Bondi Rescue’s Hoppo Launches Summer Water Safety Campaign at Ascot Vale Leisure Centre
Guests and fans alike at Ascot Vale Leisure Centre have been treated to a special visit from none other than Bondi Rescue lifeguard Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins as he shared an important water safety message to Ascot Vale locals ahead of summer.
Hoppo has again teamed up with Australia’s leading swim school, GOswim, to lead one of the nation’s biggest water safety campaigns. Building on last year’s award-winning success, the Float to Survive with Goswim campaign is back, teaching Australians the essential skills to stay afloat in an emergency.
Hoppo demonstrated his five-step survival technique to a range of locals, reinforcing that drowning can happen to anyone, regardless of their swimming ability.
The campaign responds to alarming new data from Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia, revealing there were 52 drowning deaths in Vic in the past year, an 8% increase on the 10-year average. Most victims were male (71%) and 75+ years was recorded as the biggest age group of drowning deaths. The report also revealed that regional residents are 1.5 x more likely to drown than metropolitan residents.
After Hoppo’s Ascot Vale visit, this initiative will continue to make waves across the country, aiming to equip 60,000 GOswim students with the skills to stay afloat in emergency aquatic situations, and inform many more of the need to have this essential skill.
“I’m stoked to have partnered with GOswim to reach tens of thousands of students with this lifesaving message, which is relevant to anyone, in any aquatic situation; whether it is in the surf, creek, river, lake or swimming pool,” Hoppo commented.
“In the lead up to summer, this is a water safety skill that is non-negotiable, and I’m excited to get out and about across the country to spread this message to help Aussies learn how to stay safe in the water.”
Alex Watt, VIC Area Manager at Belgravia Leisure’s MOVE Moonee Valley, says the return of the campaign couldn’t be more timely.
“While it’s disheartening to see the Vic drowning statistics heading in the wrong direction (37% of fatalities over the last 10 years involved people from multicultural backgrounds), it’s also an urgent wake-up call. I’m proud that the MOVE Moonee Valley community has had the opportunity to learn from Hoppo today, and hopefully this message will save lives this summer.”
For the first two weeks of December, more than 250,000 GOswim lessons across nearly 80 locations will begin with five minutes of float training, based on Hoppo’s five-step Float to Survive strategy:
- Keep your head and mouth above water
- Control your breathing
- Spread your arms and legs for balance
- Use a circular motion to maintain buoyancy
- Signal for help
The campaign was recently recognised by the Australian Swim Schools Association (ASSA), winning Gold for Marketing and Communications in Victoria and earning national commendation for boosting children’s water safety knowledge and confidence in open water by 20%.
GOswim is one of Australia’s leading swimming programs, delivering more than 2.8 million lessons annually to over 62,500 members.
Watch our coverage of the event here: https://youtu.be/jaP06UFBRiA
