Kool Runnings Water Park promotes water safety

NEGRIL, Westmoreland:

The tragedy of the two teenage boys who drowned in Portland during a school excursion in February has underscored the need to promote the importance of water-safety techniques in Jamaica.

Kool Runnings Water Park, as part of its social responsibility, will celebrate Child Month in May with its third annual 'Be Water Aware' campaign.

As an accredited member of the World Water Park Association, the attraction is committed to promoting awareness and preventing drowning.

It will be offering free water-safety lessons and will also launch an islandwide educational campaign in schools.

"We cannot underscore the importance of basic water-safety skills, especially during summer months when people are more often in the water," said Robert Headley, Kool Runnings' operations manager.

"We hope that through this course, these children will come away with the skills to save both themselves and peers, or family members, if needs be."

Be Water Aware 2012 will kick off in Westmoreland, and Kool Runnings' mascot, Mikie Manatee, and lifeguards will be visiting schools to demonstrate water-safety techniques and hand out 'Water Aware' certificates.

The culmination of the campaign will be a series of one-hour introductory classes, taught by Red Cross-certified swimming instructors and lifeguards, covering basic water safety, first aid, and swimming instruction to equip swimmers at all levels.

This year, water-safety students will take advantage of real-life simulations in the brand-new 200,000 gallon tsunami-wave pool that simulates real life. The classes will be free to the general public, but spaces are limited, so advanced registration is required.