The majority of those who die by drowning are believed to be swimmers and drown close to safety. This presentation given by John Connolly at the Foundation's 2014 Drowning Prevention and Rescue Conference held in Dublin (30/9-2/10/2014) considers different aspects of the key question “Why are swimmers unable to swim a short distance to safety when their lives depend upon them doing so successfully?” It is suggested that drowning is situational and experience in one body of water may not transfer to others but can give swimmers a false sense of safety.

John Connolly is a retired Primary School Head Teacher with over 40 years lifesaving experience and is Honorary Chief Executive Officer of the Lifesaving Foundation. He has had a long voluntary career within RLSS UK as both lifeguard trainer/assessor and branch officer. He has been awarded Honorary Life Membership of both Royal Life Saving Society UK and of the Royal Life Saving Commonwealth Society.