Aquatics Introduces new drowning prevention technology
We are excited to introduce our newest technology at the Clearfield Aquatic & Fitness Center, the WAVE System. All swimmers 12 and under will be required to wear them while swimming in our facility starting May 1st. This includes during swimming lessons (except for parent/child groups since the baby is in the parent’s arms).
The WAVE system relies on lightweight, comfortable headsets worn by swimmers. The headsets communicate wirelessly with the system twice every second and enable WAVE to accurately determine how long the swimmer has been under water. If submerged for longer than 20+ seconds, wearables (such as bracelets) worn by lifeguards will begin to vibrate to make them aware that a swimmer may be in trouble. Alerting lifeguards within this time dramatically decreases the chances of drowning and makes the city’s pools safer.
Drowning is the #1 cause of accidental injury-related death for children five and under and is the #2 cause for ages 5-14. “Safety is our top priority, and we are doing our best to make sure nothing like this ever happens in Clearfield. WAVE technology will help keep every child safe in our facility,” said Clint Warnick, Director of the Clearfield Aquatic & Fitness Center.
We are very excited about this technology and understand that you may have questions, comments, or concerns. The WAVE website has a lot of information about what the system is, how it works, and frequently asked questions. https://www.wavedds.com/parents.
HOW WAVE WORKS
WAVE operates in the background while lifeguards watch over swimmers, just as they always do. The system monitors swimmers in real time and accurately determines how long each swimmer’s face is fully submerged and therefore unable to breathe. If any swimmer has been underwater for a dangerous period of time, WAVE immediately alerts the aquatic staff so they can investigate and quickly intervene if needed.
MEET THE WEARABLES
Each swimmer is provided with a wearable. They have a choice of either a comfortable headset called a Tracker, or a simple pair of clips that attach to most styles of goggles.
Trackers are very easy and comfortable to wear. They’ve been tested on 1000s of swimmers and most forget that they’re wearing them after just a few minutes. After use, your swimmers simply return their wearables to the storage tower where they got them from.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
For WAVE to be truly effective, it’s very important that you make sure your swimmers use wearables while in the water. You can help them understand that WAVE is there to make swimming as safe as it can be. They’ll follow your lead and will quickly discover that using the wearables will become as ordinary as wearing a helmet while riding a bike. With your support, WAVE will make your swimmers’ time in the water as enjoyable as it’s always been, but much safer.
WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?
We are very excited about this technology and understand that you may have questions, comments, or concerns. The WAVE website has a lot of information about what the system is, how it works https://www.wavedds.com/parents. We also have a frequently asked questions sheet that is specific to the Clearfield City Aquatic & Fitness Center. Click the button below to get some of your questions answered.
WHAT IF MY CHILD NEEDS AN ACCOMMODATION?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against individuals based upon a disability or perceived disability and reasonable accommodations will be provided to qualified persons with disabilities. As such, aquatic staff will do the following when a request for accommodation is made:
1) Recommend to the parent or guardian of the child 12 years of age or younger on the day of the requested accommodation that they attempt using the headset technology.
2) Direct the parent or guardian of the child on the day of the requested accommodation to complete the “Clearfield City Visitors/Participants Request for Disability Accommodation Form.”
3) Instruct the parent or guardian that if the accommodation is approved, it will include: (1) the child wearing a wrist band or other type of visual notification to lifeguards that an accommodation has been granted, (2) a parent or guardian will be required to be in the water within an arm’s length of the child receiving the accommodation, and (3) the parent or guardian will be required to sign a “Liability Release for Non-use of WAVE Drowning Detection System.
This is fine. But no way in hell my toddler is keeping this on. Guess I’ll be finding another facility to frequent so we can enjoy our time and not have to argue with my child about keeping a device on. I hate this is a requirement. Should definitely be optional.
Hi Krista, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. We would ask you first to give the device a try before writing them off. Does your child buckle his or her seatbelt or wear a helmet when riding bikes? This device serves the same purpose, yet statistically swimming carries with a much greater risk of serious injury or death.
WAVE has tested their wearables on thousands of swimmers and have learned that most kids who are reluctant to wear Trackers or Goggle Clips quickly discover that after only a few minutes wearing one is no big deal. Wearing one might feel odd at first, but when they jump in and start swimming, the children that have tested the devices are fine and have a great time without thinking about it.
The correlation between seat belts and drowning makes no sense.
I can see my daughter swimming in a pool of clear water.
I can’t stop a drunk driver, a person running stoplights, or drivers being reckless.
Let us as parents take care of our own children, I’ll sign a waiver. It’s frustrating, my daughter really loved swimming at the pool. But know we will just go else where.
Thanks for your comment, Matthew. We acquired the WAVE technology to assist our lifeguards with keeping everyone safe in our facility.
Agree it should be optional. Parents should be able to make the call of if this is necessary or not.
So for Children with ASD, who don’t like things on their heads or will not wear these. What is your protocol? Will be visiting and although happy to try, pretty certain this is not going to happen. Also, to compare this to your child wearing a seat belt in the previous comment, that’s a pretty big stretch as they have devices to ensure that a child will not take a seat belt off 🙂
Our goal is to try and find a solution. We will be offering a variety of devices to make sure children will have something comfortable that suits them. We will first ask the family and child to give the different device types a try! We will also work with you on wearing it in different ways. After testing out the different types of devices and ways to wear them, we will re-evaluate and work with the family one-on-one.
The age should be not 12 because 11 and 12 year olds mostly know how to swim so they should put the age restriction to ten
Hi Caitlin, thanks for sharing your thoughts. We selected the age 12 due to the fact that drowning is the second leading cause of death for children up to that age. Even if an individual knows how to swim, they are still at risk of drowning. Check out what the CDC posted here: https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/facts/index.html
I feel like the age should be lower
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your thoughts. We selected the age 12 due to the fact that drowning is the second leading cause of death for children up to that age.
I feel like the age should be 10 and under not twelve
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your thoughts. We selected the age 12 due to the fact that drowning is the second leading cause of death for children up to that age.
I brought my 5 year a few weeks ago and found about about the head band. The device made my daughter feel very uncomfortable and gave her a bad headache. With this forced policy we will not be back. This policy should not be mandatory.
Thanks for your comment, Matthew. We’re sorry to hear your experience was negative. We received several versions of the WAVE wearables to accommodate as many people as we can, which include the head band, clip-ons to attach goggles, and a lighter weight version similar to a hair band. We’d love to have you back to try these options, or to explore additional opportunities.
I brought my 5 year daughter a couple weeks ago and found out about the device she had to wear on her head.
The device made my daughter feel very uncomfortable and gave her a headache. I as her parent would not want the device on my head.
We will not be back until the forced compliance is removed.
Thanks for your comment, Matthew. We’re sorry to hear your experience was negative. We received several versions of the WAVE wearables to accommodate as many people as we can, which include the head band, clip-ons to attach goggles, and a lighter weight version similar to a hair band. We’d love to have you back to try these options, or to explore additional opportunities.
If one is accidently damaged is the pool patron responsible for paying for it when it was not our choice to have the child use it?
Hi Tina, if one is accidentally damaged the patron will not be charged.
It is completely inappropriate to compare these things to seat belts and bike helmets. Seat belts and helmets are rigorously crash tested, required to meet safety standards, and actually provide physical protection. These things are not regulated, there is no evidence that they prevent drowning in pools, and they do nothing to physically prevent drowning. The appropriate comparison to seat belts and helmets are coast guard approved life jackets, which also must meet safety standards and actually prevent drownings. Please stop making that comparison- it is misinformation.
Also, while drownings are one of the leading causes of accidental deaths for US kids, drownings that occur in a lifeguarded public pool are very very rare. Most drowning deaths happen in backyard pools, bathtubs, and natural waters. I worry that these devices will actually cause lifeguards to subconsciously pay less attention to the water and more attention to the alerts. I worry that they might actually cause a drowning accident, though I sincerely hope I’m wrong. If you’re going to require a drowning prevention device, it really should at least be approved by some sort of regulating body and required to meet safety standards. And actually provide protection against drowning.
If the city insists on keeping (and mandating) these devices, please consider offering some kind of “swim test” where kids who demonstrate sufficient swimming ability can not be required to wear them. Lots of community pools across the country swim test all their kids before giving them full access to the pool, which has done wonders in preventing drowning in community pools. Perhaps instead of spending thousands of $$$ on “antidrowning” devices that don’t prevent drowning, we could look at what other pools have done to successfully make their pools safer.
Hi Laura, sorry it took us a minute to see this comment. Thanks for your patience and commenting your thoughts on the devices. We will pass these suggestions on to the Aquatics Center for consideration.
We wanted to let you know our lifeguard’s thoughts about the devices. Most guards want to detect any potential event before WAVE does. We have found that most guards feel less stress and pressure when WAVE is supporting their efforts to provide a safe swimming environment. We believe that having less stress means a healthier work environment which equates to more effective lifeguarding. Our guards are still required to scan the pool every 10 seconds at their station, and we still have multiple guards stationed at each pool even with the added safety feature of WAVE.
Just wanted to be positive! Thank you for trying something new to keep our children safe. I watch my child like a hawk in the water and still love this idea. I have a hard time understanding why so many parents are against something that is only going to add another level of protection. Thanks Clearfield.
Hi Amanda, thanks so much for your kind comment. We implemented this to keep our pools even more safe, so we are glad to hear you like the idea!
My kids are very sensitive to cell phone, Bluetooth and other low signals; they used this devices last time they was in the pool and finished with a headache all the night, next time they can use this in his neck?
I dunno why that need to be mandatory if you has enough lifeguards; and additional to they, parents.
Hi Victor. Sorry to hear the WAVE Drowning Prevention tech was causing problems for your kids. Next time you go swimming, we’d recommend asking the front desk about our exemption form. If there’s any existing medical conditions preventing your kids from wearing the headsets, completing the form’s requirements will allow your children to be exempt from wearing the headsets.