This fun lesson teaches how to cope with sudden immersions, like falling into a pool or off a boat. Use these exercises to begin your lesson as it adds excitement. Team up in pairs, so one can assist the other.

Put on several layers of clothes including socks and shoes. Beware that you choose clothes that cannot trap you in any way. Avoid zips, buttons and strings.

1. Falling in:
   Line up everyone on the pool edge, facing away from the pool, holding hands. Then the first in the line leans backwards to fall into the pool, pulling the others along.

2. Pushing in:
   This is a variation of the above. Team up in pairs. One partner stands on the pool edge, facing away from the pool, and gets gently pushed backwards into the pool. Take turns and repeat a few times.

3. Warm up swim:
   Swim four lengths of the pool. Swimming in clothes is an essential skill of drownproofing.

4. Drownproofing Seqence:
   Practice the Drownproofing Seqence until everyone is happy with it. See how long you can hold out.

   

5. Practice the HELP position:
   You can turn this into a game to see who can last the longest, especially when the others simulate seaspray by splashing the last survivor.

6. Removal and adding of clothing:
   In an emergency situation you would keep your clothes on unless they are a major hindrance. However, it is a useful skill to learn and fun to practice.

   Jump into the pool where it is about 2 meters deep. Take off all your clothes, then put them all back on again. You may find this quite a challenge as you have to tread water all the time and retrieve the clothes from the pool floor.

7. Lifevests:
   Throw everyone a lifevest to put on in the water. Make sure they pick the right size and that all the straps and fasteners fit correctly.

8. Practice the HUDDLE position:
   First practice the HUDDLE with your partner, using the lifevests for buoyancy. Then team up with the others to form larger groups.

9. Games:
   End the lesson with some fun games themed around drownproofing.

If you wish to participate in boating activities you should pass a float test in a swimming pool. In the test, you must stay above water in one place for ten minutes using any technique, including treading water, dead man's float, floating on your back, and so on.

The float test is designed to ensure that you will stay on the surface of the water if you should fall in fully clothed, and that you are comfortable keeping yourself afloat until help comes to pick you up. Lifeguards at various pools in the community will sign off on float tests.

Practice

Please wear clothes that you do not mind getting wet, as the lifeguard will require that you complete the test with clothes on to simulate a boating accident. The test requires you to float with your head out of the water for ten minutes while wearing all your boating clothes, long sleeves and long trousers. At the end of the ten minutes you put on a life jacket, properly fasten it, and then swim to the edge of the water.

This test evaluates your ability to maintain yourself in the water indefinitely even though exhausted or otherwise unable to continue swimming. Treading water or swimming in place will further tire you and is therefore unacceptable. This test must be long enough to determine that you are resting and likely could continue to do so for a prolonged period.