K38 Japan Training for special events and PWC Racing Programs!

> 05/08/2008

Japan Jet Sports Federation & Maris (Marine Sports Foundation)

K38 Japan Training for special events and PWC Racing Programs!
Why we train, how we train and event management concerns that affect worldwide course marshal programs.

Shawn and Simon on the left address the students prior to underway rescue water craft training for patient assessment and packaging on the water using a RWC (Rescue Water Craft), with and without a rescue board.

K38 Japan finally lands! A year of training instructors and preparation and our first national training program in Nippon was up and running. I arrive in Japan in the cold month of March to train fellow racers and water rescue professionals. I was working on behalf of Maris the Marine Sports Foundation and the Japan Jet Sports Federation, which is the equivalent of our IJSBA here in the States, they work in concert to sanction personal watercraft events. Thus began a long 20 year journey to train dedicated volunteers and staff to better serve the needs of downed racers or craft on a race track or during a special event.


The three day class put our race staff through the paces of the K38 Way of training. Many of the staff who work at Maris/JJSF events are past racers, who have an firm understanding of the demands placed upon both the crew on water, on land and the athlete themselves, including their equipment.

Our K38 Way of training was layered off our 3 key foundational elements, Trim, Environment, helm/throttle control. From there our layers increased along with the demands of race track design and management.

The course program enhanced the needs of event liability, patient packaging, medical concerns, track issues, personal safety, PPE (personal protective equipment), vessel integrity and rigging, positioning and timeframe's.

AT the Yokohama International boat show we were able to work on the water together as a team right after the 3 day class. The staff from Maris and JJSF are well seasoned, some of the best in the world I have ever worked with. Their organizational skills are excellent, everyone understands what to do and take the lead positions, a very focused team, well synergized. Four special segments were provided on the water, race boats, PWC racing and freestyle and wakeboarding. We worked using a rescue board attached to our BPR 3 seater craft and all staff were uniform in movement and positioning. They are also responsible for setting up the on-water navigational buoys and equipment, along with launching the competitors boats/PWC's. This employed the use of a crane and hoist with floating docks along the break wall, a tedious job normally, but flawlessly executed. No time was ever lost.



Staff is launching the freestyle watercraft. Bun Freestyle's boat is on the hoist getting ready to load on our floating docks. Working events requires dedicated professionals who know what they are doing, otherwise the event suffers and timelines are lost. Maris and JJSF staff kept to the rigors of loading and launching, while a very large crowd looked on. You can't keep folks waiting!



The Maris director, myself and Mr. Yoshimura strike a pose for our first event together! I was very honored to be working with my students and the event organizers, the crowd turned out and filled up the waterfront bleachers. I was really impressed with the spectator turnout, over 10,000 people attended, and there was no beach in sight, just a concrete seawall, now that is impressive! Most spectators want to spend a leisurely day at the beach in warm water, this was the end of winter and it was cold. Families came out, I gazed at the faces and was impressed with the dedication of the sport fans in Japan.



Masa picture here gives me the thumbs up sign after our event! He was a top notch racer in Japan and like most of us, given enough time in competition, suffered a leg injury. Now he's dedicated his time on the track working for his fellow racers.



The attitude of staff was incredible, everyone was happy and used their checklists after our event briefing and got the job done, easily, as if no effort were needed. Everyone self policed their area and I barely had to do any work at all, making this feel more like a spa retreat than actually working an event! I never had to ask for anything, it was already waiting in place.



Our crew gets underway to take our positions on the course. Wow, such a familiar sight for me, getting staged. It's not so much what happens at the event, but how our staff prepares for in advance in case of an emergency, transport and equipment needs, and that includes ourselves. Here is was even better, because I did not speak any Japanese, and my interpreter if he wasn't near, I was doomed to sign language. Communication is the number breakdown in effective operations. However, here working with Maris/JJSF, even with no ability to communicate with words, we never had any issue at all about what to do or how to do it, Just amazing. I think I have found Course Marshal Nirvana...!



Getting ready for Round 2! This is our second day getting prepped for on the water safety management! Eigi, Ueji, Simon and Kazu are my wingmen. Simon paid double duty with translation demands, he really rose to the occasion and is a respected water rescue professional. Kazu is a well known mechanic and free spirit and E & U are dedicated energized course marshals for many years.



Inside the Bun Freestyle booth at the Yokohama Boat show I hooked up with the BUN Freestyle IJSBA World Champion freestylists, Fumikazu Watanabe and friends, he is coming to take our K38 Japan safety and Open Water Rescue Boat Course in June! That shows dedication and professionalism, when our worlds' best is willing to get training to help those in need just in case! Way to go Watanabe! The training conducted for Course Marshals was a cornerstorne in the sport level of commitment in Japan, even though they have been conducting their operations for years, they continue to seek new and improved ways of better serving the needs of their membership. I am very proud of the community support and effort, and honored to be a part of their ongoing history! Thanks everyone! Shawn-San.



BACKTRACK
IJSBA World Finals 2007, Chibi Yuki was involved in a collision in the Pro Women's SU division, our IJSBA Course Marshals @ Worlds responded to their duties and transported Chibi and her equipment off the track. When I laid her down inside the boathouse with my team mates to ready her for transport to the hospital, she was laying on our rescue board. Like so many athletes inflicted with their real world concerns in those moments, the eyes say everything. I bent down to speak with her and give her assurance, holding her hand.

We must return to the track immediately, so time is of the essence from water to land transitions. Only those who have been in this position understand what I am talking about. I am also one of those, several times being carted off due to impact injuries as well as event management concerns, I have been the same person lying on the ground, I know how it feels.

She wasn't the only patient we worked with on staff @ worlds, but each incident, each athlete is like our family, it becomes personal without interfering with professional behavior. Our water rescue timeline is very quick, our mission simple: effective evacuation to land for basement and possible transport, to lend assurance that we provide the best services possible, by provided credentialed and trained professionals who understand the risks and manage them accordingly.

STRONG K38 REMINDERS
What does this mean to K38 staff? A dignified transport, with concerns of the struggles these athletes face in the upcoming minutes and hours, their family and our staff are constantly on our mind. We too could be in that position at any given time working the track, we have constant reminders to be safe at all times. This is why we train, to stay current with the industry/rescue/management changes, the demands and the liability issues that surround injury accidents. Racing is not fair, and neither is life, we have no guarantee, only the right to pursue our chosen activities and go well prepared. The same thing goes for qualified water rescue responders, and hopefully volunteers.

Of course our patients/athletes always look a little different when their helmet is on! We do not work with prejudice towards friendships, families nor allegiance to any sponsor, we work to provide the best application possible for those in need based off our experience level. Here in Japan, Chibi came up to me and gave me quite a few hugs, it was months later. I then connected the dots...the boathouse, the eyes..yes this was the female @ worlds I remember..she said..'thank you, thank you thank you, you are my hero, you helped me in Havasu, I want to do the same work like you do now'....And so she does. Once again, the language barrier needs no other words.

We do not work to become anyone's hero or to garner personal praise at the expense of someone's misery or misfortune, we work to serve and to learn, to help others, our staff, our promoters and for ourselves to improve upon lessons learned. It is the job we sign up for. I tell my staff, 'we are like janitors, nobody should notice we are there putting everything back in place, be professional at all times, do not draw any unnecessary attention to yourselves, stay focused., stay committed to what you were taught' There message is, 'focus is everything', do not get distracted.

THE LIFE YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN
A hero is a person who goes beyond their normal constraints and experiences and succeeds under adverse conditions. When we train as professionals, we prepare ourselves to conduct our behavior in proper levels of risk management, so we too come home safe. Being a dead hero isn't good enough, something usually went horribly wrong.

Given a position of authority we are looked upon to provide leadership and to express the qualities that come with leadership roles. Keep your counsel private and do not discuss event incidents publicly, stay away from Internet postings that could come back at you, the athletes or the promoter in a lawsuit or someone's else's suit.

Staff should not discuss events, policies, strategies or results without permission of the event organizers in writing, including images or video. Think before you speak and stay calm during the pressures of an incident. Keep staff of the communication devices, and make this a point in advance to keep channels 'clear' or 'separate'. Follow your assigned job duties.

Do not let undue pressure influence your choices or motives. If you are using your own personal gear, you could consider a personal insurance policy to protect you in case of a lawsuit due to a collision, or check with the event liability insurance prior to assigned work duties. Communicate effectively in advance, so you don't have to backtrack and find you are not covered or acting within your guidelines, or you have not provided the measure of coverage required by the promoter or event. Ask questions, get answers, even of yourself.

It takes a series of related events for an accident to occur. Things happen fast in a car, a boat, anything that moves forward, there is risk. Course marshaling is just another example of 'risk'. As Chief of Water Safety for the International Jet Sports Boating Association, I ask for the support of our fellow racers. When we are on the track, we are a team, give it your best team effort and sportsmanlike behavior.

It takes our full community awareness so that our racers themselves on the track also respect the demands placed upon your on water staff. Put yourselves in our place as we put ourselves in yours! We are a fallible resource, just as a racer experiences their setbacks and boat problems, we too face the same concerns. With few breaks or replacement craft, oftentimes we continue to work with diminished capacities. Staff is the first to bear the brunt of disgruntled membership, sometimes it is deserved but oftentimes not.

STEADY AS SHE GOES
Communication is valid only if it is open for dialogue and understanding. This is something that creates many barriers for effective event success. I keep this in mind when listening to complaints and concerns, but also realize that our information may not compliment the real world concerns you have limited knowledge about if not on staff. Additional support and or mediation is important, especially during an injury, we may need additional support outside of staff, to manage crowd, equipment or family matters. Please manage yourself calmly and assuredly to provide the best level of assistance. It will be much appreciated, and our PWC community is know for its tight fellowship, keep it calm! Remember during an incident the patient/athlete may hear or see body language, tone of voice and words chosen, so be careful what you say or do, you may influence a negative or unwarranted response, merely by staying calm!

Chibi has been working on rescue boards herself now in Japan, but not as the patient, she's the rescuer now, and she continues to compete. Reminds me of myself once upon a time. It's a great compliment.

Giving back to your community is an act of courage, dedication, sacrifice and passion. Prepare yourself to get the best and most current information, equipment and knowledge of that particular activity so you can become a risk manager, as well as a risk taker, whether on a staff position or competing on the track, or a spectator, get CPR certified, take a basic First Aid course, get your boater education, document your experiences and credentials and continue to seek professional development.

HISTORICAL DIALOGUE
Keep records of all your activities and hours of training and on water work. Write down your incident reports, and keep your post and pre operations checklists in order for PPE and Rescue boats/equipment, keep these records for a period of 3 years. Keep your personal insurance in order for injury/medical/liability and follow up with briefings and de-briefings daily with notations. Certifications have expiration dates, a normal pattern is approximately 3 years, keep abreast of changes and updates and remember: Knowledge is Power.

'The more you know, the better it goes.'
Ask me how I know?

Boat Smart from the Start is a National Campaign slogan from the National Safe Boating Council. Prepare yourself to manage emergencies, for you may find you are the first responder prior to any public safety on scene arrivals and what you know can save a life, possibly even your own!

K38 Japan
http://www.K38Japan.com

Marine Sports Foundation http://www.maris.or.jp/

Please visit our Media Portal to read more about K38 Water Safety:
www.TheLivesYouSave.com

Disclaimer:

This article does not reflect Maris, JJSF or IJSBA event guidelines or concerns, nor any promoter, this information is distributed as safety reminders and not a 'training guideline' to those working at special events. This article describes items of concern to help you better build your own personal risk management platforms Get training and education, get informed!
Know Before You Go-Shawn Alladio

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