Safe Swimming

To prevent injuries during practice and meets, swimmers should:

• Get a sports physical before starting any new sport.
• Always warm up and stretch before swimming.
• Take time off from training if they feel shoulder, neck, or other pain. They can try a different stroke or do something else out of the pool to stay in shape. Swimmers can go back to their regular stroke after the pain is gone.
• Wear water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or greater for outdoor practices and meets.
• Check that the pool is deep enough before diving.
• Know the plan for emergencies.

To help prevent overuse injuries (also called repetitive stress injuries, or RSIs), swimmers should:

• Build up extra swimming time or distances slowly.
• Learn and use proper techniques.
• Do other sports that strengthen different muscles, especially core (abdomen) muscles.

Private Swimming Pool Rules

If you own a private swimming pool, you also have to be careful because it only takes a few moments for a child or non-swimmer to drown.

Therefore, the following security measures should also be observed at a private swimming pool:

1) As a pool owner, you should be trained in CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).

2) Never let children swim without supervision, even for a moment.

3) As described above, do not allow children to dive from the wall or diving board without proper supervision. Do not allow them to dive from the shallow end, either.

Diving from other structures is also dangerous and should be prohibited.

4) When a private swimming pool is not in use, it should be properly covered and fenced.

Additional Tips

Your swimming pool builder/manufacturer has to deal with pool safety regularly and should, therefore, also be able to give you good advice on how to keep your pool safe.