5/31/2011 Safe divig board use, safe slide use, usi Headfirst Etry - Divig ad Slidig POOLALARMS.COM HOME POOL SAFETY PRODUCTS POOL SAFETY ARTICLES & REPORTS POOL SAFETY LINKS & RESOURCES POOLALARMS.COM POLICIES Do ot allow ay divig or headfirst etry ito ay pool util you are sure the pool is desiged for divig ad meets all stadards for divig pools, such as the NSPI stadards. Cosult your pool builder or NSPI member if you have ay doubts. Do ot allow divig ito a pool, or ay part of the pool, that is ot deep eough for divig. It is recommeded that "No Divig" sigs be placed at all areas of the pool where divig is ot appropriate. Your first etry ito a pool should be feet first so you ca determie water depth ad pool cofiguratio. As a resposible pool ower, pay special attetio to headfirst etry - divig ad slidig. Both activities ivolve headfirst etry ito the water at high speed - a situatio that ca lead to very serious, life-threateig accidet. The chief dager for divers or headfirst sliders is serious spial ijury. They may hit their heads agaist the bottom or side of the pool or agaist some object or perso. Ijuries to the spial cord may result, causig temporary or permaet paralysis or death. Never use alcohol or drugs while divig or swimmig. Research studies have show that you caot rely o the water aloe to slow you dow sufficietly to avoid ijury. Protective actio must be take by the diver or headfirst slider. Serious spial ijuries ca occur eve at very slow speeds if the head strikes firmly agaist the pool bottom or side. The spie caot absorb as great a impact as the skull ca, especially if the head has bee fixed agaist a immovable object. If you are divig or slidig headfirst ad hit your head o a hard surface, your chi goes dow (rotates) to your chest. Your head stops, but the rest of your body keeps o comig. You could break your eck, back ad/or sever your spial cord. C:/ /Safe divig board use, safe slide us 1/6
5/31/2011 Safe divig board use, safe slide use, usi To properly supervise a igroud pool that was desiged to accommodate divig, you must also be able to idetify "real divers" ad areas or locatios where divig is permitted. As with swimmig, the most practical defiitio of a diver might be someoe who has achieved miimum safe divig skills through traiig i a certified course of istructio. People may overestimate their abilities ad claim to be "divers," so use extreme cautio. "Steer up for a safe dive." "Too steep a dive ca cause your head to hit the bottom. This ca result i a broke eck ad paralysis." While there is o substitutio for divig istructio ad actual practice at poolside, it is importat for you to familiarize yourself, yougsters ad everyoe who uses the pool with the followig priciples of headfirst etry. Some do's ad do'ts of divig. Do's Do kow the shape of the pool bottom ad the water depth before you dive or slide headfirst. Do pla your path to avoid submerged obstacles, surface objects or other swimmers. Do hold your head up, arms up, ad steer up with your hads. Do keep arms exteded ad head ad hads up. Do practice carefully before you dive or slide headfirst. Do test the divig board for its sprig before usig. Do remember that whe you dive dow, you must steer up. Do dive straight ahead - ot off the side of a divig board. C:/ /Safe divig board use, safe slide us 2/6
5/31/2011 Safe divig board use, safe slide use, usi Do't Do't drik ad dive. Do't dive ito a abovegroud pool. Do't dive ito a pool ot meetig a "divig pool" stadard. Do't dive or slide headfirst i the shallow part of the pool. Do't dive across the arrow part of pools. Do't ru ad dive. Do't dive from ay place that is ot specifically desiged for divig. Do't egage i horseplay o divig or slidig equipmet. Do't use divig equipmet as a trampolie. Do't do a back dive; backyard pools are ot built for this dagerous dive. Do't try facy dives; keep the dives simple. Do't dive or slide headfirst at or through objects such as ier tubes. Do't put divig or slidig equipmet o a pool that was't desiged for it. Do't swim or dive aloe. Do't dive ito ufamiliar bodies of water. Priciples of Headfirst Etry C:/ /Safe divig board use, safe slide us 3/6
5/31/2011 Safe divig board use, safe slide use, usi obstructios. Divig ad headfirst slidig require you to thik ahead. Your persoal safety depeds o it. Because oce you've started your dive or headfirst slide, you do't have time to thik or chage. Before you dive or slide headfirst, you should determie the shape of the pool bottom, fid out how deep the water is ad pla your etry path to avoid other persos or Most headfirst etry accidets happe i shallow water. Do't dive or slide headfirst i the shallow part of the pool. A well-traied diver ca execute a dive i shallow water, but for the majority of people, such a dive represets a serious risk of ijury. Be cocered. Be smart - do ot dive ito shallow water. Whe appropriate, use a rope ad float lie to idicate where the shallow water eds. The pool ower is resposible for allowig divig oly ito the proper area of the pool. If you are ot able to always supervise pool use, you should post "No Divig" sigs where the water is too shallow for divig. Whe you begi your dive or headfirst slide, you must get ready to steer up. As you eter the water, your arms must be exteded over your head, hads flat ad aimig up. Hold your head up ad arch your back. This way, your whole body helps you steer up, away from the bottom. By keepig your head ad hads up, you help protect your head from strikig bottom. If a diver's or slider's head hits bottom, serious eck ad spial ijuries may occur. So always remember, head ad hads up! Ad fially, as you follow through, you must lear to cotrol your etry path through proper use of hads ad arms. The proper follow-through techique is arms exteded fully, hads flat ad tipped up. Ivestigatios have show that may divig ad headfirst slidig accidets have resulted whe people were usig the pool uder the ifluece of alcohol or drugs. No oe should dive or slide headfirst after drikig alcohol or while uder the ifluece of ay drugs. Do't ru ad dive. That ca give you the same impact as a dive from a board. Ad do't dive across the arrow part of pools. Remember that ijuries have occurred after divig from strage places such as roofs, balcoies, walls, feces C:/ /Safe divig board use, safe slide us 4/6
5/31/2011 Safe divig board use, safe slide use, usi ad other places that were ot meat for divig. Therefore, ever dive from ay elevatio other tha a properly istalled divig board. Divig ad slidig equipmet must ot be used improperly - absolutely o horseplay. Oly oe perso at a time should use such equipmet. The secod perso does ot eter the water util the first perso has cleared the etry area. Never allow divig equipmet to be used as a trampolie. Geeral Use of Pool Slides Improper use of pool slides ca preset the same potetial dagers as improper divig techiques. The priciples for headfirst slidig are the same as for divig ad are covered i the precedig sectio of this booklet. "Stadig, divig, jumpig or horseplay o or aroud a slide ca lead to falls resultig i paralysis or other serious ijury. Make sure your slide is right for your pool. Lear the correct ways to slide ad eforce proper use." If you use a pool slide, you must have a ladig area with adequate clearace over the deck or the edge of the pool (the copig), ad with a appropriate depth of water. Follow the slide maufacturer's specificatios regardig clearace ad depth, istallatio istructios ad proper use. If headfirst slides are to be attempted, the pool slide must exit ito deep water. There are oly two proper ways to use a slide - sittig, goig dow feet first, ad lyig flat o your belly, headfirst, pursuat to 16 CFR Ch. II (1-1-93 Editio) U.S. Cosumer Product Safety Commissio, Part 1207 Safety Stadard for Swimmig Pool Slides. All other methods of usig a slide are dagerous ad preset a risk of serious ijury. Whe you are writig your "pool rules," cosider who will be usig your slide ad how. Eforce proper use of the slide. Uder all circumstaces you should prohibit: Ay slide other tha sittig, feet first, or flat o the belly, headfirst Headfirst etries from a slide that exits ito shallow water C:/ /Safe divig board use, safe slide us 5/6
5/31/2011 Safe divig board use, safe slide use, usi Horseplay Ay slide etries by o-swimmers ito deep water, to protect them from drowig Stadig o the top of a slide or outside the guide rails Jumpig from a slide Divig from a slide Slidig ito areas with submerged obstacles, surface objects or other swimmers. cotact us! copyright 2003 poolalarms.com All Rights Reserved pool parts & pool supplies C:/ /Safe divig board use, safe slide us 6/6