Learn as a Responsible Citizen
This section will help you discover the answer to the following questions:
- How can you safely participate in fun and activity at The City of Calgary pools?
- Who participates in recreational activities?
- Why is it important to be active?
- How can you safely participate in City of Calgary Recreation activities?
Water Safety at the Pool
Why is learning about water safety important?
Drowning is the second most common cause of injury-related death for Canadian children 14 and under, according to Safe Kids Canada – One of the most common misconceptions about drowning is that it involves much splashing, thrashing and screaming, when in fact most drownings are silent.
Read this CBC Article or this one to find out more!
Get the Water Safety Facts from the Red Cross
Whether you are at the pool with your classmates taking lessons, or splashing around with your friends on a Saturday afternoon, you need to follow the rules of the pool to stay safe and have fun.
Do you know the rules of the pool?
Try these activities to challenge your knowledge!
What are the rules at the pool?
Lifeguard Doug introduces you to the rules at City of Calgary pools:
Watch Sam's Tips on Swimming Safety:
Slip Sliding Away...
The water slides, ropes, lazy rivers and climbing structures can be the most fun you have at the pool or recreation centre, but do you know where the dangers lie?
Kristy, a Lifeguard at a city pool, introduces you to the Danger Zones on the play equipment at the pool!
[Video coming soon!]
Look Before You Leap!
Check out these diving pool safety tips from divingboardsafety.net.
US Olympic Diver Mary Ellen Clark hosts this video on safe diving practices.
Lifeguards Care About Your Safety
When you come to a City of Calgary Aquatic Centre, we want you to feel safe and comfortable to ask the staff and lifeguards any questions you might have.
The most important questions you can ask are the ones about how to be safer at the pool. Don't be worried about being too "cool" to ask for a PFD, or about the safest way to dive (or not).
Read the comic below to find out how Braden learned this important lesson when he went to the pool with his friends.
Why do I have to shower before I go in the pool?
The City of Calgary Healthy Waters program can tell you why.
Click here to read more about keeping the pool clean.
Can I Wear My Hijab in the Pool?
The City of Calgary Aquatic and Leisure Centres are happy to accommodate cultural dress requirements or personal reasons for wanting to dress conservatively in the pool.
At City of Calgary Aquatic Centres we want people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds to participate and feel comfortable in our pools.
To allow everyone to feel comfortable, we have adopted a “non-traditional bathing wear policy”. This allows for sari's, hijab's, long sleeved pants/shirts, tee shirts etc. to be worn in the pool to meet potential ethnic and religious restrictions.
- Patrons are required to wear either a bathing suit or clean under clothes under the non-traditional bathing wear, especially when choosing white tee shirts.
- The clothing worn into the pool must be clean and cannot be the same clothing worn to the facility from home.
- If traditional clothing (a sari, for example) is worn, we ask that the person does not go past lane 6 (into the deep end) or the dive tank to keep themselves and the staff safe.
Modesty (wanting to swim covered up) is not just for ethnic or religious reasons.
We allow anyone who feels they need to wear tee shirts and/or long pants or shorts to do so (as long as they are clean) so that they feel comfortable coming to our pools.
Act as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #1
The Most Important Rule
At the City of Calgary the most important rule is “don't jump in!” What do you think is the most important rule at the swimming pool or lake?
In this activity you will work with a partner to choose ONE rule that you think is the most important. You should present your rule in a visually appealing and educational format.
Act as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #2
Pool Safety Rangers
There are so many ways to have fun in the pool, including using the pool equipment such as ladders, ropes and the lazy river.
Are the rules the same no matter where you are in the pool?
In this activity you and a partner will develop a game to teach kids the safety rules for the different activities and equipment at the pool.
Your game could be an action game that can be played in the pool (like Simon says for example), or it might be a board or trivia game that tests players knowledge on deck before they go in the pool.
It should be visual, and should be playable at the pool, either on deck or in the pool. This means it has to be WATERPROOF if it is not an action game.
Your game should be targeted at kids aged 9-13.
You should submit an explanation of your game, with any rules and equipment that are necessary to play, and you should be prepared to play the game to test it on your classmates!
Act as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #3
Mad Science at the Pool: The Scientific Method
Have you ever wondered...
- Why you float in the pool and your friend sinks?
- Why do pools use chlorine?
- What happens to the urine if I accidentally pee in the pool?
- What makes waves in the wave pool?
In this activity you will work with a partner or group to come up with a question about pool science. Then we will develop an experiment or do some research to find the answer to your question.
Step One: Decide on a question.
Step Two: Propose an answer to the question. What do you think the answer will be?
Step Three: Do some research; Create an experiment; Gather Evidence
Step Four: Interpret your findings
Step Five: Draw a conclusion (answer the question)
Share your results with your classmates in the “coffee shop”. (The “coffee shop” is your classroom, and all your classmates will display a summary of their questions, experiments and conclusions for you to read and learn!)
How can you safely participate in City of Calgary Recreation activities?
What do I need to know to choose appropriate equipment for being active?
Try this matching game to find out more!
How can I fuel my body to be the best I can be?
When you are active you use energy. Where does that energy come from? A good place to start is the food you put into your body – Energy in. But do you know what is in your food?
Act as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #4
Now that you know what your food is made up of, go shopping!
Plan and make a healthy meal... breakfast, lunch or supper!
| Writing a Test | Running a 100m Dash | Playing in a Soccer Tournament |
What type of foods would provide the most energy for you to participate fully in these activities? Go to the “Fuel for your body” site to investigate possible options. Share what you learned. Design an experiment to test your findings.
Act as a Responsible Citizen – Think Challenge #5
Your challenge is to design questions that you will ask someone you consider to be an active person. It could be a parent, sibling, neighbour, teacher….Can this person help you answer the big question:
Why is it important to be active?
Find a way to share your interview to help others understand the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and the life lessons that are learned through participation in sport.