Fortunately, she was wearing her life jacket which her family believes saved her life. Q: Do you have any stories of Arizona residents that have who have benefited from these programs?Ī: There was an incident last June where a nine-year-old girl was tubing on Salt River with her family and suddenly hit heavy rapids which flipped her over multiple times underwater. We believe we are making an impact because of the growth of the program in Arizona, and interest from other state agencies, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, and city chambers to begin an exchange program. We’re blessed with great volunteers who help make this program possible. Residents can exchange as many as they need until the life jackets are gone. The program requires volunteers to pick up life jackets from us and be at assigned locations for the event, handle the exchanges, and return any leftover life jackets to our program along with numbers of exchanged life jackets by size. This is an opportunity for Arizona residents to exchange an inherently buoyant style jacket for the same size or a different size. Q: How did you get so many people to exchange life jackets? What does that program involve?Ī: The exchange program has grown primarily through word of mouth. We’re also looking forward to Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day on May 17, so be on the lookout for some fun photos from us! Boating safety classes will also take place at various locations, and we’ll share lots of great boating information on social media during the week. We will be launching seven life jacket exchanges on May 18 to kick-off National Safe Boating Week with more to follow throughout the summer. Q: What do you have planned for National Safe Boating Week (May 18-24, 2019) or activities later in the summer?Ī: We’re excited to support the Safe Boating Campaign during National Safe Boating Week and the rest of the year. We are rolling out a new stand-up paddleboard class modeled after our kayak class, which we are really excited about! What do you have planned for this year?Ī: We’ll continue these efforts this summer, and look forward to sharing with boaters about how being a responsible boater contributes to a great experience on the water. Q: Last year your department exchanged 1,520 life jackets, conducted 49 paddle classes, 27 powerboat classes, and distributed nearly 36,000 recreational boating safety handouts in support of the Safe Boating Campaign. We also provide ramp outreach at various lakes and on the Colorado River. Our team is out on the water in kayaks and boats sharing about boating safety with others. Making contact with boaters on the water is also important for us. We also have 16 life jacket loaner stations that are always fully stocked and monitored. Hosting a booth at community events is a great way for us to get the word out about safe boating and life jacket safety throughout the year. We also hold paddlesports classes on request for Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW), school groups, 4H, Sea Scouts, state agencies, and other local groups. Q: What are some of the things that the Arizona Game & Fish Department does on a regular basis to ensure safe boating and life jacket safety throughout the state of Arizona?Ī: Since most of Arizona enjoys year-round warm weather throughout much of the state, we conduct monthly hands-on paddlesports classes as well as classroom boating safety classes for our residents. Thank you to Arizona Game & Fish Department for all that you do! Learn more about boating in Arizona. We interviewed Kim Jackson and Josh Hoffman from Arizona Game & Fish Department to learn about their boating and life jacket safety efforts and what they have planned for National Safe Boating Week. This blog post is the first in a series celebrating the great work of our Safe Boating Campaign partners.
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