Paddleboard sports have become popular, who cares about safety issues? Don’t let the tragedy of drowning repeat itself
In recent years, paddleboarding has rapidly become popular and has become a popular fitness activity alongside frisbee, flag football, and other internet celebrities. Stepping on a paddle board and holding a paddle, strolling between mountains and rivers, is indeed an excellent way to get close to nature. However, behind the exercise, safety issues cannot be ignored.
Recently, according to multiple media reports, an accident occurred in Nanjing, Jiangsu where someone drowned while playing paddleboarding in a reservoir, once again raising concerns about the safety of this sport.
During an interview with The Paper, Wen Jinfu, a paddleboarding instructor at the Water Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, provided professional safety advice.
Wear safety equipment and don’t be a lone ranger. According to multiple domestic media reports, on the afternoon of August 20th, an accident occurred at Xiangtang Reservoir in Pukou District, Nanjing. A woman drowned while playing paddleboarding in the reservoir.
Witnesses and rescuers at the scene revealed that the woman was wearing a Hanfu long dress and did not wear life jackets or other life-saving equipment. After the accident, multiple people went to rescue, but the tragedy could not be avoided.
This accident has once again raised people’s concerns about the safety of paddleboards. In Wen Jinfu’s opinion, to avoid unexpected incidents, the importance of safety measures should not be lost no matter when and where.
For enthusiasts, he provided multiple safety reminders covering various aspects of participating in paddleboarding:
Safety equipment: life jackets, foot ropes, insulation or sun protection equipment;
Partner system: Do not act alone, walk together;
Travel plan: route plan, weather, wind speed, water temperature, water conditions, local customs and taboos, round-trip time, emergency contacts, food and diet, medication, communication tools, etc.
Travel insurance must be purchased.
Novices should still wear a life jacket when starting to try, and after becoming familiar enough, choose a foot rope as a safety guarantee, “Wen Jinfu emphasized. In addition, he also suggests that enthusiasts should not blindly start learning about paddleboarding: “Learn about safety knowledge in advance through the internet, books, videos, and other means, and go to (find a professional coach) for a class first to clarify the safety logic of safety, movements, weather, water conditions, etc
Many ‘novices’ encounter danger because they ignore these safety information and only participate voluntarily when they see others playing with ease. Nowadays, equipment is becoming easier to purchase, but danger also comes with it
Why is paddleboarding popular? In recent times, the popularity of leisure activities such as outdoor camping, coupled with the promotion of social media, has brought more paddleboarding enthusiasts.
It is reported that paddleboarding, like surfing, originated in Hawaii and was originally a form of surfing. Later, with the development of sports, paddleboarding developed inflatable paddleboards in addition to the initial hard boards, greatly increasing the convenience of participation.
Wen Jinfu used to work in kayaking before switching to paddleboarding. He told a reporter from The Paper that convenience is also one of the reasons why paddleboards are popular nowadays.
One problem with kayaking is that many people are unable to transport or leave their kayaks at home. After the emergence and popularization of inflatable paddles, they began to be promoted to inland areas, allowing more people to participate in this sport. After deflation, they can be placed in backpacks or trunk for convenience and speed
Nowadays, in professional competitions, paddleboarding has international competitions such as the World Championships, and in society, paddleboarding has also gained more and more popularity because its development area is not limited to the seaside and it is relatively easy to learn.
In 2017, the Chinese Paddleboard Golden League was held. In recent years, paddleboarding has also been included as one of the experience projects in the National Fitness Games in various regions. With the overall popularity of outdoor sports increasing, paddleboarding has also successfully taken advantage of this “east wind”.
With the promotion of online advertising, the project has developed rapidly due to the possibility of more and more security incidents. However, this has also led to the vigilance and concerns of industry insiders.
In terms of promotion, many places are reporting on the popularity of paddleboarding, but industry insiders still have some concerns – such as laying it out too quickly and not finding professional operators in the industry to introduce this sport from a safety perspective, “Wen Jinfu told Pengpai News reporters.
Some people may just form a community by finding some enthusiasts by the river, just to promote the popularity of this sport, without thinking from a professional or industry perspective
Many people may think that this sport looks easy and slow, but in reality, they only see it in very calm waters, with many dangerous points that may not be felt
Wen Jinfu reminds that if paddleboarding is allowed to grow wildly, “safety accidents may increase”.
But such a situation is also being avoided within the industry – for example, currently, the Water Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China is promoting a series of standards such as the qualification certification system for paddleboarding coaches. Only through standardization can we guide the healthy and safe development of this sport, and after forming a system for everyone to abide by, this is also a major trend, “said Wen Jinfu.
While the official is vigorously promoting project standardization, it is also essential for ordinary enthusiasts to enhance their own safety awareness.
Learn and abide by safety knowledge, try to go to waters with standardized management, and avoid going to “wild waters” with unfamiliar water conditions, in order to avoid tragedies from happening again.
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