Lifeguard Legislation in Greece

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education Volume 4 | Number 3 Article 9 8-1-2010 Lifeguard Legislation in Greece Stathis Avramidis Leeds Metropolitan University, Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare Recommended Citation Avramidis, Stathis (2010) "Lifeguard Legislation in Greece," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 4 : No. 3 , Article 9. DOI: 10.25035/ijare.04.03.09 Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol4/iss3/9 This Education Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Avramidis: Lifeguard Legislation in Greece Education International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 2010, 4, 312-327 © 2010 Human Kinetics, Inc. Lifeguard Legislation in Greece Stathis Avramidis Legislation dealing with lifeguards can have a major impact on all aspects of aquatic safety, including employers and employees, certifying organizations, local authorities, and swimmers. The purpose of the present paper was to critically evaluate legislation in Greece related to lifeguarding. Results show that although lifeguarding is mandatory by law, changes need to be made to focus on training and examination standards, the name and meaning of the lifeguard qualification, and the establishment and operation of lifeguard agencies and aquatic facilities. Drowning is a leading cause of death and a serious health problem world wide (e.g., Avramidis & Butterly, 2008), but research is less able to reveal why this happens. Some have proposed that the outcome of drowning might be attributed to such factors as the actions of the rescuer or the casualty, characteristics of the place in which a drowning occurs, or the circumstances under which it occurs (Avramidis, Butterly, & Llewellyn, 2007, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c, 2009d; Avramidis, McKenna, Long, Butterly & Llewellyn, in press). Therefore what has been proposed as one “solution” to the drowning problem might also hide its actual causes. Lifeguard legislation was identified as one of the subcategories of the circumstances of occurrence surrounding drowning incidents (i.e., the fourth component of the 4W model), and therefore problems with the legislation or its enforcement may be part of the problem (Avramidis, Butterly, & Llewellyn, 2007). In Greece, lifeguarding abides by rules set up by governing authorities. These rules are statutory, either by royal decrees, decree laws, governing newsletters, or governing modifications issued in the governing newspaper of the Greek democracy. All these types of publications constitute the law in Greece. These rules are usually presented in the form of an article. The most recent rules cancel or supplement the older ones. The rules and articles are circulated by facsimile and internal correspondence to all the related governing offices. Then these offices are responsible for forwarding them to all the appropriate parties. In terms of beach lifeguarding, such offices are all the local port police offices of the Coast Guard. In terms of spa, pool, and waterpark lifeguarding, such offices are the local governing health departments. Finally in terms of the legal obligations in cases of serious injury or death, it is the local civil police of each area. All these authorities have direct communication with everyone who is obliged to obey the rules (i.e., private lifeguard Stathis Avramidis is with Leeds Metropolitan University (UK), Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Greece), and Irish Lifesaving Foundation (Ireland). Published312 by ScholarWorks@BGSU, 2010 1 International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, Vol. 4, No. 3 [2010], Art. 9 Greek Lifeguard Legislation   313 agencies with government approval to operate and certify lifeguards, professional lifeguards, and local aquatic facilities). In Greece, different legislative regulations apply to lifeguarding. Beach lifeguarding is legislated in terms of lifeguard employment, training and examination criteria for lifeguards, lifeguard instructors and directors of lifeguard agencies, establishment and operation of a lifeguard agency, and an aquatic facility (Decree Law, 2000). Pool, spa and waterpark lifeguarding legislation is established in terms of the number of lifeguards on duty, the required equipment, and the certification (Royal Decree, 1973; Legislation of Greek Democracy, 2009a; 2009b). Finally, the Penal Code provisions 306 and 307 apply to every qualified rescuer who is either on or off duty at the place of the aquatic emergency in terms of rescue (Farsedakis, 1995; Kontaxis, 1987). Given that legislation is the foundation upon which all lifeguarding policies and procedures are built, poorly-conceived laws or ineffectively-enforced regulations are likely to have a number of serious, interrelated, and multidimensional negative consequences for bathers, aquatic safety professionals, and aquatic facilities in Greece. For example, when the legislation allows lifeguard instructors to be people who have no previous education on lifeguarding, then lifeguard trainees may not receive the highest standard of training and, therefore, may not be able to be effective in terms of prevention, rescue, and treatment during an aquatic emergency. Similarly, when the legislation allows a facility to hire an insufficient number of lifeguards and to provide them with insufficient or inappropriate rescue equipment while on duty at that aquatic facility, then it is likely that they may not be able to respond as effectively in an aquatic emergency as they could if there were sufficient numbers with appropriate equipment (Avramidis, 2008b). Collectively, one could assume that drowning deaths in Greece, which are double the European Union average rate (Sabatina & Andreana, 2002; World Health Organization, 2002), occur partially because of various legislative “errors.” Consideration of the above legislative issues raises a number of questions about the current legislation of lifeguarding in Greece. How does lifeguard legislation affect aquatic safety professionals, bathers, and aquatic facilities? What are the specific weaknesses of or “loopholes” in lifeguard legislation that might lead to greater risk of drowning or an aquatic injury? Are there recommendations that could be made to optimize the effectiveness of lifeguarding legislation? The implications of a poorly-conceived law or an ineffectively-enforced regulation represent issues that should be considered seriously. They clearly merit a critical evaluation followed by evidence-based recommendations for several reasons. First, errors that affect all aspects of lifeguarding can be detected and could be corrected (e.g., lifeguard teaching, certification issues, terms of employment, hiring and prevention, better operation of lifeguard schools, an (...truncated)