Shallow Water Blackout Prevention has partnered with the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps and the Michael Phelps Foundation to release a PSA
The Redwoods Group, an insurance provider to more than half of all of the YMCA's in the U.S., has made their online training program about shallow water blackout available to everyone free-of-charge. We encourage you to take 10 minutes to review this course. It will be 10 minutes well spent and could save a life.
Pictured below is Lieutenant, Christopher Frederick, M.D, who is currently training to become an Undersea Medical Officer for the United States Navy. Chris sent this picture and informed us that all of the Navy's aquatic training facilities have this sign prominently displayed and stated that they rigorously enforce this policy.
Thank you Chris for your service to our country and thank you to the
United States Navy for recognizing the potential hazards
associated with prolonged breath-holding.
Olivia Jackson
Olivia Jackson will be joining her brother, Benjy Jackson, as co-ambassador in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She along with her family witnessed attempts to retrieve and revive our Executive Director’s son after a shallow water blackout.
Olivia is a high school student at American Heritage in Plantation Florida. She enjoys time with her friends and family living the Florida lifestyle. Her weekends are spent outdoors; boating, tubing and fishing. Her summers are spent in the Bahamas and at camp in Northern Canada where she is working on her Red Cross water certification.
We welcome Olivia to our team of national Ambassadors and sincerely appreciate their efforts to educate and raise awareness about Shallow Water Blackout and how to prevent it. You are all saving lives
Our Newport Beach, California Ambassador, Nick Thompson (right) and his helper Mitch Harvey, recently participated in Mater Dei High School’s Club Fair to attract students to the newly formed "Shallow Water Blackout Awareness Club.” Located in Santa Ana, CA, Mater Dei High School is one of the largest Catholic high schools in the United States. The school offers an extensive Club Program to meet the interests of all its students and there are over 60 active clubs offering everything from learning origami to competing in the Mock Trial competition.
Thanks to Nick and Mitch its newest Club, the Shallow Water Blackout Awareness Club, will greatly enhance our efforts to educate and raise awareness about the causes and prevention of Shallow Water Blackout. Most importantly they are helping us save lives.
Congratulations to Nick, Mitch and our Newport Beach Ambassador Coordinator, Karen Curreri, on your extraordinary efforts and a job well done!
Karen Curreri’s son, former USC swimmer Joe Curreri, died on October 26, 2007, in an accidental drowning incident as a result of a shallow water blackout. He was 27.
As our Newport Beach, CA Ambassador and Ambassador Mentor Karen spent Saturday, September 23, spreading Shallow Water Blackout Awareness. She attended Water Polo Tournaments at Corona Del Mar High School and Newport Harbor High School in which many teams were participating. She met with many parents, coaches, and spoke to some of the local newspaper reporters while distributing many of our posters and fliers while she raised awareness about Shallow Water Blackout.
Thank you Karen. Your efforts are saving lives while honoring your son Joe.
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Clarion Safety Systems, a leading designer and manufacturer of safety signs and safety labels, is renewing its partnership with Shallow Water Blackout Prevention (SWBP), aiding the organization’s efforts to save lives through drowning prevention efforts. “With SWBP, we’ve found a like-minded organization who shares Clarion’s passion for keeping people safe from harm. We’re proud to be collaborating for increased water safety,” says Derek Eversdyke, Director of Facility Safety Products at Clarion. “We both understand that education and safety signage work hand in hand to save lives.”
Clarion Safety Systems will donate $5.00 to SWBP for every SWBP sign sold. To view/purchase signs, click here.
About Clarion’s Pool Safety Sign System: Clarion pool safety sign systems are available for purchase directly from Clarion’s online pool safety catalog, as well as from leading commercial pool suppliers, including Recreonics, Lincoln Equipment, and Water Safety Products. Signs are offered in English, Spanish, and bilingual English/Spanish. They are customizable in over 30 different languages and in various sizes and finishes to meet location and climate-based considerations. Additional information on pool safety and the importance of effective pool safety signage is available on the Clarion website.
About Clarion Safety Systems: Clarion Safety Systems is the leading designer and manufacturer of visual safety solutions that help customers in more than 180 industries worldwide to make their products and premises safer. Clarion offers a full range of standard and custom products including machinery safety labels, environmental and facility safety signs, pipe and valve identification markings, lockout/tagout products, and safety grade photoluminescent egress path-marking escape systems. Founded in 1990, Clarion is headquartered at 190 Old Milford Road in Milford, PA, 18337, and online at www.clarionsafety.com.
We are pleased to announce that Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed a proclamation stating that May 31st is Shallow Water Blackout Prevention Awareness Day.
We would like to thank Governor Deal and his staff for their faithful service to the great state of Georgia, and for their concern about the safety and well being of its citizens.
Official Proclamation
We wish to encourage all of our friends and followers to take a moment today and share information about the dangers of SWB with your friends and loved ones. The only way to save lives from more senseless tragedies due to SWB is through education and prevention.
Editor's Note: This week we received an email from a mother whose 13-year-old son experienced a shallow water blackout while their family was vacationing in Orlando, Florida. This story shows how SWB can happen to an adolescent even while under responsible adult supervision. We applaud young Clayton for his alertness and rescue of his best friend, Reagan. Thank you, Teresa, for sharing your story and helping to raise awareness of the dangers of shallow water blackout. Lives will be saved!
Clayton (Left) and Reagan (Right)
"We went to Orlando with our 13 year old son Reagan and brought along a family friend, Clayton, who is the same age in March of this year. These boys have been close friends since first grade and get along fabulously. I don’t think they’ve ever fought. We rented a house with a pool and hit the parks for a few days. The last day we spent at the house relaxing.
When we first got to the house and the boys jumped in the pool, we told them 'Hey, no crazy jumping. No ER trips this weekend.' Saturday they were swimming pretty much the majority of the day either in the pool or the hot tub. With or without goggles.
Around 7:30 pm, the boys were in the pool and thankfully my husband Ron and I were also on the patio. At 13 years old and healthy kids, used to being in swimming pools their entire life, it wouldn’t be unknown for us to walk away briefly. Take the dogs for a walk, fix food in the kitchen etc. We were watching our tablets for a delayed rocket launch at Cape Canaveral while the boys swam.
Reagan was taking his turn swimming underwater seeing how far he could go. He hadn’t gone nearly as far as he normally does when Clayton noticed his body language change. Instead of thinking it was a joke, Clayton swam to Reagan and pulled off his face mask goggles. He could tell Reagan was dead weight and making an odd sound. He started swimming holding Reagan’s head above water towards the edge. When Clayton came up for air he yelled for us and caught our attention. By then he had Reagan at the edge of the pool and we pulled him out. Reagan was still unconscious. I don’t know how many seconds passed, felt like at least 30, before he came to. He didn’t cough up any water. He was just confused what was going on. Last thing he remembered was swimming underwater and knowing he needed to go up for air. He had fainted before he could come up for air.
He was completely fine and responding to everything normally. After consulting a relative who works in the ER, we determined we didn’t need to take him in. But were still very concerned wondering why this happened. Needless to say, I slept right next to him that night!
We let his older sisters know what happened. They were also shaken up by the close call. Our oldest daughter started looking up what could have caused Reagan to faint. She found information about your organization. After reading the information, it was very obvious that Reagan’s situation fit the Shallow Water Blackout description exactly.
We were SO FORTUNATE. Clayton was a hero that day for how quickly he reacted. We had a lot of discussions that night and the next day about the importance of Never play-drowning. Swimming with a buddy. Keeping an eye on your friends. CPR techniques and many other things.
I thank God every day that we have our boy and things did not turn out tragically as easy as they could have. I feel compelled to somehow warn other families. Thank you so much for your organization and efforts to raise awareness. Living in SW Florida (Cape Coral, FL), we have a lot of interaction with pools and water. Hopefully we can help raise awareness also."
Shallow Water Blackout Prevention is pleased to announce the kick-off of its new Ambassador Program. This Program is designed for volunteers who have a desire to help raise awareness about Shallow Water Blackout and our organization around the country. We provide the materials for them to distribute within their community and serve as a resource to answer any questions raised by those with whom they connect. If you would like to learn more about becoming an Ambassador, please contact us at: admin@shallowwaterblackoutprevention.org
Benjy lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and will turn sixteen in September. During a meeting with Benjy and his parents and grandparents, who were deeply involved in attempting to revive our Executive Director’s son after a Shallow Water Blackout, he asked if he could become involved with our cause. This became the impetus for creating the Ambassador Program. As part of his Community Service requirement for High School graduation Benjy will be distributing our informational / educational materials to local SCUBA and Dive Shops and other water-related entities within his community. He will also be making his contacts aware of our organization. Raising awareness about SWB will be his mission. Fort Lauderdale, located in Broward county ranks number one in the US for unintentional drownings where SWB is often associated.
Benjy enjoys fishing with his father, spending the summers with his grandparents in the Bahamas and boating; he received his Boaters License when he was fourteen. He loves music, plays the drums and according to his mother he just cannot get enough of being outside. We look forward to working with Benjy.
