.12965/jer.130047">benefits for wellbeing</a> – including improved life satisfaction and feeling healthier. It can also <a href="https://www.e-jer.org/journal/view.php?number=2013600179">reduce stress levels</a>. These signs of positive wellbeing may in turn translate to lower odds of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/mental-wellbeing-and-mental-illness-findings-from-the-adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey-for-england-2007/267D71F252D0212007FF03BDCBD972B2">poor mental health</a>. </p>
<h2>Outside the pool</h2>
<p>If you’re already someone who swims regularly, you might be looking for ways to change your routine a bit or try something new. Many people are keen to try outdoor swimming due to its reported benefits to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1649714">wellbeing</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lim2.12">mood</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755296622000345">mental health</a>. </p>
<p>But outdoor swimming can come with many additional risks, so there are a few things you need to bear in mind if you’re planning to give it a try. These include being aware of the way <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1113/EP086283">cold water can affect your body</a>, alongside the location you’re swimming and the hazards associated with swimming in <a href="https://www.ukfrs.com/guidance/search/hydrological-hazards">rivers</a>, <a href="https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/news/risks-playing-and-around-water%2523:%7E:text=there%2520may%2520be%2520hidden%2520debris,are%2520no%2520lifeguards%2520on%2520duty">quarries</a> and the <a href="https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/open-water-swimming%2523section-anchor-link---acclimatise">sea</a>. </p>
<p>There’s also an ideal time of the year to try outdoor swimming. Even in early summer, when the weather tends to be warmer in the UK, outdoor water temperatures are still very cold. In fact, <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-a-cold-water-swim-good-for-you-or-more-likely-to-send-you-to-the-bottom-89513%5D(https://theconversation.com/is-a-cold-water-swim-good-for-you-or-more-likely-to-send-you-to-the-bottom-89513">swimming fatalities</a> are common in late-spring and early summer as people take to the water to cool off. So if you do want to try outdoor swimming, it’s best to wait until late July to early September when water temperatures are at their peak. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/diving-into-cold-water-can-be-deadly-heres-how-to-survive-it-119341">Diving into cold water can be deadly – here's how to survive it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Fortunately, there are also many things you can do on your own to <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/23/1332">reduce the risks</a> posed by cold shock – the body’s initial response to jumping in cold water – such as by training the body ahead of time. </p>
<p>Alongside its many physical and mental health benefits, swimming can also be a fantastic way for people to socialise and get involved in their community. There are many ways to <a href="https://www.swimming.org/learntoswim/">get started with swimming</a>, so look out for opportunities in your neighbourhood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Massey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Swimming is great for both heart health and strength.Heather Massey, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Science & Health, School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1974112023-01-10T04:05:25Z2023-01-10T04:05:25Z‘Drowning for love’ – 5 ways to protect your life while you’re trying to rescue someone in trouble in the water<p>The <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-suffers-worst-christmas-drowning-spate-in-almost-two-decades-20221228-p5c93o.html">news headlines</a> show summer is a deadly period for drowning in Australia. Sadly, between December 1 and January 9, <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/research-and-policy/drowning-research/summer-drowning-toll">35 people died</a> due to drowning. </p>
<p>There are a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-8-deadly-days-of-christmas-how-to-stay-safe-from-drowning-in-australia-this-summer-167440">range of reasons</a> why the season is one of heightened risk for water-related incidents. Our research shows drowning risk is twice as high for children during <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpc.14235">school holidays</a> and similarly increased for adults on <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2313-576X/4/4/42">public holidays</a>. </p>
<p>People may be more likely to visit unfamiliar places and waterways not patrolled by lifeguards. They may seek relief in the water on hot days and consume alcohol while swimming, fishing or boating. Such risks can, and do, lead to tragedy at our beaches, rivers and pools.</p>
<p>Two recent summer tragedies have involved bystanders who have drowned trying to rescue someone from the surf. On January 1, an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-02/off-duty-police-officer-drowns-beach-rescue-son-narooma/101821118">off-duty police officer</a> drowned while rescuing his son who was caught in a rip current at a beach south of Narooma, New South Wales. </p>
<p>Just a few days later, a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/man-drowns-back-beach-forster-nsw-mid-north-coast/101824456">man drowned</a> after trying to rescue his daughter from a rip current at Black Head Beach on the NSW mid-north coast. A nearby surfer was able to bring the girl ashore, but returned to assist her father and found him unresponsive. Both incidents involved rip currents at unpatrolled beaches and bystanders who drowned trying to save a child.</p>
<p>Researchers have a name for this tragic scenario: <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2010.01889.x">Aquatic Victim Instead of Rescuer</a> syndrome or “drowning for love”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-is-the-right-time-for-children-to-learn-to-swim-173144">When is the right time for children to learn to swim?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>One chance, 5 ways to protect yourself</h2>
<p>On average <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/stay-safe-active/in-an-emergency/how-to-carry-out-a-rescue-safely">five people drown</a> while performing a bystander rescue each year in Australia. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.12900">research</a> shows most people who rescue others will perform only one rescue in their lifetime. Their altruism will most likely be directed to family members including young children. Men are more likely to perform a rescue at a coastal location, while women are more likely to save a child struggling in a swimming pool. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="young person underwater swimming" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503713/original/file-20230109-20-1pqg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Men are more likely to rescue a loved one at the beach, while women are more likely to help a child at a swimming pool.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1449710146567-1e282fa41f2f?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=2070&q=80">Unsplash/Tim Marshall</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So what steps can you take to reduce your risk of needing to perform a rescue in the first place? If you do need to perform a rescue – and most parents will want to do anything necessary to save a child – how do you do so safely? </p>
<p>Here are five evidence-based tips to help you avoid danger this summer:</p>
<h2>1. Choose a patrolled beach</h2>
<p>The guidance for beach safety in Australia tells us to “swim between the red and yellow flags”. Unfortunately, few beaches in Australia outside of populated areas are patrolled by <a href="https://lifesaving.com.au/about/what-we-do/lifesavers-lifeguards">lifeguards</a> (who are paid professionals) or lifesavers (volunteers affiliated with community clubs). </p>
<p>Our research also shows people choose to swim at <a href="https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/22/909/2022/nhess-22-909-2022.html">unpatrolled beaches</a> because they are closer to their holiday accommodation or are less busy. Worryingly, many of those we surveyed at unpatrolled beaches were infrequent beachgoers with poor rip current hazard identification skills. Many did not observe safety signage, yet intended to enter the water knowing no lifeguard was present. </p>
<p>If you’re heading to the beach, plan your trip. Consult resources such as <a href="https://beachsafe.org.au/">BeachSafe</a> or download the app to find your nearest patrolled beach. It’s worth the extra 15 minute drive to find one.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Red and yellow flag at beach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503714/original/file-20230110-12-q0phr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Patrolled beaches are much safer for everyone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/red-yellow-warning-sign-flag-600w-379996324.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Understand rips and learn how to spot them</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825216303117">Rip currents</a>, or rips, are strong, narrow offshore flowing currents that exist on many of the world’s beaches. </p>
<p>They begin close to the shoreline and flow offshore to the end of the surf zone (where waves are breaking) and various distances beyond. They are a global phenomenon because they are found on any beach with waves breaking across a surf zone. </p>
<p>Rip currents can be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1075547014543026">notoriously difficult to spot</a> and are often appealing to swimmers due to the calm appearance of the water. They are dangerous because they can sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea.</p>
<p><a href="http://scienceofthesurf.com">Learn how to spot a rip</a> and, if in doubt, swim between the flags or speak to locals who know the safest places to swim. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FNHfWiaxQMY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Author Rob Brander (aka Dr Rip) explains his top 5 best tips for avoiding rips.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Stay calm and make a plan</h2>
<p>In the heat of the moment, it can be hard to think logically. But it’s imperative to take a moment to assess the situation. </p>
<p>There are a <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/stay-safe-active/in-an-emergency/how-to-carry-out-a-rescue-safely">range of rescues</a> you can make without having to enter the water. These include talking to the person in trouble, throwing them something buoyant, wading or rowing to them or reaching out. </p>
<p>If you do need to enter the water, ensure someone else calls for help. </p>
<h2>4. Take a flotation device with you</h2>
<p>Our research shows those who drown while performing a rescue on the coast usually <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0238317">do not take a flotation device</a> with them. </p>
<p>When adrenaline wears off and exhaustion kicks in, or if you need to support the weight of another person, having added buoyancy is vital. If you have a traditional flotation device such as a life jacket or boogie or surfboard, that’s great. If not, the humble esky or cooler, a pool noodle or even an empty soft drink bottle can provide some flotation assistance. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-one-of-the-many-australians-who-never-learned-to-swim-heres-how-to-get-started-173055">Are you one of the many Australians who never learned to swim? Here's how to get started</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. Learn how to perform CPR</h2>
<p>Many people are alive today after almost drowning due to quick and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). First aid and CPR skills can assist someone who has been rescued from the water while you await emergency services. </p>
<p>While any attempt is better than no attempt, <a href="https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr/performing-cpr/hands-only-cpr">hands-only CPR</a> (chest compressions without rescue breaths) is not recommended in a drowning situation, given the importance of oxygen to the drowning victim. Consider enrolling in a <a href="https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/training-development/training-courses/resuscitation-courses">CPR and first-aid course</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-we-swim-in-the-ocean-we-enter-another-animals-home-heres-how-to-keep-us-all-safe-193457">When we swim in the ocean, we enter another animal's home. Here's how to keep us all safe</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s already been a heartbreaking summer for too many families. Heeding these tips may just save a life and ensure you and your loved ones enjoy time at the beach, river or pool safely. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WOOK_jJl7Wg?wmode=transparent&start=11" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Being caught in a rip can be ‘horrific’.</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. She is an honorary Senior Research Fellow with Royal Life Saving Society - Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Brander receives funding from Surf Life Saving Australia and the New South Wales Government Department of Justice via the Water Safety Fund.
</span></em></p>When a loved one is struggling in the water, you might want to rush in to save them. But make sure you stop and think or you could become the one in trouble.Amy Peden, Research fellow, School of Population Health, UNSW SydneyRob Brander, Professor, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1934572023-01-02T19:44:56Z2023-01-02T19:44:56ZWhen we swim in the ocean, we enter another animal’s home. Here’s how to keep us all safe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501731/original/file-20221219-11129-flr0fc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C7%2C5176%2C3453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every summer, many Australians head to the ocean to swim, surf, sail, kayak, and walk along the beach. </p>
<p>But humans are not alone when we use the ocean. Fish, seals, dolphins, sharks, jellyfish, turtles, stingrays, cuttlefish, and birds often swim alongside us. When we enter the ocean we become part of an entangled web of animal relationships.</p>
<p>Encountering animals when we swim and surf in the ocean is fun and exciting. But sharing the water with animals also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2022.2149842">comes with</a> the risk of stings, bites, frights, and injury to us. It can also bring harm to ocean wildlife.</p>
<p>By educating ourselves about marine life, humans can minimise risks to ourselves and the animals who call the ocean home.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CR5S0o8nMhO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>We can frighten animals – and they can scare us</h2>
<p>Despite how vulnerable we feel when swimming, our presence in the ocean can frighten or harm an animal. Animals may see us as a predator and alter their behaviour accordingly.</p>
<p>Fish, birds and small stingrays might swim off, and turtles might delay rising to the ocean’s surface to breathe. </p>
<p>Not all animals are frightened of humans. It’s a highlight when curious dolphins swim and play around us. But dolphins can attack humans or other animals if they <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/tme/2020/00000015/f0020003/art00008">feel threatened</a> - for example when feeding or protecting their young.</p>
<p>Humans can also be scared of animals in the water. This fear drives the use of shark nets off beaches or, less commonly, shark culls.</p>
<p>Shark nets are controversial – not least because they can <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-whales-keep-getting-tangled-in-shark-nets-and-what-should-you-do-if-you-see-it-happen-186468">entangle and kill</a> animals including turtles, non-target sharks, stingrays, and whales. </p>
<p>Even more controversial are shark culls, such as those <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-australias-shark-culls-lack-bite-and-science-21371">planned</a> for Western Australia in 2013 after a spate of fatal shark attacks. The plan was later <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/24/wa-abandons-shark-culling-program-but-reserves-right-to-kill-again">abandoned</a>, after it was criticised as cruel and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/04/wa-shark-cull-condemned-by-global-group-of-marine-scientists">lacking</a> scientific basis.</p>
<p>Killing or harming ocean animals so humans can have fun in the water raises all sorts of <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/asj/vol7/iss1/13/">questions</a> and moral dilemmas. So how else might we keep ourselves safe in the ocean?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shark-nets-are-destructive-and-dont-keep-you-safe-lets-invest-in-lifeguards-127453">Shark nets are destructive and don't keep you safe – let's invest in lifeguards</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hammerhead shark caught in net" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501738/original/file-20221219-20-3cltme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shark nets can kill non-target species, such as this hammerhead shark trapped off the Gold Coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sea Shepherd</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Learn about ocean animals</h2>
<p>Learning about what ocean animals you might encounter – and when – can help keep both people and animals safe.</p>
<p>Some animals are present year-round. But, as whale watchers and fisherman are well aware, many animals are more active in a particular seasons or only appear at certain times of the year. </p>
<p>For example, in cooler months in the waters off northern Australia, <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/manta-ray-manta-birostris/">manta rays</a> are most active. <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/ielapa.702610524429802">Leopard sharks</a>, meanwhile, appear during warmer months in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. </p>
<p>And from November until May or June, a variety of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-31/stinger-season-north-queensland-warning/101597638">marine stingers</a> can be found in the coastal waters of Far North Queensland. These include the potentially lethal box jellyfish. </p>
<p>Informing ourselves means we can take measures to keep safe. For example, people swimming in North Queensland in the warmer months are <a href="https://www.visitcairns.com.au/stingerseasoncairns.htm">advised to</a> swim at netted beaches, and wear wetsuits or stinger suits. Entering the water slowly also gives some marine stingers time to move away.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-avoid-a-bluebottle-sting-heres-how-to-predict-which-beach-theyll-land-on-179947">Want to avoid a bluebottle sting? Here's how to predict which beach they'll land on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="sign depicting person caught by stinger" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501736/original/file-20221219-11243-gy294k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ocean-goers in North Queensland should know when marine stingers are about.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When it comes to sharks, there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/shark-nets-are-destructive-and-dont-keep-you-safe-lets-invest-in-lifeguards-127453">growing calls</a> to adopt non-violent approaches to minimise risks to humans. This could include public education on, for example, links between fish seasons and shark activity. </p>
<p>Educating ourselves about ocean animals also helps us protect them.</p>
<p><a href="https://birdlife.org.au/projects/beach-nesting-birds">Shorebirds</a>, for instance, nest in spring and summer. This is prime beach time for people, too. Shorebird nests are shallow and vulnerable, and birds will often abandon their eggs when humans are around. Dogs and 4WDs pose an even <a href="https://theconversation.com/contested-spaces-saving-nature-when-our-beaches-have-gone-to-the-dogs-72078">bigger threat</a>.</p>
<p>If we know we’re sharing a beach with nesting shorebirds, we can take steps to ensure their safety, such as keeping our dogs on a leash and avoiding using dunes and other common nesting areas.</p>
<p>The annual migration of whales and their calves up and down our coasts is an exciting time to visit the beach and, if you’re lucky, to view a splashy show of breaching or water slapping. </p>
<p>But if you plan to go sailing or kayaking, be aware of rules around interacting with whales. They law states they can approach us, but we <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/marine/publications/australian-national-guidelines-whale-and-dolphin-watching-2017">must not</a> get too close to them.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-birds-stamina-is-remarkable-it-flies-non-stop-for-5-days-from-japan-to-australia-but-now-its-habitat-is-under-threat-165964">This bird's stamina is remarkable: it flies non-stop for 5 days from Japan to Australia, but now its habitat is under threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If you’re not an experienced ocean user, or don’t know about the animals living in a particular place, talk to someone who is informed. </p>
<p>If you use beaches patrolled by surf lifesavers they can give you information about animals that might be present that day, such as sharks or jellyfish. They can also tell you about ocean conditions such as rips, currents and water quality.</p>
<p>If you do suffer a painful bluebottle or jellyfish sting, surf lifesavers may also provide basic <a href="https://beachsafe.org.au/surf-safety/marine-stingers">treatments</a> such as dousing the sting with hot water or vinegar.</p>
<p>If you’re planning to swim or surf at unpatrolled beaches – especially if they’re remote – pack a basic first aid kit including sunscreen, vinegar and instant ice packs.</p>
<p>And remember, enjoying time in the ocean with other poeple is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0193723520928594">safer than</a> swimming alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="boy with boogie board and other swimmers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501764/original/file-20221219-13-4o0pxv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s safer to swim with others than alone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason O'Brien/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ensuring everyone enjoys the encounter</h2>
<p>Despite the risks, most human encounters with animals in the ocean are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-going-for-a-swim-in-the-ocean-can-be-good-for-you-and-for-nature-150281">exciting</a> and positive. </p>
<p>Learning about the kinds of animals you might come across, as well as the best ways to interact with them, will help keep you safe – and make sure its a good experience for the animals too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Olive receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Swimming and surfing in the ocean is fun and invigorating. But sharing the water with animals comes with risks to us and them.Rebecca Olive, Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960452022-12-26T20:51:44Z2022-12-26T20:51:44ZThe earliest humans swam 100,000 years ago, but swimming remains a privileged pastime<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500869/original/file-20221213-18915-uqt6df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=516%2C19%2C5852%2C3298&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Todd Quackenbush/unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of my life’s aims is to swim in as many lakes, rivers, pools and oceans as I possibly can, to use my liberty and swimming skills as freely as I can. I love the feeling of being in a large, fresh body of water, its soft immersive, vast or deep buoyancy. </p>
<p>I’ve swum in a freshwater lagoon near Acapulco in Mexico, with the guide reassuring us there were no crocodiles in the water that day. I’ve swum in a busy London indoor pool noisy with swimmers thrashing about and in Australia’s only <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-morning-thalassa-the-calm-salt-therapy-of-sydneys-womens-pool-171386">women’s pool</a>. I’ve swum in the <em>Weisser See</em> lake on the outskirts of Berlin, the same lake that my grandmother swam in, before fleeing Germany. At Jaffa’s Alma/al-Manshiyah Beach, in Tel Aviv, I’ve looked up from the sea to the Mahmoudiya Mosque’s minaret. </p>
<p>I’ve marvelled at finding myself in waters so far from home. It turns out that my ability to swim makes me part of an elite.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: Shifting Currents: A world history of swimming – Karen Eva Carr (University of Chicago Press)</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Karen Eva Carr opens <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/59249547-shifting-currents">Shifting Currents</a> with the startling information that today worldwide – for all Earth’s many rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds, seas and oceans, to say nothing of built pools, canals and theme parks – the majority of people can’t swim. People might bathe and wash their clothes in rivers and lakes, or undertake ritual ablutions in bathhouses, but the vast majority must keep their feet on the ground. </p>
<p>Yet the earliest humans from over 100,000 years ago taught themselves how to swim, for food and for pleasure. There is a long history of human swimming for utility and leisure, amply recorded in pictures from the earliest cave drawings and folk narratives.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500629/original/file-20221213-1598-moof54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p>This year the OECD <a href="https://www.oecd.org/australia/swimming-skills-around-the-world-0c2c8862-en.htm">reported</a> that only one in four people in low-income countries can swim. Low to <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/352679/majority-worldwide-cannot-swim-women.aspx">middle-income</a> countries report more non-swimmers than swimmers, and a majority of those not able to swim are girls and women. </p>
<p>Access to natural waterways has decreased world-wide through the privatisation of foreshores and beaches, and the building of dams, roads, ports, the development of wetlands, and larger cities. </p>
<p>It takes time to learn to swim, is especially difficult as an adult to learn, and do-or-die – it’s impossible to fake. </p>
<p>It hasn’t always been the case that worldwide most people could not swim, though as Carr’s world history shows, swimming abilities have shifted over time, along with weather patterns and across geographies. People have migrated, conquered, traded, competed and shared stories that celebrated entering the water or warned of its dangers and need for sacred respect. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-morning-thalassa-the-calm-salt-therapy-of-sydneys-womens-pool-171386">Friday essay: morning thalassa – the calm, salt therapy of Sydney's women's pool</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Neanderthals swam</h2>
<p>The earliest humans swam. Neanderthals living in Italy about 100,000 years ago swam confidently. Their ear bones show they suffered from swimmer’s ear from diving 3–4 metres to retrieve clamshells they then shaped into tools.</p>
<p>During the last major <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ice-age-geology">Ice Age</a> of 23,000 years ago, when glaciers reached south to England, northern Germany, Poland and northern Russia, swimming, if it had been present, was abandoned. Over the next tens of thousands of years, people didn’t swim. </p>
<p>Across the continent of Eurasia, people turned to farming wheat and millet for bread, and began to eat less fish, a food that is rich in vitamin D. In order to absorb more sunlight, and produce sufficient vitamin D necessary to good health, these populations developed genetically lighter skin. Some of these lighter skinned white people then migrated south and their descendants, the Greeks, Romans, Scythians and Iranians continued to be non-swimmers right through to the end of the Bronze Age, even in places that had remained warm during the Ice Age.</p>
<p>Thousands more years passed, and <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/179/">then rock paintings at Tassili n’ Ajjer in southern Algeria</a> show depictions of people moving in a horizontal posture with their arms outstretched. Quite possibly they are swimming.</p>
<p>By 8000 BCE, in the Cave of Swimmers in western Egypt, small red figures swim. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cave painting showing swimmers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500872/original/file-20221213-21602-moof54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A painting of swimmers in the Cave of the Swimmers, Wadi Sura, Western Desert, Egypt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another 5000 years pass, and Egyptian hieroglyphic texts and imagery are replete with representations of swimming. Egyptian kings swam, as did poor Egyptians. Many Egyptian girls and women swam, and quite possibly Cleopatra swam. Mark Antony could swim. </p>
<p>Swimming was common throughout the continent of Africa, and stories about swimming for fun and pleasure along with hunting and foraging, are found in many traditional tales. In the Ethiopian story of <a href="https://www.ethiopianfolktales.com/en/oromia/169-two-jealous-wives">“Two Jealous wives”</a>, the twin babies thrown into the river are quickly rescued by swimmers. A humorous West African tale tells of a stingy woman who eagerly jumps into the river to swim after a stray bean. </p>
<p>Overarm is the oldest swimming stroke depicted. In Egyptian, Hittite, and early Greek and Roman images people are shown swimming, alternating their arms and sometimes using a flutter kick with straight legs, the same stroke we’re routinely taught in Australia. Greek and Roman swimmers are not shown putting their faces in the water, and breaststroke is absent from ancient imagery and stories. </p>
<p>Only in Plato’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/phaedrus-9780140449747">Phaedrus</a> is there a mention of backstroke, suggesting that a man “swimming on his back against the current” is behaving foolishly. Sidestroke is used when swimmers need to push canoes or carry something aloft through the water. </p>
<p>Assyrians created possibly the earliest flotation devices, habitually using a <em>mussuk</em> made from goat skin to help them stay afloat in the fast-moving rivers of eastern Syria and norther Iraq.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500883/original/file-20221213-14-e43yrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An ancient Egyptian kohl spoon in the shape of a swimmer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Louvre/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In ancient Eurasia swimming was linked to multiple and opposing myths about racial superiority. When associated with a darker skin colour, populations who swam were especially dehumanised. By the first century BCE for instance, North Chinese writers were racialising swimming, associating Southern Chinese peoples’ familiarity with ocean swimming and eating of fish to their darker skin colour. </p>
<p>North China was part of the northern Eurasian non-swimming “zone”, and for these northern-hemisphere non-swimmers, water was sacred, dangerous, sometimes magical, and not to be polluted by human bodies. </p>
<p>The Greek historian Herodotus remarked that Persians took great care to, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>never urinate or spit into a river, nor even wash their hands in one; nor let other people do it; instead, they greatly revere rivers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Cultural difference expressed through swimming is present throughout the historical narratives as one people observes another and mark themselves as different, depending on how well, or not, the other culture swims. It is also often a marker of class. Wealthier Greek and Roman women sometimes took up swimming. Augustus’ great-granddaughter, Agripper the Younger, was a strong swimmer. When she was stabbed during an assassination attempt on her son, she escaped by swimming across a lake, her attackers unable to follow. </p>
<p>Not all cultures swam in the ancient world. Across Europe and northern Asia, in Mesopotamia (Syria, Iraq and Kuwait) and Southwest Asia, people did not swim, were afraid of the water, and the real and imagined creatures of the seas and lakes. Carr’s history explores the reasons for this non-swimming through a wealth of archaeological, text-based and pictorial sources. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-the-histories-by-herodotus-53748">Guide to the classics: The Histories, by Herodotus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Sexuality and slavery</h2>
<p>Carr shows that it’s not only warm weather that decides whether a community will swim or not, but other cultural and political factors. She describes her history as also a study of whiteness and white culture. The part that swimming plays in world history is not neutral.</p>
<p>Swimming was often associated with sexuality and promiscuity. Ovid, for instance, frequently evokes swimming as an erotic prelude to rape in the Metamorphoses. A medieval tale from Central Asia tells of Alexander the Great and a companion hiding behind a rock to spy on women swimming naked. In many tales and images, the sight of women and girls swimming semi-clothed or naked is linked to shame and titillation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-ovids-metamorphoses-and-reading-rape-65316">Guide to the classics: Ovid's Metamorphoses and reading rape</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500877/original/file-20221213-26-srnvx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">John Reinhard Weguelin, Water Nymph, 1900.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Swimming is closely bound up in the history of patriarchy. Trial by water for suspected witches and the ducking of women and girls as punishment, was practised in Europe for centuries – even up until the 1700s when wealthier Europeans and European-Americans were learning how to swim.</p>
<p>Slavery’s connection to swimming cultures emerges with Muslim slave traders, who associated Central African nakedness with promiscuity and likened the ability to swim to animal behaviour. Across the continents of Africa and the Americas, later medieval and later European explorers also invoked people’s swimming skills as a justification for their enslavement.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, slave-holders expected the African and Native American slaves to swim in the course of their work. Slaves dived to clean ships, served as lifeguards for white swimmers, swam when tracking escaped slaves, and salvaged lost goods from shipwrecks. Enslaved Native Americans worked as pearl divers in the Americas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A drawing of men diving." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500873/original/file-20221213-21-kq7mqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">J. Wesley Van der Voort, Pearl Divers at Work, 1883.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Washington/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Amidst this economic and educational history of inequity worldwide, swimming could be described as the pastime of the elite, and certainly Carr believes it has become so. </p>
<p>Carr’s fascinating history is very well structured, with chapters clearly titled for readers who might want to dip into certain epochs or themes. It is weakest in the modern-day analyses, drawing too-ready conclusions about contemporary situations. (For instance, Carr’s analysis of the reasons for the 2005 Cronulla Riots doesn’t mention the Howard government’s anti-migration stance or Islamophobia post-9/11.) </p>
<p>Australian First Nations and Pacifika histories are also only sketched in. Nevertheless, this ambitious work achieves its aims of being a fascinating and highly informative world history, written for the lay reader with an interest in this rich topic, and beautifully illustrated with mono and colour images, an index and chronology.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-wauba-debar-an-indigenous-swimmer-from-tasmania-who-saved-her-captors-126487">Hidden women of history: Wauba Debar, an Indigenous swimmer from Tasmania who saved her captors</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196045/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Messer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Neanderthals living in Italy swam confidently and In early Egyptian, Greek and Roman images people are shown swimming overarm. But today, only one in four people in low income countries can swim.Jane Messer, Honorary Associate Professor in Creative Writing and Literature, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951032022-12-18T19:17:19Z2022-12-18T19:17:19ZWool swimsuits used to be standard beachwear – is it time to bring them back?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498590/original/file-20221201-16-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5964%2C4266&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of Queensland</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Woollen swimwear, popular a century ago, might soon make a splash on Australian beaches again. </p>
<p>In the 19th century, when natural fibres were the only option, beach-goers donned costumes made of wool or cotton. Swimsuits worn at the water’s edge or in the crashing waves transformed across the 20th century from natural fibres to sleek, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-suits-and-olympic-swimming-a-tale-of-reduced-drag-and-broken-records-7960">high-performance</a> synthetics. </p>
<p>But with concern mounting over <a href="https://theconversation.com/microplastics-are-common-in-homes-across-29-countries-new-research-shows-whos-most-at-risk-189051">microplastics</a> and the search for <a href="https://theconversation.com/brands-are-leaning-on-recycled-clothes-to-meet-sustainability-goals-how-are-they-made-and-why-is-recycling-them-further-so-hard-184406">sustainable options</a>, the woollen swimsuits of the past could be the swimwear of the future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/brands-are-leaning-on-recycled-clothes-to-meet-sustainability-goals-how-are-they-made-and-why-is-recycling-them-further-so-hard-184406">Brands are leaning on 'recycled' clothes to meet sustainability goals. How are they made? And why is recycling them further so hard?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Shifting (and shrinking) swimsuits</h2>
<p>Plenty who enjoyed a day on the sand in the first decades of the 20th century did so fully clothed. It was not uncommon for men to dress for the beach in three-piece suits or for women to wear gowns that fell to their ankles. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Postcard of people at the beach in long white dresses and suits." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498591/original/file-20221201-16-2ireas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At the beginning of the last century, people often went to the beach fully clothed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Museum of Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But women who ventured into the water donned belted, knee-length bathing gowns that featured bloomers to conceal the legs. Men’s two-piece bathing costumes revealed a little more, with a top extending to the thighs paired with shorts to the knees.</p>
<p>In the space of a couple of decades, however, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-erotic-theatre-of-the-pool-edge-a-short-history-of-female-swimwear-127902">swimsuits radically changed</a>. Styles altered as attitudes to the exposure of bodies relaxed, shifting ideas around public morality.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of friends, covered from neck to knee." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498592/original/file-20221201-11-slniix.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Both men and women were modestly dressed for swimming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of Queensland</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 1930s witnessed a rise in topless bathing for men as they adopted <a href="https://collection.maas.museum/object/169110">trunks</a>. Some had half skirts at the front, and many sported belts with buckles to keep them firmly on the waist.</p>
<p>Women’s swimwear now <a href="https://collections.sea.museum/objects/39506/womens-navy-blue-one-piece-bathing-costume-made-by-black-la?ctx=53bce8c5-b108-4d98-a890-b43131efd507&idx=0">revealed the arms, legs and back</a> – then even more when bikinis appeared on Australian beaches in 1950. <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230471345">Shock</a> rippled across the sand. </p>
<p>Swimwear had reached body-baring new dimensions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in shorts and a woman in a bikini." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498594/original/file-20221201-23-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As the decades passed, bathing suits got smaller.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Strizic/State Library of Victoria</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wool on the beach</h2>
<p>Knitted wool – rather than woven wool or cotton – fitted swimwear snugly to the body, helping it shrink in size. </p>
<p>For wearers of Foy & Gibson’s <a href="https://find.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/61SLV_INST/s6pvau/alma9939751966707636">evocatively named</a> wool suits in the late 1920s and early 1930s – “Sunnybeach”, “Sunbath”, “Seafit” and “Siren” among them – this knit offered comfort and freedom. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a one-piece bathing suit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498595/original/file-20221201-26-2il9nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Australian Women’s Weekly provided instructions to knit these bathers in 1938.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trove</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Speedo’s knitted wool trucks in the late 1930s were made to streamline men’s figures, sparking the enticing slogan: “Next to your figure Speedo looks best!”</p>
<p>Those with knitting skills could make their own swimsuits that decade, using <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51593147">instructions</a> like those given in the Australian Women’s Weekly. </p>
<p>With the introduction of “<a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205512328">Lastex</a>” – a rubber yarn – to woollen swimsuits in the 1930s, they transitioned to even more body-hugging fits. These exuded a new kind of glamorous appeal that elevated swimwear to a “<a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191299290">sea-ductive</a>” (as one newspaper columnist quipped) new height.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-erotic-theatre-of-the-pool-edge-a-short-history-of-female-swimwear-127902">The erotic theatre of the pool edge: a short history of female swimwear</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The synthetic swimsuit revolution</h2>
<p>When synthetics burst onto the market, Australians embraced the new “modern” fibres. Wool was also in short supply, prioritised for <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/390930/FitzSimons347083-Published.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y">uniforms</a> and blankets for second world war troops.</p>
<p>Swimwear started to be made in the so-called “miracle” fibres: <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230446990">nylon</a> in the 1940s, then <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47409978">polyester</a> (known as “Terylene” in Australia) in the 1950s. From the 1960s, “<a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47473235">Lycra</a>” (also called elastane and spandex) was blended into swimsuits. These made sleeker, slimmer, more satin-like suits.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498596/original/file-20221201-11-xmkv40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By the 1960s, bathing suits were more streamlined and made with synthetic fibres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">H. Dacre Stubbs/State Library of Victoria</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Neoprene, a foam fabric, first appeared in wetsuits on Australia’s beaches in the late 1950s – increasing the possibilities for <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-751401602">winter surfing</a>. Wetsuits <a href="https://collections.sea.museum/en/objects/152873/mens-neoprene-wetsuit;jsessionid=A23CBF0B508F6F156B535201D34F95B6">improved</a> significantly in decades to follow, keeping their wearer warm by trapping a thin layer of water heated by the body. </p>
<p>In the pool, our Olympic swimmers tested more advanced fabrics. Those at the Sydney Games in 2000 wore the Speedo “<a href="https://collection.maas.museum/object/10057">fastskin</a>”, with its compression fabric and replication of shark skin scales that streamlined the body in the water.</p>
<p>More recently, swimsuits made from recycled plastic – bottles, bags and other plastic waste – have emerged as an eco-friendly option. Some question, however, just how <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/recycled-plastic-swimsuits-arent-as-green-as-you-think">green</a> these recycled swimmers truly are when reducing all plastic consumption is needed to make a difference. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-suits-and-olympic-swimming-a-tale-of-reduced-drag-and-broken-records-7960">'Fast suits' and Olympic swimming: a tale of reduced drag and broken records</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why wool, again?</h2>
<p>We might dismiss woollen swimsuits from the 20th century’s first decades as unpleasant or uncomfortable to wear. Or we might see them as unflattering for the way they sagged <a href="https://costumesociety.org.uk/blog/post/wool-the-unexpected-material-used-in-historical-swimwear">when wet</a>. </p>
<p>But new processes for working with wool suggest it is ideal to wear in the water. New <a href="https://www.woolmark.com/performance/vilebrequin-merino-boardshort/">merino boardshorts</a> have been designed to dry in less than seven minutes. Wool is also thermo-regulating, helping the body maintain an even temperature.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B5145ojHjGJ","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>It’s not just that wool options are increasingly available. As we <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KjX6pRsPI9WPjFW1ANJXz0o4XNyigoCB/view">buy and throw away</a> clothing at alarming rates, some have embraced the natural fibre as a sustainable, renewable alternative to synthetics. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A happy crowd of people on the beach." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498598/original/file-20221201-12-f5aus4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Today’s knitted bathers look quite different to these.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Museums Victoria</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Wool is biodegradable, naturally returning to and nourishing the earth, unlike synthetics that can take <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-03/fast-fashion-greenwashing-claims-sustainability-environment/101602678">centuries</a> to break down. Clothes in artificial fibres linger in landfill, with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-12/fast-fashion-turning-parts-ghana-into-toxic-landfill/100358702">devastating consequences</a>.</p>
<p>Our growing awareness of microplastics – tiny fibres <a href="https://read.aupress.ca/read/plastic-legacies/section/d1ffa415-40ce-4c2c-b553-276f634e469e">released with washing</a> that pollute <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/news-releases/2020/14-million-tonnes-of-microplastics-on-seafloor">marine</a> (and other) environments – is also driving this shift. </p>
<p>So is it time to rethink wearing wool as you head to the beach this summer?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorinda Cramer receives funding from the Australian Research Council, and as Redmond Barry Fellow for the State Library of Victoria's Fellowships Program 2022. </span></em></p>With concern mounting over microplastics and the search for sustainable options, the woollen swimsuits of the past could be the swimwear of the future.Lorinda Cramer, Research Fellow, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1892132022-09-30T12:27:25Z2022-09-30T12:27:25ZSummer swimming season may be over, but you can still get swimmer’s ear – and you don’t even need to go in the water<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487181/original/file-20220928-18493-p69mat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C7%2C5126%2C3410&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Both children and adults are susceptible to the ear infection known as "swimmer's ear."</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/female-swimmer-wearing-a-bathing-cap-and-goggles-royalty-free-image/57434909?adppopup=true">Kay Blaschke/Stock4B-RF via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many forms of ear infections strike children and adults alike, but among the most common is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/18.2.96">acute otitis externa</a>, also known as swimmer’s ear.</p>
<p>About 10% of Americans will <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279353/">experience swimmer’s ear during their lifetimes</a>. Adults are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2019.0224">affected more commonly</a>, and children only rarely, generally ages 5 to 12. </p>
<p>But you <a href="https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2018/august/swimmers-ear#:%7E:">don’t have to be swimming</a> to get swimmer’s ear. Go out jogging or walking, or do yardwork on a hot day, and moisture from perspiration can drip in your ear. However, the occurrence <a href="https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2019.0224">increases fivefold in swimmers</a> – thus the reason the condition came to be called “swimmer’s ear.” It also occurs more frequently in tropical climates because of humidity and higher temperatures. </p>
<p>As doctors who specialize in ear problems, <a href="https://ent.ufl.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/rex-haberman-md/">we are actively involved</a> in <a href="https://ent.ufl.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/thomas-schrepfer-md/">research and clinical treatment</a> for children and adults struggling with ear, nose and throat problems. Practicing in the state of Florida, we’ve certainly seen our share of patients with swimmer’s ear.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iMOmuokyyKw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">If left untreated, swimmer’s ear could cause temporary hearing loss along with bone and cartilage damage.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Causes and symptoms of swimmer’s ear</h2>
<p>Swimmer’s ear is an infection in the external ear canal, the tube leading from the ear opening to the eardrum. Typically, swimmer’s ear occurs only in one ear, and sometimes the eardrum itself is affected. Moisture trapped in the canal leads to a break in the skin barrier and <a href="https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/ears-nose-and-throat/otitis-externa#causes-of-otitis-externa">creates an opening for certain bacteria types</a> to enter or existing ones to overgrow. </p>
<p>One of these culprits is the bacterium <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em>, which is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/pseudomonas.html">present in soil and water</a> throughout the world. These bacteria favor moist areas, such as sinks, toilets, inadequately chlorinated swimming pools and hot tubs, as well as outdated or inactivated antiseptic solutions.</p>
<p>If you have the infection, you’ll know it. Symptoms generally appear a few days after infection. The main symptom of swimmer’s ear <a href="https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/swimmer-ear.html">is severe pain</a> and discomfort.
It’s particularly noticeable when the outer ear is tugged, or by touching the tragus – that’s the small bump at the front of your ear. Other symptoms include itchiness inside the ear, redness, swelling and drainage. A feeling of fullness, or the perception of a plugged ear, may also occur, along with disturbed balance and temporary hearing loss. </p>
<h2>Predisposition to swimmer’s ear</h2>
<p>Numerous factors can <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/swimmers-ear">predispose someone to swimmer’s ear</a>. They include a narrow ear canal, and skin diseases such as eczema or psoriasis. In addition, individuals wearing ear plugs, <a href="https://stvincents.org/about-us/news-press/news-detail?articleid=34511#">ear buds</a> or <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swimmers-ear/symptoms-causes/syc-20351682">hearing aids</a> may be at an increased risk. Diabetics may also be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjoto.2016.04.005">more prone to the infection</a>. </p>
<p>Swimmer’s ear can also come from something getting stuck inside the ear, excessive ear cleaning or contact with chemicals in hair dye or hairspray. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="This illustration, depicting both the outer and inner ear, shows how the infection from swimmer's ear has narrowed the ear canal." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485738/original/file-20220920-11468-awmqty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">An illustration showing inflammation and narrowing of the ear canal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/swimmers-ear-otitis-externa-royalty-free-illustration/1003084366?adppopup=true">ttsz/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<h2>Diagnosis and treatment</h2>
<p>Swimmer’s ear is diagnosed after a health care provider has gathered a thorough history and examined the inside of the ear. The ear canal will typically look red, swollen and moist. There is also a possibility of fluid drainage or the appearance of scaly, shedding skin. Depending on the degree of swelling, the eardrum may be hard to see. A sample of fluid may be removed from the ear and sent to a lab to look for bacteria or fungus.</p>
<p>Eardrops are commonly <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swimmers-ear/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351688#:%7E:">used to treat swimmer’s ear</a>. These drops often contain antibiotics to kill the infection and steroids to stop the swelling.</p>
<p>One such eardrop is <a href="https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-76594/ciprodex-otic-ear/details">Ciprodex</a>. It contains ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic, and dexamethasone, a powerful steroid. Patients will need to place about four to five drops in the infected ear canal twice a day for seven to 10 days. </p>
<p>Another commonly prescribed drop is <a href="https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-63597/floxin-otic-ear/details">Floxin</a>, which contains an antibiotic but not a steroid. It is commonly prescribed in less swollen but still infected ears. </p>
<p>Other drop preparations include <a href="https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-3715-8196/cortisporin-otic-ear/neomycin-polymyxin-hydrocortisone-suspension-otic/details">Cortisporin</a>, which contains a commonly used combination of neomycin and polymyxin B, as well as hydrocortisone. However, neomycin is also damaging to the inner ear, so doctors nowadays often turn to Ciprodex or Floxin.</p>
<p>In some cases, the ear canal is too swollen for drops to reach the infected area, so the physician may place a wick or stent in the ear canal to keep it open. This will usually be left in place for three to five days until removed by the doctor, although occasionally the wick falls out once the swelling subsides. Usually, after 10 days the infection is resolved and the ear canal skin returns to normal. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Don’t try to get the water out with a Q-tip.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Managing a persistent infection</h2>
<p>Sometimes swimmer’s ear may not resolve after seven to 10 days of treatment with eardrops. Oral antibiotics are typically recommended if the infection <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8381-swimmers-ear-otitis-externa">has spread beyond the ear canal</a> or in patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Hospitalization for swimmer’s ear is rarely necessary; however, complications that can occasionally lead to hospitalization include fever, worsening discharge, extensive narrowing of the ear canal or failure of previous treatments.</p>
<p>Among the <a href="https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ear-infection/get-water-out-of-ear">precautions you can take</a> to prevent swimmer’s ear: Keep the ear canal dry. Tip your head to one side to help the water drain. Use a soft towel or cloth, or gently use a hair dryer near it. If the self-cleansing mechanism of the ear canal is impaired, then the ear canal should be cleansed by a physician.</p>
<p>Since most bacteria prefer a <a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/ph-balance-significance-function-associated-conditions-5205825#:%7E:">pH-neutral environment</a>, reducing the pH in the ear canal can prevent bacterial overgrowth. A homemade liquid tincture can be mixed from a solution of half rubbing alcohol and half distilled white vinegar. The alcohol combines with the water in the ear and then evaporates. This removes the water while the acidity of the vinegar keeps bacteria from growing. </p>
<p>Two to three drops are usually sufficient and can be applied as a preventive measure soon after the ear has been exposed to moisture. This liquid solution is not a replacement for medical treatment of an actual ear infection and is meant to be used only in people who are prone to such infections because of prolonged or frequent exposure to moisture. </p>
<p>Also, it is important to differentiate swimmer’s ear from a <a href="https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/otitis-media.html">middle ear infection</a>, the most frequent reason for the use of antibiotics in children under age 5. <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-pediatrician-explains-a-spike-in-ear-infections-this-summer-after-covid-19-restrictions-lifted-166461">Middle ear infections</a> are usually associated with a viral upper respiratory infection, and they are more often seen during fall and winter, when influenza and cold viruses are more prevalent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Perhaps surprisingly, it’s possible to get swimmer’s ear without a dip in the pool, lake or ocean. Two doctors explain what this painful infection is and how to get rid of it.Thomas Schrepfer, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology, University of FloridaRex Haberman, Associate Clinical Professor of Otology and Neurotology, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.