Wilderness at the Smokies Resort To Take Part in Pool Safety Day on September 27

Sept. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. –  Wilderness at the Smokies resort will participate in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Pool Safety Day on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010.  Pool Safety Day is an opportunity for Wilderness at the Smokies to demonstrate its support of the national public education campaign and the life-saving message that “simple steps save lives.”

“Wilderness at the Smokies is committed to the safety of its guests,” said Dave McGregor, General Manager of Wilderness at the Smokies resort.  

McGregor said, “Each and every lifeguard at Wilderness at the Smokies is Ellis Trained and Certified – and they meet the industry’s absolute highest training standards.  Ellis Training involves some of the most rigorous physical and academic testing in the world – and it doesn’t stop at certification.  Over and above the stringent Ellis requirements, Wilderness at the Smokies randomly tests and challenges its lifeguards on a weekly basis to ensure the highest level of safety for our guests.”

CPSC’s Pool Safely campaign is a first-of-its kind national public education effort to reduce child drownings, near-drownings, and entrapments in swimming pools and spas.  The Pool Safely campaign is a key part of the CPSC’s efforts to carry out the requirements of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safely Act (P&SS Act), a child safety law aimed at making pools and spas safer.  The Act includes a requirement for a national public education campaign designed to raise public awareness, bolster industry compliance, and reduce deaths and injuries in and around pools and spas.  

“Drowning prevention and swimming safety is one of CPSC’s highest priorities, especially since the incidents involving children are preventable,” said Inez M. Tenenbaum, Chairman of the CPSC.  “We at CPSC are proud that water parks and aquatic facilities around the country are joining forces with us on Sept. 27 to participate in Pool Safely Day.  I encourage everyone to take simple steps year round in pools, spas, indoor water parks and aquatic facilities – it can save a life.”

CPSC estimates that nearly 300 children younger than five drown in swimming pools and spas each year and more than 3,200 that age go to hospital emergency rooms due to non-fatal submersion injuries.  An unknown number of these hospitalizations result in permanent disability, including brain damage.  These deaths and injuries are preventable and public participation in the campaign can help spread the campaign’s messages to parents and families and help prevent future tragedies.  

“When you look at the 1,000 waterparks in the United States – and the approximately 80 million people who visit waterparks each and every year – the safety record is extraordinary,” McGregor said.  “Waterparks continue to provide the absolute safest place for families to play in the water together.

“Statistically, you are far more likely to be injured riding a bicycle or ironing your clothes than you are at a waterpark.  Compared to other recreational aquatic activities, both guarded and unguarded – including community pools, beaches, lakes, etc. – waterparks have the lowest risk of drowning.  As members of the World Waterpark Association (WWA), Wilderness at the Smokies supports any and all industry efforts to enhance the already amazingly safe environment we provide for our guests.”

Wilderness at the Smokies, located minutes from Interstate 40 and situated in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is establishing a new standard for conferences, conventions and meetings in East Tennessee.  With two 18-hole golf courses, two outdoor waterparks, an indoor waterpark with a wave pool and surf rider, hot tubs, and countless waterslides and attractions, Wilderness at the Smokies has something for all age groups.

For more information on the Pool Safely campaign, visit the website at www.poolsafety.gov.  For more information about Wilderness at the Smokies resort, visit www.WildernessAtTheSmokies.com.

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