The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation has announced that it will be offering a one-day drowning-prevention course at East Vancouver's New Brighton Pool this coming weekend.

In a news release today (July 22), the board said that the Swim to Survive course—presented in conjunction with the B.C. and Yukon branch of the Lifesaving Society and the Vancouver Lifeguard Association—is free and running in concert with National Drowning Prevention Week and the first-ever UN World Drowning Prevention Day.

The Sunday (July 25) program to teach water-awareness and life-saving skills to children from ages eight to 17 runs from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and is not to be considered an alternative to swimming lessons, according to the Lifesaving Society's website.

"Swim to Survive is not a swimming lesson—and not a replacement for them," the site warns. "Swim to Survive teaches just the essentials needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water—an important first step to being safe around water. The Lifesaving Society strongly encourages parents to enroll their children in swimming lessons."

The Swim to Survive standard emphasizes the following three water-safety skills:

• Roll into deep water—orientate oneself at the surface after an unexpected entry.
• Tread water for one minute—support oneself at the surface to locate the nearest point of safety.
• Swim 50 metres—reach the closest point of safety by using any method of swimming.

Parents or guardians need to act fast and preregister for the lesson either online here or in person at any park board community centre or pool. The online-registration deadline is Friday morning (July 23) at 10 a.m., and the in-person cutoff point is Saturday (July 24) at 6 p.m., according to the park board's registration-page info.

(At the time of posting, the board's registration page indicated that there were still 67 spaces remaining in the mixed-gender classes.)

“With persistent hot weather encouraging people to cool off in lakes, rivers, and waterways across the province, this year’s Swim to Survive course couldn’t have come at a better time,” Peter Fox, the board's manager of recreation services, said in the release. “Whether you’re treading in the shallows or take an unexpected fall into deep water, staying calm and relying on simple water-safety knowledge is the best way to get yourself out of a situation before it becomes critical. Swim to Survive is free, straightforward—and might just save a life."