Water Safety in Your Backyard
A leadership project teaching Members a critical skill
Matt Sandy , a rising junior at Oakdale High School , is passionate about water safety . Living near Coldstream Beach , Matt grew up with the lake as his backyard with his two younger brothers . His father works as a Water Rescue Specialist in Washington D . C . and taught his sons important water safety lessons early in life .
Because of his father ' s valuable lessons and previous lifeguard training , Matt is comfortable around water , understands the depth of " swimming at your own risk ", and is prepared for unfavorable situations near and in the water . However , growing up near Lake Linganore , he realized that not all his neighbors feel and know the same . Therefore , when he began the Leadership Academy class at Oakdale High School , which intends to equip students with the skills and processes necessary to effectively lead , he dove headfirst into how he could help the community with water safety , specifically at Lake Linganore .
When researching , he discussed with his father the best way to accomplish this since his father teaches men and women valuable lessons in water safety as part of this professional role as a Water Rescue Specialist . When his father mentioned adults were having trouble throwing life rings in one of his lessons , Matt recalled the life rings installed on the esplanade in 2021 . " I thought , ' Wow , this is a good place to start--we need to show people [ neighbors ] how to use these [ life rings ]," Matt shared . " It ' s deceptive [ throwing the ring ]. It ' s easy to think , ' Oh , it ' s a two / three-foot life ring , it can ' t be that hard ,' but it ' s easy to overthrow , hit a person , not through far enough [ etc .]."
In September 2021 , 11 lifebuoy stands were attached along the esplanade . Each has a number affixed to the exterior buoy ring , which corresponds to GPS marker coordinates . If an emergency occurs and a 911 call is placed , the caller can share the buoy number with the dispatcher , and the GPS coordinates will be provided to emergency personnel along with the best route to the scene .
While there are instructions on the life ring stands , reading the instructions and visuals may not be something people intuitively review when recreating . " Having people familiarize themselves with how to throw a life ring will be a start rather than people having not touched them at all ," Matt said . " Seeing [ and teaching ] the movements can help a distressed swimmer before emergency personnel arrives ."
Matt set his sights for his project on providing various ways to allow people to see and / or practice throwing a life ring . He is accomplishing these three ways :
1 . He is attending National Night Out on August 2 at the LLA Common Area . While at National Night Out , Matt will provide a live demonstration of how to throw a life ring , teach attendees proper technique , and set up a game for people to practice the skill .
2 . This article provides visual instructions of Matt demonstrating how the throw the life ring ( specifically the ones on the esplanade )
3 . LLA ' s social media has a demonstration video posted ( and pinned to LLA ' s Instagram )
If you are interested in learning more about Matt ' s project , stop by his booth at National Night Out on August 2 at the LLA Common Area ( 6718 Coldstream Drive ) between 6 pm to 8 pm .
20 LakeTalk August 2022