Blacktown City Council to showcase its pool safety record

Blacktown City Council is showcasing its commitment and innovative approach to water safety this week as part of the 2015 World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP) taking place in Penang, Malaysia,

Joining other leading experts from around the world and representing Blacktown City Council at the annual conference will be Blacktown Venue Management Chief Operations Manager, Nichole Edsall.

Edsall was invited to present on the initiatives Blacktown City Council has employed to support water safety and education including the installation of Australia’s first and only computer aided drowning detection system, Poseidon at Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope.

Blacktown City Mayor Stephen Bali explained “with an alarming 271 people drowning in Australian waterways between July 2014 and June 2015, according to the Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2015, the need for knowledge in survival swimming, water safety and basic rescue is vital.”

Launched at Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope in 2007, Poseidon integrates state-of-the-art technologies in computer vision and aquatic image processing, using a network of cameras above and below the water surface and specialised software that analyses the activity of all swimmers in the pool.

The system can alert lifeguards via an audible alarm and a visual display when a swimmer is motionless or having trouble beneath the surface in as little as 10 seconds. It also identifies the exact location of the swimmer in the pool, saving precious seconds in a rescue situation.

Not a replacement for lifeguards or parental supervision, Poseidon is another way to support the lifeguards who supervise the pool. The system has helped detect 8 near drowning rescue situations at the Centre since its installation at the Leisure Centre.

Mayor Bali added “although we have fantastic systems such as the Poseidon in place and highly qualified staff at our leisure and aquatics facilities, it remains the responsibility of parents to actively supervise their children when enjoying our facilities. It is only through education and supervision we can hope to reduce these statistics.”

The World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP2015) is being held from 4th to 6th November.

Image: Blacktown Venue Management Chief Operations Manager, Nichole Edsall, with the Poseidon system at Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope.

Click here to contact Maytronics, Poseidon's Australasian distributor, via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory. 

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