GUIDE NOTES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21324, 17 November 1934, Page 9

GUIDE NOTES

ib.t thl provincial sfx'kf;tai;t.| Miss R. Chamberlain has been appointed district commissioner for South ] Central Canterbury. ' The domestic :.ervice badge was . gained by M. Netting and T. Banks. j St. Matthew's rangers. ] The south-west district will hold I.their rally at "Sunnyside" this al'ter- | noon, commencing at 2 o'clock. All j guides and friends are invited, and j tea will be provided at 6d each. A training and testing week-end ; camp will be held for Canterbury guiders wishing to obtain their campI crs' license. The camp will be held at Little River from December 1 to '.'>. \ The examiner and trainer will be Mrs ■ Trail (provincial camp adviser). : wishing to attend mti-i. send in their , names to Miss H. Klmslic (district ' camp adviser), 26 Rapaki road, before i November 2(1, when full details will i be forwarded. i All guides who are in the folk dancj ing for the rally are asked to attend ; a practice to be held at St. Andrew'* j Hall on Thursday, November 22. at 7 j p.m. It, is most important that all I guides attend. The Swimming Parade Now that many companies are j thinking of camp the following extract j from the "Guider" may prove of use ] to those who intend to go in for swimI ming. Adequate bathing precautions I will save the necessity for life-saving. and probably of life, for however good your life-saver is, conditions may overpower her. A rope with a cork float to throw to bathers in distress from the shore is useless for the following reasons: —Distance; are too great; wind makes aiming exceedingly difficult, and a wet rope is very ■ easily entangled; a cork float sufficient I to support a drowning person is too i heavy to throw; a drowning person, or a'swimmer in difficulties, even if she can see. and has not been hit on ' the head by the float, is in no condij tion to catch a sinking rope or bobbing cork; a current will probably carry the guide beyond the length of the rope, ! before the first throw. It is the lifej saver who requires the rope, i For the last four summers the foli lowing precautions have been used by I a company:—Two good swimmers with i some life-saving practice, and distinctive caps, mark the boundary by about 30 yards of rope or strong line, kept afloat with corks every two yards, and placed over their heads and shoulders with a loop. They stand ud to their necks in water, and in the case of river bathing the rope is carried to the shore, down stream. The advantages of this method are: (1) that the: boundary is visible, and can be ad-1 justed to the tide, and the pickets can at once see anyone going beyond the rope; (2) the rope reminds the ! pickets of their duty, and they have something to do to keep it taut and ' in the correct place (of course, they | should be relieved at half-time if [possible); (3) should any difficulty oc-j I cur, the picket is at hand until the life-saver from the shore has time to| 1 get there. She is able either to sup- j j port the guide or to mark the place of ; disappearance; (4) in a current the life-saver has the support of the rope, I which the pickets pay out to her: (5) i the life-line does not gel entangled. It { | lies stretched on the water. I Rules for Life-Saving j Guides all pair off with friends, and j they keep in touch with each other | throughout. If one has to come in , because she is cold, the other reports. I and joins up with another pair. There | are no single bathers. They arc re-1 sponsible for each other; if one shrieks | thev both come out. No screaming is allowed. At one long whistle they all face the captain and await orders, j It is good to do this at least once each , bathe, so as to keep them alert. The i order "pair off" can be given then, as they tend to drift apart. (4) Hands brought together above the head means "pair off," i.e., "hold your partner's hand." (5) Hand pointing means that the pair pointed to must come in. (6) Rally whistle means "all come in." (7) Bathers must come in before their lips are blue with cold, and they must watch each other. (8) When a guide wants to swim her 40 yards, a swimmer goes with her. Unless the tide is coming in the danger is greater than before. Someone should always be on the beach, the rope be attached to different swimmers in turn, and no swimming out j to sea or down stream is allowed. j .. .. I