Recreation Aotearoa is urging parents and caregivers to actively supervise their children in swimming pools after an increase in drowning deaths last year.

Sarah Murray, Recreation Aotearoa Chief Executive said, “July 25 is World Drowning Prevention Day. As managers of the Poolsafe® Quality Management Scheme, we’re committed to helping educate New Zealanders on supervision in pools – whether that’s a public lifeguarded pool or a private pool.”

Data shared by Water Safety New Zealand in their annual Drowning Report revealed an 11% increase in drowning deaths in 2023 against the ten-year average. Out of 90 drowning deaths in New Zealand, 11 occurred in pools.

“These statistics are alarming. Over summer, we ran a campaign to educate pool goers on the importance of active supervision. Active supervision means being able to see your child, hear your child and being able to give immediate assistance. It’s important we continue to share this message, even outside of the busy summer months,” Sarah said.

The National Pool Alone Policy states that, as a minimum, children under eight must be actively supervised by a caregiver aged 16 or over, at all times. The caregiver must be providing constant active supervision of the children. This means being able to see and hear the children and provide immediate assistance when needed. Some pools may have enhanced guidelines, which require the caregiver to be in the water with children under 5 years. They may also have a higher minimum supervision age such as 10 or 12 years. Check with your local pool to determine supervision guidelines.

New Zealand has over 200 public pools. 157 of these pools are Poolsafe® accredited. Poolsafe® is a programme managed by Recreation Aotearoa, which involves peer-to-peer assessment of public lifeguard pools to ensure they meet best practice standards.

“New Zealand lifeguards work hard to keep our tamariki safe. Regardless of whether the pool has a lifeguard or not, we as caregivers, are responsible for providing 100% supervision, 100% of the time,” Sarah said.

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