Swimming is not risk free
People drown in swimming pools. They drown in shallow water, in water they have swum in a hundred times, and in the time it takes an adult to look at a phone. Drowning is usually silent and it is usually fast. Nothing on this website changes any of that.
Everything we sell is instruction about technique. Acting on it means getting in the water, and getting in the water carries a risk of injury and death that cannot be removed by better technique, by our advice, or by anything else.
We are not there, and we are not supervising
This is the most important thing on the page. Aqua Rush Academy is an online service. We watch a video, or we talk to you on the phone. We are not at your pool. We cannot see what is happening, we cannot intervene, and we are not supervising your swimmer at any point, before, during or after you buy from us.
Coaching is technique instruction only. It is not supervision, it is not a lifeguard, and it is not a substitute for either. If your swimmer needs someone watching them in the water, they need a person physically present at the pool. That is never us.
What you are responsible for
By buying from us or using anything we send you, you are taking on these responsibilities:
- Supervision at all times. A capable adult watches the swimmer whenever they are in or near water. Never leave a swimmer unattended, not for a moment, and not because they are fine in the shallow end.
- Choosing a safe place to swim. You decide whether the pool, its depth, and the conditions are suitable. We have not seen it.
- Knowing the swimmer's ability. You know what they can do. We only know what we can see in a video or what you tell us.
- Deciding what is safe to attempt. Our drills are suggestions based on what we observed. You decide whether any given one is safe for your swimmer on the day, and you stop if it is not.
- Following the rules where you swim. Lifeguard instructions and facility rules come first, always, including where they contradict something we said.
Using the drills safely
Drills are meant to be done inside what the swimmer can already manage comfortably. They are not a dare and they are not a test.
- Work in water the swimmer can stand up in, unless they are genuinely comfortable out of their depth and supervised.
- Stop at the first sign of struggle, panic, coughing, or tiredness. Getting through the set is never the point.
- Never have a swimmer hold their breath repeatedly or swim underwater for distance. Breathing hard before going under, or pushing for a longer breath hold, can make a swimmer black out without warning and drown in silence.
- Do not use our drills as a way to get a nervous swimmer into deep water. Comfort comes first and it comes on their timetable.
- If anything we sent you does not look safe for your swimmer, do not do it. Email us and we will give you something else.
Filming safely
Nothing about getting us a video is worth a risk. If your swimmer cannot swim a full length, do not have them try one for the camera. Film what they do up to the point where they start to struggle and stop there, which is the part we need to see anyway.
Whoever is holding the phone is not supervising while they film. If the swimmer needs watching, have someone else watch them, or film nothing at all and email us instead.
Health, injuries and medical advice
We are swim coaches. We are not doctors, physiotherapists or any other kind of medical professional, and nothing we send you is medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
If the swimmer has a heart or lung condition, a seizure disorder, a recent injury, a shoulder or neck problem, or any condition that affects them in water, talk to their doctor before acting on anything we say. Tell us about it too, so we do not suggest something unsuitable, but a doctor's answer beats ours every time.
Assumption of risk
By buying from us or acting on anything we provide, you acknowledge that swimming carries inherent risks including serious injury and drowning, that you accept those risks for yourself and for any swimmer you are responsible for, and that you are responsible for supervision and for deciding what is safe to attempt.
To the fullest extent the law allows, Aqua Rush Academy is not liable for injury, loss or damage arising from swimming, from practising drills, from filming, or from any use of the advice we provide.
What this does not do. This page does not limit liability for our own gross negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct, and it does not take away rights you have that cannot be waived under the law that applies to you. Some states limit how far a parent or guardian can waive claims on behalf of a child, and nothing here overrides those limits.
In an emergency
If a swimmer is in difficulty in the water, get them out and call emergency services. In the United States that is 911. Do not email us and do not wait to hear back from us. We are not a monitored service and we may not see a message for hours.
A swimmer who has struggled in the water, swallowed a lot of water, or been pulled out after any kind of incident should be seen by a medical professional, even if they seem fine afterwards.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you are unsure whether something is safe for your swimmer, ask before you try it.
mike@aquarushacademy.com