2018 / 2019 ANNUAL REPORT LIFESAVING SOCIETY ALBERTA AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BRANCH Working To Prevent Drowning and Water-Related Injury Registered Charity No. 11912 9021 RR0001 All donations gratefully received. Tax receipts are issued for donations of $20 or more. Teaching Canadians to save themselves and 13123 - 156 Street | Edmonton, Alberta T5V 1V2 rescue others T: 780 415 1755 | F: 780 427 9334 Annually, over 1,200,000 Canadians participate in our [email protected] | www.lifesaving.org swimming, lifesaving, lifeguard, first aid and leadership programs. Each year, we certify thousands of instructors who provide the leadership for our training programs. Over 30,000 Canadians earn our Bronze Medallion each year. As Canada’s lifeguarding experts, we set the standard for lifeguard training and certify Canada’s National Lifeguards. Making Canadians Water Smart The Lifesaving Society focuses Water Smart drowning® prevention efforts on people most at risk – like men fishing DONATION FORM in small boats – or on those who can make a significant Contact Information difference, such as parents of young children. We deliver Contact Name: DONATE Water Smart messages through our swim program, through TO Address: CANADA’S DROWNING City/Town: the media and community action. Our Swim to Survive Province PREVENTION CHARITY / Territory: program provides the essential minimum skills required to Postal FOR A Code: ® Phone ‘CANADA FREE FROM DROWNING Number: survive an unexpected fall into deep water. AND WATER-RELATED INJURY’E-mail: Donation • The Lifesaving Society is Canada’s lifeguarding expert. The Society is Amount a national, charitable organization with a humanitarian mandate to prevent drowning and water-related injury. $10 Drowning Research Other • All donations are gratefully received and a charitable receipt is issued. (please $20 Payment/Billing indicate $50 • Monetary donations go toward Lifesaving Society Water Smart® amount) Information $ ________ initiatives such as implementing and increasing the number of $100 The Lifesaving Society conducts research into fatal and Cheque Lifejacket Loaner Station programs in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Donations of “gifts in kind” such as lifejacketsCredit may also Visa Card be eligible for a charitable receipt. Number: non-fatal drowning, aquatic injury and rescue interventions. Expiry Mastercard • To make a donation simply complete this donation form Date: and return it to the Lifesaving Society Alberta and NorthwestName Territories by Ongoing research and analysis supports the Society’s mail, fax or email. You can also donate to the Lifesaving on Credit Society through Canada Helps (Search: Lifesaving Society - Alberta &Card (as it Northwest Territories). appears): evidence-based water-rescue training and Water Smart • Donations are eligible for a tax receipt • Donors are recognized through our website, in our annual report and • through promotions where applicable. Please make cheques payable to LIFESAVING SOCIETY • The drowning prevention education. • Donation Classes personal purpose information ○ Distinction Club (donations of Visit$500 or more)of administering www.lifesaving.org requested ○ Merit Club (donations between $300 and $499) donations on this ○ Bronze Club (donations between $100 and $299) to form for our the is collected ○ Friends of the Society (donationsLifesaving up Societyto $99) Alberta and Northwest privacy TerritoriesLifesaving for Canada’s policy. Society the Setting the Standard only. Reg. Drowning Charity No. 11912 9021 RR0001 Prevention 13123 Charity – 156 Edmonton, Street The Lifesaving Society establishes aquatic safety standards Canada Alberta NW T5V 1V2 T: 780-415-1755 [email protected] | and consults on aquatic safety issues for the aquatic www.lifesaving.org F: 780-427-9334 industry, governments and the judiciary. The Society offers a suite of services to help aquatic facility operators maintain and improve safe pool and waterfront operations. We perform aquatic safety audits and serve as experts in legal cases involving aquatic safety. 2018/2019 ANNUAL REPORT LIFESAVING SOCIETY ALBERTA AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BRANCH i Lifesaving Sport The Lifesaving Society is the Canadian governing body for lifesaving sport – a sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation. We use lifesaving sport to engage and inspire youth in our drowning prevention mission. Our Lifesaving Sport Fundamentals program offers a recreational introduction to lifesaving sport skills. Age-group, senior and masters athletes compete regionally, provincially, nationally and internationally. We offer certification programs for officials and coaches. The Lifesaving Society The Lifesaving Society is a full-service provider of programs, products and services designed to prevent drowning. We save lives and prevent water-related injury through our training programs, Water Smart public education, drowning research, aquatic safety management and lifesaving sport. We are a national volunteer organization and registered charity composed of ten provincial/territorial branches, tens of thousands of individual members, and over 4,000 affiliated swimming pools, waterfronts, schools and clubs. 2018 Lifesaving Sport Camps The Lifesaving Society is a leader and partner in the delivery of water safety education throughout Canada and around the world (The Society operates globally in over 25 countries). We represent Canada in the Commonwealth Royal Life Saving Society and are Canada’s Full Member in the International Life Saving Federation. The World Health Contents Organization recognizes ILS as the world authority in the global effort to prevent drowning. The Lifesaving Society takes lead responsibility for drowning prevention in Canada. Forward ................................................................................i We have been teaching swimming, water safety and water President and Executive Director’s Report ..........................iii rescue in Canada since 1896. Established in England (1891) as The Swimmers’ Life Saving Society, we became The Royal Financial Report .................................................................. 3 Life Saving Society in 1904. Today, we are known as simply Training Programs ................................................................4 the Lifesaving Society. Recognition Awards .............................................................8 ®Lifesaving Society, Water Smart, Swim to Survive, Swim for Life and National Lifeguard Service are all registered Recreation and Sport ...........................................................15 trademarks of the Royal Life Saving Society Canada. Investiture of Lifesaving Honours ........................................18 Public Education and Advocacy .......................................... 21 Safety Management .............................................................27 Member Services ..................................................................29 2018/2019 ANNUAL REPORT LIFESAVING SOCIETY ALBERTA AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BRANCH ii President and Executive Director’s Report The 2018-2019 fiscal year was a very full and successful Lastly, we thank all of the volunteers, staff and advocates year for the Alberta and Northwest Territories Branch of the for our mission. They have worked very hard and supported Lifesaving Society. We had wins big and small, and certainly the numerous branch priorities and projects over the course have much to celebrate! of the year. The Society values all of your contributions no matter how big or small. We recognize that our volunteers We started the year off with a series of major events and affiliate delivery partners are our most important including the Provincial/Territorial Pool Lifesaving resource and look forward to our continued work together Championships in Lethbridge and the Annual General for years to come. Meeting/Branch Recognition Awards in Calgary. In the fall, we hosted our Investiture of Lifesaving Honours at 2018-2019 Highlights and Achievements Government House. • Over 300,000 individuals participated in our education The Society distributed proclamation letters for the first and training programs in Alberta and Northwest time to municipalities across Alberta and Northwest Territories. Territories for National Drowning Prevention Week (NDPW). • 19 municipal governments proclaimed National As a result, we received numerous signed proclamations Drowning Prevention Week. back! We value and thank the following communities for • Launch of new Swim and Lifesaving Instructor Manual. supporting us in our quest to a Canada free from Drowning: • Participation in the national revision of the Bronze (list them here). We kick-started NDPW with our very first Medals programs. flag raising ceremony at Edmonton City Hall. • Received Cabela’s Outdoor Fund Grant to support Our staff and volunteers were hard at work developing the Lifejacket Loaner Stations. final resources for the implementation of the new program • Launched new Water Smart Physical Literacy cards with Leadership Model. Our branch led the collaboration with the the Mackenzie Recreation Association in the Northwest Quebec Branch to provide these resources in both official Territories. languages quite successfully. On January 1, 2019 we launched our new website which had thousands of views in the first week. We continued to invest in improving Member Services by changing to an accounting software that can send out electronic invoices.