A new campaign called Get Wet, Stay Safe has been launched by Sport NI ahead of the expected influx of people taking to watersports during the summer.
The campaign is part of a joint initiative with Swim Ireland, Swim Ulster, the RNLI and the Outdoor Partnership, with marketing support from Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland.
The campaign aims to address the three main watersports which have seen the largest uptake since the pandemic, which are stand up paddleboarding; sit on top kayaking and open water swimming.
Sessions are being run across all 11 council areas in Northern Ireland and are completely free to attend for anyone who is interested in how to participate in the above watersports safely.
The campaign comes following the tragic incident in Wales in October 2021 in which four people were killed whilst paddle boarding when the weather changed suddenly.
Sport NI Chief Executive, Antoinette McKeown, highlighted the importance of understanding the risks when going into open water.
She said: “Open water can be a real danger to anyone not familiar with the risks or the necessary preparations which are required. It is great to see so many people reaping the physical and mental health benefits of the outdoors as they increasingly appreciate the natural world around them after the pandemic lockdowns.
“While of course we are delighted to see more and more people getting into watersports, we encourage them to do so responsibly, and the Get Wet, Stay Safe campaign is a fantastic initiative to highlight this.”
Since the pandemic there has been a huge rise in the numbers of people both taking to water sports, and as a correlation of that, a rise in the number of people needing rescued.
Lisa Hollingum from RNLI said: “There is increasing pressure on our staff and that of lifeguards, who are already facing resource difficulties. Watersports are an amazing hobby but people should beware assuming that buying a board from a local retailer and watching one or two YouTube videos doesn’t make you an expert.”
Tickets for the Get Wet, Stay Safe sessions are available from EventBrite via GetWetNI.com and courses will run for several months.