Policies at the pools

Supervision Policy - Swim and Waterslide

• Caregivers for children under 5 years must be in the water within arm’s reach, and able to physically assist at all times
• Children under 10 years must be actively supervised by a caregiver. Actively supervised means watching your child at all times and able to provide immediate assistance.
• Caregivers must be 16 years or older.

5 to 9 year olds are required to wear a wristband.

Does this apply to the waterslide?

Yes it does, under 5’s must slide down with an adult, under 10’s have someone actively supervising them at the slide exit pool.

Why does the pool have this policy?

The policy is aimed at keeping children safe. Children aged 5-9 years old are at the highest risk in the water. At Moana Pool about 90% of rescues involve children in this age range. We want to make sure our pools are safe for children and their families.

Why does my child have to wear a wristband?

This helps pool crew to quickly identify children’s age, and that a caregiver is also looking after that child. The wristbands also increase awareness and serve as a reminder that the child is in the high risk age group. These have proved to be a successful around the world.

My under-5 is a good swimmer, why do I have to keep them within arm’s reach?

Children under the age of 5 years old usually play in shallow areas, keeping them within arm’s reach means you can prevent them from going too deep and getting into difficulty.

Swimming in a controlled lesson is one thing, swimming yourself out of danger is another.

Why am I expected to provide immediate assistance, isn’t that the lifeguard’s job?

It’s pool crew’s role to supervise everyone using the facility and as a parent or caregiver, you know your child and their limits better than staff do. If you see your child getting out of their depth or moving away from your supervision you can best direct them back to a safer area.

What happens if the rules aren’t followed?

We’re working hard to ensure everyone knows about this policy and why it’s important. When we come across people not following these rules, we’ll work to educate them. However, if children are not accompanied by a suitable caregiver they won’t be allowed in the water. If there is continued failure to comply with the policy, people may be asked to leave the facility for the safety of their children and all users.

How does this affect my child at swimming lessons?

All 5-9 year olds will need to be escorted to and from lessons by a parent or caregiver. They are also required to wear a wristband to swimming lessons. The bands are available from reception. They are recyclable and can be left at reception after lessons. Under 5’s need to be accompanied for the whole lesson, under 9 years old need to be escorted to and from lessons.

My child is already supervised by the instructor in the lesson, isn’t this is a little over the top?

There are a number of children who move through to the leisure pool after lessons, so Pool Crew need to be able to easily identify these children.

Can’t I just keep the band for the term?

If your child is a regular pool user, you may choose to keep your child’s wristband for them to use each time they’re at the pool. However if you think it may get lost at home, you can pick one up from reception each time and leave it behind when you go.

I have another question, who do I contact?

You can email dcc@dcc.govt.nz or call 03 477 4000.

Purpose

The Dunedin City Council is responsible for meeting its obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act, ensuring so far as is reasonably practicable that workers and other persons are not put at risk. As Poolsafe Accredited facilities, DCC Aquatics is also required to comply with industry best practice standards.

Breath holding is recognised across the New Zealand aquatics sector as a high-risk activity due to its established link with sudden loss of consciousness and a number of preventable fatalities. Breath holding incidents can occur regardless of swimmer age, fitness, experience or water depth. The risk is often underestimated in pool environments due to the absence of environmental factors, the presence of lifeguards and because swimmers may appear competent until the moment of unconsciousness.

This rule set informs customers about potential risks, ensures practical measures are in place to reduce harm, and supports our health and safety obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act and Poolsafe accreditation.

Definitions

Breath control

Normal and reasonably expected breathing during standard swimming activities with no intention to hold or extend one’s breath. Examples that may fall into breath control include lap swimming or surfacing after a dive from a diving board. These examples are indicative only. Staff will determine what is considered breath control.

Breath holding

The deliberate action or intention to hold or extend one’s breath under water. Breath holding may be static, meaning little or no movement, or dynamic, involving visible movement. Classification is at the discretion of DCC staff.

Hyperventilation

The act of taking repeated breaths followed by forced exhalations to artificially reduce carbon dioxide levels. This may delay the urge to breathe but significantly increases the risk of hypoxia and shallow water blackout.

Hypoxia

A lack of oxygen reaching body tissues. This may cause confusion, panic, loss of coordination, unconsciousness and in an aquatic environment drowning.

Shallow Water Blackout

Despite its name, it can occur at any depth. It is a sudden loss of consciousness caused by oxygen depletion (hypoxia), often happening at the end of a breath hold. It may occur without warning and can result in inhalation of water, an immediate drowning risk.

Spotter

A dedicated person/s responsible solely for supervising the participant/s undertaking breath holding. The spotter may be in or out of the water but must maintain continuous active observation, to provide immediate assistance if required.

Limitations for Lifeguard Supervision

Breath-holding creates supervision challenges that differ from standard pool activities. Prolonged underwater activity reduces visibility, making it difficult for lifeguards to assess a swimmer’s wellbeing and level of consciousness. These risks are heightened during static breath-holding, where visual cues of consciousness are impractical, even when the swimmer is visible.

Lifeguards are responsible for supervising entre zones with many customers. They cannot provide continuous one-to-one monitoring for anyone taking part in the high-risk activity of breath holding.

For these reasons breath holding requires additional controls and must be treated as a specialist activity with its own specific controls and requirements.

Breath Holding Activity Rules

DCC staff have full authority to identify breath holding behaviour, distinguish it from breath control and intervene whenever they believe an activity presents a risk. Staff may require an activity to cease at any time or be managed with further controls. Any decisions made are final at the time and are entirely at the discretion of staff. If someone has concerns about a decision, they may raise them with the Aquatics Manger, in writing, after the fact.

Breath holding is only permitted when all of the following conditions are met.

1. The activity is notified to the facility in advance, with written agreeance to the policy and may be withdrawn if conditions are assessed as unsuitable. Bookings must be made at least seven days prior through the Bookings Coordinator. No fee or exclusive space is associated with the booking.
2. A dedicated spotter is required to provide active supervision for up to two participants engaged in breath holding. The spotter may be in or out of the water but must maintain continuous observation and be able to give immediate assistance if needed. The exception to this is organised groups where there are alternative controls (see clause f).
3. Breath holding is strictly reserved and permissible in the 25-metre main pool/s (at Moana Pool and Te Puna o Whakaehu).
4. No hyperventilation is used before or during the activity.
5. Staff have authority to stop breath holding activity at any stage if their risk assessment deems it unsafe for any reason. This may be influenced by contextual information, time of. Pool staff will communicate with pool users if an activity is presenting concerns related to the breath holding rule set and clarify expectations.
6. Organised groups are not excluded from this rule set. However, it is acknowledged that their risk profiles differ from those of individual members of the public. Organised groups must provide DCC Aquatics with an overview of identified risks, associated controls consistent with these rules, and emergency procedures. This information will be reviewed on an annual basis in line with booking confirmations. Staff retain the authority to stop any breath holding activity at any time if their risk assessment determines it to be unsafe for any reason. This decision may be influenced by contextual factors, including time, environment, or participant behaviour.

Birthday Party bookings for children from pre-school aged through to Primary & Intermediate age (0-12yrs)

Moana Pool is fun and exciting for children of all ages, but it can also be hazardous. Children brought to the facility with you are primarily your responsibility. To access Moana Pool, you must have a sufficient number of actively supervising caregivers. These caregivers must carry out their responsibilities as outlined in our supervision policy below.

Facility staff and lifeguards are here to oversee all customers and will provide assistance to your caregivers if needed. The following information is provided to help prepare you for your visit.

Contact Information

Supervision Policy Information- YOU MUST

1. Be aware of any of the children’s medical conditions & how to contact their caregivers quickly if necessary.
2. Check with parents the children’s swimming abilities BEFORE coming to the pool.
3. Organise sufficient numbers of supervising caregivers, 16 years or older, to ACTIVELY supervise children in your party group (see our supervision ratios below)
4. Ensure supervising caregivers know their RESPONSIBILITIES:
   • Active Supervision (whether you’re required to be in the water or not) means eyes on the children under your care at all times and be able to provide assistance if required.
   • Be proactive and authoritarian.  Caregivers should stand & scan the water & proactively interact with the children they are responsible for. Keep children within their comfort zone and in an area suited to their abilities.
   • Respond quickly to children who are in need of assistance.
   • Alert the lifeguard nearest to the situation if assistance is required.
5. Supervision Policies and Ratios:

Our supervision policies are mandatory but the ratio of caregivers to children is our recommendation. This is based on what schools and other group bookings must provide.

Children under 5 years & any non-swimmers (any age):

• Policy: Children under 5yrs must always be within arm’s reach of a caregiver. This means being in the pool with them. Caregivers must be 16 or older.
• Ratio: We recommend you provide a ratio of at least 1 caregiver for every 2 non-swimmers.

Children 5 to 9 years old: This age group will be required to wear a wrist band

• Policy: Children under 9yrs must be `actively supervised’ by a caregiver 16 or older at all times.
• Ratio: We recommend you provide a ratio of at least 1 caregiver for every 5 children aged 5 to 8years with half of the caregivers being in the water.

Children 10 to 12 years old:

• It is recommended you have a minimum of at least 1 caregiver for every 10 children.
• ALL caregivers MUST be actively supervising the children from poolside.

If you require more information or have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask our Programme Coordinator or our Duty Supervisor.