Three people tragically drowned in the ACT in the past financial year, while three Canberrans died in incidents interstate, according to a new report.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Also within the ACT, there were no pool drownings and none involving children, especially in the vulnerable age group of zero to four years.
The Royal Life Saving national drowning report found the drownings within the ACT borders represented a 25 per cent reduction on the previous year but a 50 per cent increase on the 10-year average.
The drownings in the ACT occurred at Lake Ginninderra, Casuarina Sands and another unspecified river location. All victims were adult men.
The three interstate drownings of Canberrans happened at Moruya, Port Macquarie and another on the South Coast. At least two of them involved Canberra children.
Royal Life Saving ACT chief executive officer Cherry Bailey said the organisation was committed to pursuing no deaths by drowning.
"While we are pleased to have seen a reduction in drownings for the year, we are still cognisant of the fact three lives were tragically lost [in the ACT] and we are still working towards zero drownings in the nation's capital," Ms Bailey said.
A separate national coastal safety report found there were 173 coastal deaths across Australia in 2017-18, and 110 of those were drowning deaths.
There were 52 coastal drowning deaths during the 2017-18 summer, from December to February, making it the worst summer for drownings since 2004.
The report also recognised there were 10,249 rescues conducted around the country by Surf Life Saving volunteers.
The majority of coastal and ocean drowning deaths occurred while swimming or wading, boating, snorkelling or rock fishing.
The report also found 45 per cent of adults say they are unable to swim or are weak swimmers in the ocean.
Ms Bailey was heartened by the zero drownings in pools in the ACT.
"We'd like to think it is due to all the work we've been doing in public education," she said.
The ACT government's Backyard Lifeguard program, which emphasised the importance of safety and supervision in backyard pools, was entering its third season.
Canberra professional lifeguard Sam Murphy is paid to patrol public pools in Canberra. He says there is one major frustration for all lifeguards.
"The biggest one is that parents expect us to look after their children. The lifeguards aren't babysitters," he said.
"If children are under five years, they need to be within arm's reach of an adult. But every child needs to be supervised. We've got a lot of people to look after, not just your child."
The Royal Life Saving ACT’s Swim 4 Life course also taught children how to swim and stay safe around various
aquatic environments.
Practical sessions are held over two weeks at local pools in Canberra, as well as an outdoor session at Lake Ginninderra or Pine Island.
Children who have missed out on formal swimming lessons are nominated by local non-profit community
groups to participate in Swim 4 Life, a free program.
This year, 370 children from around Canberra participated in the Swim 4 Life program, including six-year-old Ethan Wise, of Conder.
His mother, Amanda, said Ethan's swimming skills developed rapidly through the program and she was more confident letting him wade or paddle, with supervision, at the coast this summer.
"He's constantly asking to go to the beach so I feel like he is more equipped for that than before the program,'' she said.
