Developing Best Practices in Backcountry Swimming
April 05, 2007
Contributed by Todd Miner
In the AEE Northeast & Mid-Adlantic newsletter, Mid-Atlantic Currents
Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 3, December 2006
Swimming in remote locations has traditionally been a part of adventure programming. The benefits of backcountry swimming are recognized and celebrated and should be preserved. However, it is also one of the more dangerous activities that occur in a backcountry program. Over the last 10 years a number of fatalities and serious accidents (paralysis, brain damage, etc.) have occurred during backcountry swimming taking place in organized programs. Better trainings, practices and policies need to be developed to ensure backcountry swimming can continue. National organizations such as Red Cross have backed away from developing such tools, leaving it to the adventure education field to step up and improve safety and programming for our participants. There is a large and significant gap that begs to be filled.
To address this gap, several programs (Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Eastern Washington University, Hamilton College, Harvard University, Princeton University, Sterling College and VisionQuest) have joined together with invited representation from Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School. The working title of this group has yet to be decided. Consideration is between the Committee Reviewing Adventure-Based Backcountry Swimming (CRABS) or the Committee on Backcountry Swimming (COBS). The goal of this committee is to enhance the safety of backcountry swimming through education and sharing of best practices.
Many adventure programs have developed strong trainings, practices, protocols, or standards to address the risks of backcountry swimming, but there is no one place where best practices or standards have been brought together. With this in mind, the committee will try to gather, identify and disseminate best practices.
The committee considers "backcountry swimming" to mean "putting people in water that is not a pool or a designated, lifeguard-protected swim area outdoors." Backcountry swimming would include lakes, rivers, streams, the ocean, hot springs, and would not be defined by proximity to roads, type of shore, etc. “Incidental” relates to the spontaneous nature and is secondary to the expected objectives of the planned activity such as hiking.
In trying to gather and disseminate best practices for backcountry swimming the committee operates using the following values, goals and principles:
- There is value in backcountry swimming.
- The process and effort will be as inclusive as possible. We seek partners and insights from any and all adventure programs and/or organizations focused on risk management and safety.
- The results will be freely and openly shared.
- The main focus is on incidental or purposeful wading or swimming (as opposed to accidental swimming related to boating or stream crossing).
- The general goal is to promote backcountry swimming that is as safe as possible.
- The preferred method for enhancing backcountry swimming safety is through sharing and educating.
- That enhancing safety should not have to mean adding a lot of training time or cost.
- That priority is placed on common sense, lowtech ways to make swimming safer.
- That raising the swimmer's consciousness is imperative.
The committee requests input from other organizations. We seek protocols, practices and accident data that you are willing to share. This will allow the committee to examine how accidents and injuries are occurring and what risk management measures could be instituted to prevent further loss. Please forward information to Dennis Call, dennis.call@vq.com
Labels: Backcountry Swimming, CRABS, Risk Management, Safety
posted by Jay @ 4/05/2007,
