In France, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in everyday life among people under 25 years old. Every year, about a thousand people lose their lives in a swimming pool, at sea or in a lake. Drownings in swimming pools account for about a third of these deaths. Of these, about a third are children under the age of 6.

“You should know that the drowning of children, beyond being dramatic, is silent. It’s not like in the movies, you hear absolutely nothing.”, explains Thierry d’Auzers, president of the association of swimming pool specialists and independent swimming pool specialists.

“The number of drownings each year is particularly dramatic. This is why we decided to create in 2019 the MAN, the Anti-drowning Master. What saves children is above all vigilance”, continues. -he.

For Thierry d’Auzers, one of the main causes of drowning in children is lack of vigilance. Indeed, he explains that “when there are several of us, we say that we are watching but in reality we discuss among ourselves and we watch without really doing it”.

It was in the face of this observation that the idea of ​​the MAN imposed itself on him: “The concept of the MAN is: we designate a person and we give him an object and it is he who is responsible. She looks what’s going on and checks on the kids but only does that for a certain amount of time scheduled in advance or not.When she wants to change, just give her marshal’s baton to the next person who will be designated as the MAN.”

For him, it is essential that this concept expands because it is an effective way to supervise children while the rest of the adults can have fun without having to supervise at the same time. “We are not just targeting the swimming pool but all places where drowning can take place.”