First 300 kids at the Boats Afloat Show to receive free life jackets
Children's Hospital drowning expert, water-sports Olympians, Husky legends, media personalities and U.S. Coast Guard personnel to encourage kids to wear life jackets
SEATTLE, Sept. 11, 2006 - The first 300 kids in attendance at the 2006 Lake Union Boats Afloat Show will be fitted with a free life jacket courtesy of Fisheries Supply and Stearns as a part of the Children's Water Safety Education Program during the show.
The program is a joint effort of the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center along with the United States Coast Guard and other marine groups to help encourage kids to wear life jackets and be safe when near the water.
The Boats Afloat Show, one of the largest floating shows on the West Coast, takes place from Wednesday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 17 at Chandler's Cove on South Lake Union in Seattle. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under and available online at www.BoatsAfloatShow.com.
The children's life jacket giveaway kick's-off at 1 p.m. on Wednesday with the annual Pro-Am Celebrity Sailing Race featuring KING TV's Jeff Renner, Seattle Times sports reporters Greg Bishop and John Boyle along with Olympic synchronized swimming gold and silver medalist Tracie Ruiz-Conforto, Olympic rowing silver medalist John Stillings, Olympic canoeist Jordan Malloch, UW basketball legend Chester Dorsey, UW rowing coach and former Olympic coach Bob Ernst and Olympic sculling coach Emil Kossev.
The local celebrities will be available to sign autographs while joining Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center's Dr. Linda Quan, a national drowning expert, in fitting the first kids attending the show with life jackets.
"Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death among children in Washington state. Those most at risk include small children between the ages of 1 and 4 and teenagers, 15 -19 years old," said Dr. Quan, an emergency department physician at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. "The tragedy is that drowning is entirely preventable. Wearing a life jacket is one layer of protection that both parents and children should always use when they are in or around water."
Along with receiving a free life jacket, kids and their parents who visit the Children's Water Safety booth at the show can learn basic water safety skills from knowledgeable boaters. Among the safety topics are small boat entry and exit skills through a short safety exercise, when and how to wear your life jacket, and what do in an emergency.
Kids and their parents who visit the booth can take home Boating Safety Side Kicks, a fun water safety informational coloring book by the National Safe Boating Council and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center's Stay on top of It water safety booklet along with a small box of crayons.
"Whether it's May or September, safety on the water is more important that ever," said Jonathan Ives, Executive Director of the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association. "Research tells us that many kids are still not wearing life jackets on a regular basis," said Ives. "It's important to have fun, but equally important to be smart on the water."
According to research conducted in 2004 for the National SAFE KIDS campaign and Johnson and Johnson, 50 percent of kids aged 8 to 12 admit they never wear a life jacket when riding on a personal watercraft, 37 percent admit they don't wear a lifejacket when participating in water sports and 16 percent admit they don't wear a life jacket when on a boat.
The Children's Water Safety Education Program takes place throughout the Boats Afloat Show, while the free life jacket giveaway is limited to the first 300 kids in attendance.
