Riddington's swim Safety lesson

Former ironman champion Craig Riddington is offering free swimming lessons to counteract Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) current ocean safety 'rip campaign' which urges people caught in rips to swim parallel to the beach.

However, Riddington believes that swimming against a rip can lead to rapid exhaustion and possible death. He believes that anyone caught in a rip should relax and go with the flow until it peters out or it leaves them safely on a sandbank. To reinforce this message, Riddington has been running free surf safety class at North Steyne Surf Life Saving Club in NSW.

SLSA's campaign has drawn criticism since it was launched last November.

SLSA National Director of Lifesaving Peter George said being able to identify a rip and how to survive being caught in one is critical to reducing drownings at beaches.

But the Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguards Association said its advice would lead to even more fatalities.

APOLA spokesman John Andrews described the campaign as ridiculous because it encouraged weak swimmers to waste energy.

Riddington agrees, stating "people generally try to swim back the way they came, so they swim against the rip ... and if someone starts swimming against the rip, they just waste energy.

"90% of rips go back on to a sandbank, so a swimmer in a rip will soon be on a sandbank."

Riddington is keen to discover the details of the tragedy at South Ballina last month, when a mother and father drowned while trying to save their two children, who survived.

"Why the kids survived would help surf education", he said, adding "I think the kids got taken to a sandbank but the parents swam away from it.

"If people know how the ocean works, they should never drown in the surf."

The debate on this continues on our interactive/letters page and at our 'Issues in the Leisure Industry' Forum at http://leisuremanagement.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general

Image shows dye being used to demonstrate a rip.

21st January 2010 - PROFESSIONAL LIFEGUARDS REJECT ‘FLAWED’ SLSA RIP CAMPAIGN