We had a great AGM & Māori Water Safety Mātāpono.
Congratulations to our Water Safety Champion award winners:
Individual Water Safety Champion Award: Danielle Turner & Maree Lloyd
Community Water Safety Champion Award: John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams
Long Service Water Safety Champion Award: Nick Tompkins
Also a Life Membership Award to Jan Taylor.
Please join us for the 25th Annual General Meeting of WaterSafe Auckland Inc., also including a focus on our Māori Water Safety Matapono and our annual Water Safety Champion Awards
When: 1:30pm – 3.00pm, Monday 2nd December 2019.
Where: 85 Westhaven Drive, Westhaven, Auckland.
1.35pm – 2.30pm: Māori Water Safety Matapono
2.30pm – 2.45pm: Annual General Meeting
Agenda
• Welcome.
• Apologies.
• Confirmation of Quorum.
• Confirmation of the Minutes of the 24th AGM held 12 November 2018.
• Presentation and adoption of Chairperson’s Report.
• Presentation and adoption of Annual Report 2019.
• Election of Officers.
• Appointment of Auditor.
• Appointment of Legal Advisor.
• General Business pertinent to the Annual General Meeting.
Each full member (in accordance with Clause 2.1(c)) shall be entitled to designate an individual chosen by that member to represent them and vote on their behalf at the Annual General Meeting.
2.45pm – 3.00pm: Water Safety Champion Awards
3.00pm: Closing and Refreshments
RSVP 22 November 2019 to Samantha Gunther at samantha@dpanz.org.nz
In accordance with Clause 2.1(c) of the Rules, each full member shall be entitled to designate an individual chosen by that member to represent them and vote on their behalf at the Annual General Meeting. Proxy voting forms are available upon request, email samantha@dpanz.org.nz or phone 09 376 5114.
Last night, Drowning Prevention Auckland won the Aquatic Innovation Award for its eLearning platform which is a world first.
The prestigious award was given at the 2019 New Zealand Recreation Aotearoa Aquatic Awards, held in Queenstown. The annual awards recognise outstanding achievements in the aquatics sector nationwide.
DPA Acting General Manager Sandie Gusscott says it is an honour to receive the award for a platform that takes users through a number of scenarios around water safety competence.
Ms Gusscott says although the modular eLearning platform was initially developed for DPA the organisation wants to collaborate with the whole aquatic sector to make water safety education accessible for all New Zealander’s.”
She says the development has been a team effort built on team expertise in conjunction with Queenstown based media company 360NZ.
“The aim of our eLearning platform is to increase the understanding and knowledge of water safety, as well as assist in the development of practical skills, within the community, workplace and school settings.
“Participants can acquaint themselves with competencies before practising in a pool or open water and learners can complete a variety of tasks within each module,” she says.
The tasks have student activities, teaching points and videos that take the viewer through skills step by step. Developmentally appropriate teaching resources also sit alongside the platform to assist in the learning.
Ms Gusscott says it’s important to recognise support from Te Mangai Paho, Lion Foundation and Grassroots Trust because without them the platform would still be an idea.
Drowning Prevention Auckland are excited to get this amazing initiative started and look forward to working with Water Safety New Zealand and other organisations in the aquatic sector to share a collaborative approach to drowning prevention in New Zealand.
The eLearning platform can be found at: https://www.dpanz.org.nz/e-learning/
For further questions, please contact: samantha@dpanz.org.nz
WaterSafe Auckland Inc (trading as Drowning Prevention Auckland) has appointed Nicola Keen-Biggelaar as its Chief Executive.
Drowning Prevention board chair Denise Atkins says Nicola brings business acumen in the commercial and ‘profit for purpose’ sector through her work in corporate social responsibility and general manager roles.
Dr Atkins says Nicola’s experience adds to the powerful work the organisation has underway across many sectors of Auckland’s diverse communities. Drowning Prevention delivers evidence-based water safety education from kai-gathering at coastal locations to water competence basics for youngsters in early childhood education.
“Nicola will continue to foster our partnerships both with funding providers and the Auckland Council – enabling our aquatic educators to continue ensuring the downward trend of our regional drowning statistics”.
Nicola Keen-Biggelaar says she’s looking forward to continuing the organisation’s work reducing the number of drownings in the Auckland region.
“As a region we are surrounded by water and I feel passionate about making sure every child and adult has access to the education they need to be competent and feel confident around water – whether they’re at the local pool, or at one of our many beautiful beaches and to know what the risks are and how to avoid them.”
She says while Auckland drowning statistics of 1.4 per 100,000 people is better than the national average of 1.8 deaths per 100,000, there’s still work to be done.
Ms Keen-Biggelaar says she’s looking forward to working with a team of committed educators running courses in schools, communities and workplaces to ensure no more lives are lost unnecessarily especially as the region heads towards a long and hopefully hot summer.
Nicola Keen Biggelaar begins her new role mid October.
Contact: Sandie Gusscott, Acting GM
T: 09 3060809
E: sandie.gusscott@dpanz.co.nz
What a great mid winter forum. Thank you to all of the presenters for their insightful presentations.
Below is a link to the presentations:
Samantha Gunther
Business Manager
Drowning Prevention Auckland
P: 021 129 2760
E: samantha@dpanz.org.nz
If anyone knows just how important that is, it’s Graham, who survived hours in the water after the boat that he and his son were fishing on capsized last summer in the Firth of Thames.
The Manurewa resident has been boating and fishing in Kawakawa Bay and surrounding areas his whole life and thought he’d pop out for a quick fish with his son David last March.
At about 6:30pm, as they were getting ready to head home, “an unlucky set of circumstances” began in which a wave swamped the boat just as Graham was pulling up anchor, at the same time, the boat turned and slipped onto it’s left side, it was upside down within seconds.
But being safety conscious boaties, Graham and David were wearing lifejackets which they inflated straight away.
With his cellphone now under water, Graham and his son tried righting the boat to no avail and so made the decision to stay with the boat until help arrived.
But as it grew darker and the current stronger, they made the decision to swim to Ponui Island, about 30 minutes away. “If we had stayed with the boat we would have ended up in the Firth of Thames!” Graham says.
At around midnight, after an intimidating and tiring swim, they lay down exhausted on the beach of Ponui Island, it was then they saw the police spotlight searching for them.
“We used our life jacket reflectors to catch their attention, they told us they put the lights out over the water to give us hope.”
While so many incidents like this can turn fatal, Graham and David’s did not due to their strong adherence to safety.
“To all boaties and rock-based fishers, lifejackets will save your life, wear them all the time you are out. What happened to us, happened so quickly there would have been no way I could have got the lifejacket on so you got to put them on the whole time you are out.” Graham says.
Now with his boat fully recovered, Graham is looking forward to heading out onto the water this summer. He’s not been deterred by his experience but has since purchased stabilisers for his boat and personal locator beacon.
One fine Sunday morning in November 2021, the family were at their home in Flat Bush. In a bid to stop her teenage sons from sleeping in all day, Radjeep accepted an invitation from a friend to join them for a walk in the Waitākere Ranges.
After the walk, Rajdeep, her husband Gurdeep, sons Manveer and Puneet, along with their friends, headed to Karekare Beach to rest and relax on the beach.
Despite it being early evening, and after the lifeguard patrol had finished, the boys decided to go for a quick swim. After some initial reluctance, Gurdeep decided to join them to keep an eye on his sons.
Both Rajdeep and Gurdeep grew up in India and had only swum in swimming pools. They were not very experienced with Auckland’s West Coast beaches. Radjeep describes her husband as “fit and strong” and her boys as “healthy and active”, both being involved in local football teams and swimming at North Shore and East Auckland beaches.
Not long after the boys, Manveer and Puneet, entered the water, they were caught in a rip and found themselves unable to touch the ground. Their dad swam out to assist but found himself in trouble too.
Fortunately, Shalema Wanden-Hannay, an off-duty lifeguard, spotted the family in trouble. By the time she was able to reach them, she found Gurdeep unconscious in the water and the two boys were encouraging each other to stay calm and stay above the water. Shalema was joined by fellow Karekare lifeguards and together managed to get the family back to the beach where they administered CPR. The boys were checked and monitored by St Johns Ambulance staff and Gurdeep was flown to Auckland Hospital by the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter in a critical condition.
Gurdeep would spend ten days in hospital with a lung infection.
Once Radjeep arrived at the hospital, she recalls “Gurdeep was asking me about his boys, were they safe? It was the most important question to him. He asked me, have the boys drowned? I said no, he didn’t believe me. Police brought the boys to him, he didn’t believe me until he saw them in front of him,”
The whole family is full of praise for the Karekare lifeguards, police, St Johns Ambulance and rescue staff who helped on the day. They received counselling afterwards but it has still been a long road to recovery. Puneet was initially hesitant to return to the water but both boys have now been back to the beach helped in part by the water safety lessons Manveer took with the Karekare lifeguards. They are now actively promoting water safety within their Sikh community.
Rajdeep explained “We had never been taught about beach safety, rips and things like that. I would just say, swim between the flags, a lot of people go into the water after the flags have gone down and I want to educate them not to do that.”
~ Rajdeep Kaur, November 2021
Family friend Diane Lee remembers Changho as a laughing, friendly young man who was well-liked by the other students. He spent Christmas with Diane and her family where he excitedly told her of his parents upcoming visit to New Zealand and his plans to return to Korea soon after.
After Christmas, Changho visited Auckland with friends then returned to Hamilton on December 27th. On their return trip, he and his friends stopped at a swimming spot on Cambridge’s Lake Karapiro called Keeleys Landing. It is believed Changho jumped into the water with his friends, despite being unable to swim.
Diane still vividly remembers that night. “It was almost dark….it was raining… I got a phone call….. it was from New Zealand police. My heart broke and I did not know what to do. I still can’t forget the dizzying feeling of that night, Roger had left us just like that.”
In the days that followed, Changho’s parents arrived and police searched frantically for his body. Diane and his parents were present when he was found and they were able to gently transport him home to Korea.
Changho’s death left so many questions for his New Zealand friends. “He hated water so much, why did he jump from that high diving point? Did he make the mistake of thinking he was a good swimmer like his friends? Was he trying to blend into the surrounding atmosphere even with his unfamiliar knowledge of the water?” Diane wonders.
For many years Diane returned to Keeley’s Landing every Christmas to remember Changho and throw flowers into the water.
“Even now, New Zealand’s waters have swallowed up more young Koreans, I earnestly pray there will be no more sad news. I pray for that,” she says.
During a moment of distraction, Andy did not see Neko, then six years old, follow an older child into the deeper end of the pool. Suddenly, Neko was going under the water with his arms above his head, desperately trying to push off the bottom of the pool with his feet.
“I rushed to him so fast and beat the lifeguard who was closer to him,” Andy says.
The incident had a significant and long lasting impact on Neko and his attitude to water.
“It was really traumatic for while,” Andy explains. “He had been confident before but afterwards that confidence was gone. He would not go back in the water, in a pool or at the beach or even fishing. We went from going to the pools almost every weekend to not going at all.”
“I was really worried about it because I wanted him to enjoy water, especially as he got older, and I didn’t want him to miss out on doing things in the water with his friends.”
Six years later, Neko’s grandfather came across Drowning Prevention Auckland’s SPLASH holiday programme and Neko, with much hesitation, signed up at West Wave Pools this past April.
The Year Eight Rangeview Intermediate student loved the water competency course, learning a range of different water survival skills such as propulsion through the water, safe entry and exits, survival strokes and lifejacket use.
“The staff and the environment was so positive for him” Andy says. “No one talked down to him, they taught him on his level and made him feel more confident. They were able to push him and encourage him at his level. I wish I had done this course sooner”
Neko was named Most Improved Student at the end of the course and his dad has already noticed the impact of this. “He feels like he can now go in the deep end and not drown, he is so much more confident. Taking him to SPLASH is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my child.”
Neko is now a keen soccer player, representing Auckland at various age groups, but after the SPLASH programme he’s now feeling ready to swap the football field for the odd trip to the beach with his dad again this summer
