Hoppers Crossing Aquatic Leisure Centre, AquaPulse, have been awarded the ‘Best Solution to an Identified Aquatic Health and Safety Issue’ as part of the National Aquatic Industry Safety Awards.
The awards are an initiative of the National Aquatic Industry Safety Committee to acknowledge the achievements of aquatic facilities and individuals towards improving health and safety outcomes within their communities.
Craig Roberts, National Manager Aquatic Industry, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia said ,“By celebrating the excellent work being done by individuals and organisations, our goal is to motivate people within the industry to increase the level of safety for their community, cultivating an environment where health and safety initiatives are continually being reviewed and developed.”
“AquaPulse were recognised for their innovation of multilingual communications and water safety initiatives inclusive of their diverse community.”
When the centre first opened in Hoppers Crossing, they were expecting around 900 registrations for learn to swim programs. They were overwhelmed with more than 3,000 registrations on the first day of operation. AquaPulse identified the need for education across a region where a high proportion of visitors did not speak English and lacked awareness of basic water safety and supervision.
AquaPulse introduced a range of initiatives including the Watch Around Water educational program about active supervision. Expanding the program by issuing different coloured wristbands to children aged 0 - 4 years and 5 – 10 years, enabling lifeguards to monitor all children and easily identify the level of supervision and parent contact every child requires.
Further, the centre has developed the ‘Safety Squad’; a series of culturally diverse characters that display safety signage and resources, and a range of multilingual educational marketing materials.
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