Friday, June 19, 2009

Paddle Sport Safety

As a Dragon Boat coach, safety considerations should never be far from your thoughts. Given the many aspect of water safety and the importance of addressing each properly, we urge you to seek professional preparation in each applicable category. The following summaries will make you aware of some common safety concerns for Dragon Boating.

Safety hierarchy

As a coach you should be aware of two main areas of safety; team safety and individual safety. It is your responsibility to educate your team about individual safety and supervise proper team safety.

It is very important that you respect individual safety and do not expect team members to lower their safety standards to be on the team. In setting your safety standards, remember that you must adhere to the standards established by the greater community in which we live.

A simple hierarchy of safety exists, where the minimum standards are those set by the level(s) above. The highest level of safety always resides with the individual.
  1. Canadian Coast Guard

  2. Canadian National Sport Organization for DB

  3. Provincial or Regional Sport Organization for DB

  4. Club or facility

  5. Coach

  6. Team

  7. Individual

Environmental Conditions

It is important that you keep an eye on the weather and know both local forecasts before your practice and marine forecasts where applicable. These are available from Environment Canada or your respective government agency over the internet, or by phone. Be especially vigilant of wind and wave warnings, electrical storms and below freezing temperatures.

Under environmental safety you can include proper clothing for the ambient and perceived temperature, as well as education and support of the use of sunscreens.

In some areas this includes tides and current.

Water and Boating Safety

As one of the individuals responsible for the safety of your crew, you must be aware of maritime law for your waterways. The Safe Boating Guide (a free handbook) is a valuable resource for general reference, particularly when the practice site involves either commercial or recreational waterways as each have numerous regulations and guidelines for safe boating. Please consult the Canadian Coast Guard in your region for more information 1-800-267-6687 or check their website at www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca.

An excellent preparatory course for Dragon Boat steers people and coaches is the Canadian Coast Guard Pleasure Craft Operators Certification. If there are no Canadian Coast Guard safe boating resources in your area, other options are available on line or through the local Red Cross or Life Saving Society.

Regulations and procedures are an important guide, but nothing replaces common sense and a degree of reasonable caution in certain situations.

It can never be stressed enough how important a personal flotation device (PFD) is on a Dragon Boat. This essential piece of safety equipment is required in the boat by law for each person in the boat, paddlers, drummer, steersperson and coach. In winter paddling conditions and for non swimmers, the PFD should be worn at all times.

One easily overlooked Dragon Boat operation safety issue is the presence of a qualified steersperson at all times. Each crew should have a number of qualified steers people who can step in to steer as needed. Some clubs in the Vancouver area are requesting that steers people pass basic steering proficiency tests before they are allowed to steer in competitions or under certain environmental conditions or in certain training areas.

First Aid

It is important that Dragon Boat coaches have some knowledge of first aid. Good courses to consider are the St John’s Ambulance Basic or Emergency First Aid, and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). All of these should be available at locally through municipal programs, aquatics programs, community centers and private groups.

Water

The most obvious risk associated with water is drowning and thus the need to respect the PFD regulations with common sense modifying each individual’s approach based on swimming ability, temperature, visibility, etc.

It is also important for coaches to be aware of the risks associated with exposure to untreated water. Potential problems range from rashes to infection of wounds (both old and new). At all times, paddlers should be encouraged to practice good personal hygiene and wash both themselves ands their paddling gear as soon after paddling as reasonable.

In fresh water paddling venues, paddlers should never be allowed to drink from the water upon which they paddle as there are many water borne parasites and other complications associated with such action. Even if the water is perceived as clean the risks are too great. These risk also extends to personal water bottles that are left in the water slopping around in the bottom of the boat. Keeping the drinking spout of the bottle isolated from potential contaminants is very important. In team sports an excellent rule of thumb is never to share water bottles as one sick team member can rapidly infect an entire team.

Injuries

Injuries among paddlers will happen; there is no question about that. Whether it is a blister or a bruise or a broken bone, obtaining proper treatment is important.

As a coach you will be approached by paddlers who have an ache or pain and are concerned about it. Newer paddlers will be concerned as the feeling is foreign to them and they are unsure if this is normal or not.

With common injuries, a first aid course will often suffice, however sporting injuries are not easy to diagnose. As such, do not hesitate to recommend that the injured paddler seek medical advice.

Do not try to be the team physician, unless you are qualified to do so of course.

Some common injury sites in paddlers are the following;

  • Fingers

  • Wrists

  • Elbows

  • Shoulders
  • Back

  • Neck

  • Hips

  • Knees

If your paddlers complain about recurring pain in any of these areas, please refer them to their family physician as soon as possible.

It is also a good idea for newer paddlers, or those who have been sedentary for an extended period of time to get a physical examination and clearance from their family doctor to begin an exercise program.

Team Emergency Procedures

It is important for the coach to develop safety procedures for a variety of scenarios. These procedures should be familiar to the crew and known very well by key safety personnel such as the coach, drummer, steers person and team captain.

Sample Emergency Procedures that should be devised for your practice venue and resources are;

  • Medical emergency,

  • Equipment malfunction or boat damage,

  • Swamped or capsized boat,

  • Paddler overboard,

  • Other boat in distress,

  • Commercial traffic or sail boat threat,

  • Hazardous Weather: thunderstorm, high winds, hail, etc.

We will post EAPs submitted to this site for all to share.

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