Last summer there were a few people in Dryden who lost their lives in Wabigoon Lake.
The drownings sparked immediate conversation between Matt Taylor and another resident of Dryden. Matt was a guest this week on the CKDR Morning Show.
“A good friend named Derek Ouellette sort of came to me after this and said, what are we going to do? After shedding a few tears, of course, but what are we going to do about helping our community with what’s just transpired? How do we coach, train, teach people about the water?”
As many know, Matt has a lot of experience in the water having instructed many youngsters for over a decade in Dryden.
“Well, not only the fact that I’m Australian and we have a lot to do with water, but 14, 15 years as a competitive swim coach here in Dryden with the Dryden Dolphins.”
The early conversations last summer sparked the eventual development of the ‘Water Wise’ program.
“The design of Water Wise wasn’t actually to teach swimming lessons. It’s actually to bring people’s awareness around the water. We were chatting for the water aspect of it. We were chatting about what would it be like to be stuck in the water when you’re not supposed to be there? Or if you’re sitting on the shoreline or the riverbank looking at somebody in the water thinking, can I do something? And then the other aspect of it would be to give some knowledge and some skill about maybe some first aid stuff coming out of the water as well.”
Water Wise in Dryden is now ready to be rolled out. Matt says the program is for the youngsters in the area.
“So we’re, you know, from the 8 to 10 year old to into the teens, you know, they’re the type of people that we’re focusing on. You know, you’re out on your bike on a sunny afternoon and you just happen to be going by the water or you happen to be in the water. What skills and wisdom can I learn about the water is basically what we want to come up with.”
Those signing up for the Water Wise program will have several learning sessions.
“So we’re looking at Sundays, May 3rd, May 10th, May 24th and May 31st. The full session runs from 9am to 12pm. That whole time will be broken up into three sessions. 9 to 10 o’clock will be in the pool with say, if we’re hoping for 30, we’re going to put 15 people in the pool to do a pool session. And then we’re going to take a break for a little bit and have some snacks. And then also while that other first group of people are in the pool, the other group is going to be upstairs with Derek learning about some basic first aid stuff. At the moment, I think we’re sitting at around 19 to 20 participants. There’s a little bit more room, but yeah, I’d get in early. This is something that I think our community can benefit from, especially, you know, those that spend time around the water. You can email for more information and to sign up: waterwisedryden@hotmail.com. And you can also contact Derek, 807-220-4559.”
Matt also pointed out that the Water Wise program is free for participants!
“We’ve been able to snag some sponsors for the pool. Thank you Northwestern Ontario Health Medical that are sponsors, McKinstry Chrysler, and also the Red Lake Miners have dropped some coin in to help fund these four sessions.”
Final thoughts from Matt….
“We’re not teaching people how to swim and we’re not teaching them to be lifesavers. These are just opportunities to learn some wisdom about the water and hoping nobody really has to jump in to save anybody and also hoping that nobody finds themselves in the water without the tools to be able to save themselves. They’re the things that are really important in this whole time. No swim lessons, no lifesaving lessons, just some wisdom about how to interact with the water.”
The first session for Water Wise happens this Sunday, May 3rd.
