HEADS UP

like thousands of others these experts have completed the Red Cross life-saving course now qualified water safety instructors being well tremors they know their limitations they know when where and how long to swim they know that hazards are ever-present so they play safe and always swim in pairs your first lesson in safety should always be know where you swim treacherous currents often sweep a bay there beyond his death water weak constant threats to even the best swimmers rocky and uneven bottoms present unexpected dangers bathing under the supervision of trained lifeguards is always the safest policy they know the currents the hazards and will always warn you should you venture into danger if you are a non swimmer waiting into what seems to be a safe spot always feel your way carefully if despite your caution you step into a hole keep cool and instead of fighting in a vertical position squirm around and get your feet up instinctively as you try to scramble to safety you will let your feet down but if you find that the water is still over your head proceed to bounce ultimately getting air at the surface and bouncing until you reach a spot where you can stand when foot cramps strike fill your lungs with air and go under squeeze and knead the foot with both hands until the cramp loosens up it is equally simple to get rid of a cramp in the cab stretch the muscle by turning up the foot and squeeze and knead the calf until it loosens up then change your swimming stroke and swim to safety don't fight a current if you're tired or feel you haven't the strength a trained swimmer calmly and steadily takes the line of least resistance he swims with the current even though it may bring him some distance from his objective it's the old story of the longest way Rome is the safest way home if you should suddenly find yourself plunged into water some distance from safety get rid of your outer clothes keep calm fill your lungs with air and get under your shoes come off first don't be panicky about not coming up again your natural buoyancy will take care of that come up for air whenever you feel it's necessary then go down and finish the job don't attempt to tread water breathe and disrobe all at the same time do everything in its regular order you will find it easy to swim to safety when your disrobe simple isn't it if you unexpectedly find yourself tangled in weeds or eelgrass don't fight and try to yank yourself out gently but deliberately shake your arms and legs free if there's a current let it help untangle the weeds once you feed yourself free you come up naturally reaching rescues are easy but be sure to drop down prone so you can reach out much further and won't be caught off balance and pulled overboard even expert lifesavers make their rescues from shore whenever possible when a swimmer is in difficulties close to the shore or near the dock don't jump in use a board a pole or an or whatever happens to be handy to help you make the rescue as long as the victims are conscious they'll grab at anything in reach to use the ring boy step on the rope just above the lemon holding the coil loosely in one hand with a pendulum swing of the arm he the ring buoy out beyond the victim then draw it to his reach and as soon as he has a good hold of it bring him in hand over hand to safety if you are a nun swimmer trying to help another weight out as far as possible and then push a floating object to the victim by holding the board the victim keeps his head out of the water as he kicks his way to safety always be careful not to go beyond your depth or let the victim grab you if you are a strong swimmer but have had no life-saving training always approach the victim from behind grab him by the hair keep your towing arm rigid so he can't grab you place save and the grim tragedy of a double drowning will be avoided life-saving is a science and even the strongest swimmers need training if you possess five simple qualifications you can take the Red Cross life-saving course you should be able to make a long shallow dive it's the fastest way to get into known waters and get underway quickly to prove that you have endurance as well as swimming ability you should swim at least a quarter of a mile or if a junior 220 yards using a crawl or any of the strokes that you know in life-saving the ability to swim on the back with the legs alone is often necessary to prove that you can hold your position in the water you should be able to tread water for a reasonable length of time you should be able to do a surface dive and swim underwater if you can do these five simple things reasonably well you are invited to join a Red Cross life-saving class classes in life-saving are conducted throughout the year by experts both outdoors and in pools the red course has so well organized these courses that swimmers who meet the entry requirements can become volunteer lifesavers with only 20 hours of instruction little time indeed to spin and learning how to take care of yourself in the water and who saved the lives of others over 100,000 volunteers complete these courses each year some to continue with instructors training courses in Red Cross aquatic schools colleges and universities they become the instructors of the new thousands of volunteers who annually join the ranks when you graduate you will become one of the proud wearers of the Red Cross life-saving emblem a Good Samaritan of the waters in swimming you were taught to keep your head submerged but in your life-saving instruction you will find that heads up is the rule no matter what stroke you use you will learn to change from the sidestroke and swim with one arm only using the shallow arm pool leaving the other arm free your instructor will show you how to change over to the inverted scissors which is merely the side stroke kick turned upside down swimming with the feet alone leaves both hands-free continuing with the inverted scissors you learn to add the shallow armful with one hand leaving the other free the shallow arm pole can be used on either side the ability to stop and reverse your direction quickly is important in life-saving it's easy just bring your knees off and kick out into reverse in executing the quick reverse you back water with one hand at the same time folding up and extending the feet forward into kicking position then off in the opposite direction your instructor will teach you the most practical way of getting underwater quickly a quick lift and you're under to make a quick surface dive without changing stroke bend at the hips circling the hands and bringing them forward in front of the head the weight of your upturned legs will push you down and you continue down further by swimming then head up you ascend to the surface when you reach this stage in your course you will learn to oppose the victim from behind whenever possible using the quick reverse seize the victims chin and level him off with his face clear of the water sometimes you must approach the victim from the front a quick surface dive and as you come up turn your victim around and level him off by the chin in this underwater approach a quick surface dive takes you below the victims knees reversing your direction you take him by the legs and turn him don't lift him up then coming up behind reach over the victims shoulder and level him off by seizing his chin when there's no time for a surface dive make a quick reverse reach out and grab an outstretched arm pull and twist the victim around and you have him under control by using a quick surface dive you follow the victim down grab him on the chin and level him off as you swim up to the surface if accidentally you find yourself too close to the victim use the block and parry to avoid being caught with the block and parry you hold the victim off with a rigid arm then catch him just above the elbow and heave it up and across turning him around safely behind the victim level him off hand on chin a more skillful method the pivot Perry avoids the victims grass completely to execute the pivot Perry sees the victims arm duck and roll under it then coming up from behind pick up his chin and you have him under control you Aliza's you unexpectedly how to push his body up and away from you releasing your own head and how to turn the victim on his back and seize his chin to bring him up girls to conserve by pitting calm against panic skill against force though the victim outweighs you by many pounds you can release the hold bring him to the surface and level him off in this method of the front head hole release keep your chin down to avoid being choked and submerged with the victim by using pressure against the side of the victims face and lifting his arms you free yourself and put the victim under control your instructor will show you how to use leverage on the lower arm to loosen the rear head hold and slip out behind the victim you will learn to apply the leverage of your leg against the victims shoulder to break the wrist grip and turn the victim around you will be taught that when an untrained swimmer gets into trouble trying to make a rescue you should use the strength of your leg to separate them by pushing one man and pulling the other you can break both grips saving the first victim and permitting the well-intentioned rescuer to save himself having mastered the releases you will then learn the carries when the rescue involves a tired swimmer or a cooperative victim get him into a face-up floating position with his feet separated have him places hands on your shoulders keeping his arms rigid pushing him before you using a slow easy breaststroke level the victim off with one hand under his chin with the other get a firm grip on his hair and hold him at arm's length so there's no interference with your stroke this is the most practical long-distance carry or when the victim is unconscious or semi-conscious the best control carry for violent drowning victims is the cross chest carry you should be careful not to choke the victim with a forearm the inverted scissors and the shallow arm pole can be used for the trip to safety the head carry is most generally used in rougher water get a firm grip on each side of the head tilting it back to keep the victims face out of the water holding him off take a half seated position then use the inverted scissors to bring him to safety distances are covered quickly with a pedal board by using the double over arm stroke keep your eyes on the victim paddling alongside grab his arm and pull him across the board holding onto the victims arm slip off the other side and turn the board rolling the victim on barrel fashion mounting in a jiffy straighten the victim out and turn him around with a rotary foot motion lying prone behind him thus you have seen life saving in water safety as taught by the American Red Cross remember each situation calls for its own treatment [Music] judgements speed is the formula for saving lives and above all never forget the golden rule of all professional lifesavers that is play safe use life-saving devices whenever possible if the experts believe in playing safe you should too [Music]