NSBC's "Wear It!" Presentation at the American Canoe Association (ACA) Conference - Asheville, NC - November 5, 2010

1. ACA National Paddlesports Conference
Asheville, NC
Friday, November 5, 2010

2. 2009 USCG Statistics: Key Findings2009 USCG Statistics: Key Findings
Deaths: 736 vs. 709 (in 2008) = 3.81% increase
Drownings: 543 vs. 510 (in 2008) = 6.5% increase
Accidents: 4,730 vs. 4,789 (in 2008) = 1.23% decrease
Injuries: 3,358 vs. 3,331 (in 2008) = 0.81% increase
Almost three-fourths of all fatal boating accident
victims drowned, and of those, eighty-four (84) percent
were not reported as wearing a life jacket.

3. Registered Vessels 2007-2009Registered Vessels 2007-2009
2007 2008 2009
Registered
Canoes/Kayaks
336,176 384,770 386,933
Registered Open
Motorboats
(“Mechanically
Propelled”)
11,966,627 11,841,281 11,834,872
• Registered Canoes/Kayaks have increased over 50,000 since 2007
• Registered “Mechanically Propelled” vessels have decreased over
130,000 since 2007

4. Recreational Boating ParticipationRecreational Boating Participation
EstimatesEstimates
According to a USCG Report (September 2010):
2009
 52.0 million motorboaters
 20.3 million PWC users
 7.4 million kayakers
2020
 60.4 million motorboaters
 21.1 million PWC users
 13.5 million kayakers

5. 2009 Recreational Boating Market2009 Recreational Boating Market
EstimatesEstimates
According to a USCG Report (September 2010):
Market Estimates:
82 Million recreational boaters (age 16+)
12.7 Million state registered boats
Millions more unregistered boats (canoes, kayaks, etc.)
 Estimate: 4 to 25 million

6. Paddling Statistics 2007-2009Paddling Statistics 2007-2009
2007 2008 2009
Canoe Fatalities 66 Drownings
71 Total Deaths
70 Drownings
80 Total Deaths
86 Drownings
93 Total Deaths
Kayak Fatalities 31 Drownings
36 Total Deaths
30 Drownings
34 Total Deaths
34 Drownings
39 Total Deaths
Open Motorboat
Fatalities
230 Drownings
334 Total Deaths
252 Drownings
353 Total Deaths
279 Drownings
393 Total Deaths

7. USCG Strategic PlanUSCG Strategic Plan
The North American Safe Boating Campaign
specifically supports the following objectives of the
USCG’s Strategic Plan:
Objective 2. Awareness of Safe Boating Practices
Objective 4. Life Jacket Wear
The Campaign also indirectly supports many other
components of the USCG’s Strategic Plan

8. The North American Safe BoatingThe North American Safe Boating
Campaign (“Wear It!”)Campaign (“Wear It!”)
Efforts of the 2010 campaign include traditional and
“non-traditional” outreach methods
Traditional: Public Service Announcement

9. ““Wear It!”Wear It!”
Traditional Outreach Methods:
Press Releases
 Distributed six search engine optimized press releases
E-Newsletters
 Distributed five monthly electronic newsletters on behalf
of the National Safe Boating Council
Media Buy/Earned Media Coverage
 Placed a total of 998 print, radio, television and online
media hits
 Reached a potential audience of more than 287 million

10. ““Wear It!”Wear It!”
“Non-Traditional” Outreach Methods:
The Life Jacket Safety Dance (via Facebook Connect)

11. ““Be a Survivor: Wear It!”Be a Survivor: Wear It!”
8/4/2010: Lake Mohave, NV 9/4/2010: Off the coast of LA

12. 2010 National Tiger Team Meeting2010 National Tiger Team Meeting
Held in Arlington, VA on Monday, August 16, 2010
27 Individuals from USCG, State Agencies, Non-Profit
Groups, Industry, other Organizations in attendance
Focus of the Meeting:
 Review of the 2010 Campaign – Looking Ahead to the
2011 Campaign
 Life Jacket Trends and how they relate to the “Wear
It!” Campaign
USCG Strategy 4.2 – “Establish Life Jacket Wear-Rate
Tiger Team”

13. Inflatable Life Jacket World RecordInflatable Life Jacket World Record
Day – “Ready, Set, Inflate!”Day – “Ready, Set, Inflate!”
 Inflatable Life Jacket World Record Day
 Held on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:00 EDT / 8:00 PDT
 Goal: Promote life jacket wear, specifically inflatable life jackets, and general
boating safety
 www.ReadySetInflate.com
 User-friendly format for Event
Organizers/Media/Educational
Component:
 Join an Event/Organize an
Event
 Media Section
 Videos/Photo Galleries
 RESOURCES for Event
Organizers

14. ““Ready, Set, Inflate!”Ready, Set, Inflate!”
• 1,154 participants; 3 dogs in inflatable life jackets
• 29 US States, 1 US Territory, and 2 Washington D.C. locations
• 13 Canadian locations
• First Press Release announcing event was published over 190
times, reaching more than 6.2 million viewers
• Second Press Release announcing event totals and success of the
event was published over 100 times, reaching more than 8.9 million
impressions
•
Update: July 30, 2010 – 415 participants in Sydney, Australia

19. Why is “Ready, Set, Inflate” SoWhy is “Ready, Set, Inflate” So
Revolutionary?Revolutionary?

20. Inflatable Life Jacket Education KitInflatable Life Jacket Education Kit
Kit is intended to educate about inflatable life jackets
Kit Includes:
Flip Chart
1 Suspender inflatable life jacket and 1 belt-pack inflatable life
jacket and extra cylinders for demo
Educational DVD/Sample PSAs
Additional supporting materials (posters, reading materials, etc.)
 The Kit is available for purchase from the NSBC for $225
 (including shipping and handling)

21. Rachel BurkholderRachel Burkholder
Communications Director, NSBC
outreach@safeboatingcouncil.org