INNISFAIL – It was about a year ago when Van Robinson went to the Innisfail Aquatic Centre to do his lifeguard duties for a public fun swim.
It was “super” busy, he said.
Robinson was on the west side deck and noticed a child about seven-years-old fall into the water.
“She grabs onto the side, and ok, I think she can swim,” said Robinson. “But then I start walking away, and when I came back, she's under the water.
“I jumped in. The adrenaline kicked in, and I didn't have time to blow my whistle so nobody knew in the office that I jumped in. I could tell she was going down.”
But Robinson, who had his National Lifeguard certification, was able to grab the child and pulled her to safety.
“I did all the stuff that I had to,” he said. “I asked her if she swallowed any water, asked her if she was hurt. She said, ‘no,’ and was just scared.”
Robinson brought the child to her frantic and upset mother.
The young man, now 18, found himself in a lifesaving situation, and he made all the right moves.
“We go through a rigorous incident process and make sure everything is done properly and the outcome is positive,” said Todd Becker, the town’s chief administrative officer who was thoroughly briefed about the incident. “The actions of Van played a vital part. We are very proud of Van, and for receiving this award. His public engagement here is greatly appreciated.”
On June 27 Robinson was presented with the 8th annual Bates Wardle Award, created to honour the legacy of Bob Wardle, who at the age of 15 on Aug. 10, 1951 saved the life of 20-month-old Frances Burchak who had fallen four metres into a 10-foot-deep cistern in the tiny southeastern Alberta village of Tilley.
Wardle, who was then an aspiring lifeguard, jumped in and pushed the child up through a three-foot long chute to safety.
His heroism in 1951 earned him the first Lord Mountbatten Medal from the Commonwealth Royal Life Saving Society.
Many years later Frances, who became known as Frankie, met and later married Innisfail’s Gavin Bates on May 6, 1972, and they had a long and happy marriage.
Frankie passed away on June 29, 2017. She had 65 years of additional life because of Wardle's heroism.
A year after Frankie’s passing, the Bates Wardle Award was created by Bates and Wardle, who until the latter’s passing in Cochrane on April 2, 2024, jointly presented the honour to a deserving young person in both Innisfail and Cochrane.
The award, which includes a certificate and $750 bursary, recognizes youth from both communities who make extraordinary volunteer contributions to help others.
Most importantly, the award recognizes the important community roles lifeguards play, something that irreversibly changed the lives of both Wardle and Bates.
Most recently, Robinson’s quick thinking last year may very well have changed the lives of an Innisfail child and her family members.
“I wish Bob Wardle and Van could have met each other as previous recipients were able to prior to 2024,” said Bates, whose award presentation to Robinson included Wardle’s miraculous rescue story. “Van provided a lot more details today about one of his accomplishments as a lifeguard, and that of actually rescuing a child.
“And that's just amazing, almost a coincidence,” he added. “But no, it isn't because every one of the award winners have taken training that equip them to make those kinds of rescues and even to work on lifesaving, whether it being an accident or anything,
“But yes, it's really amazing to hear what Van did with that rescue.”
In the meantime, the young teen, a recent Innisfail High School graduate, wants to further his lifeguarding skills and is taking a year off schooling.
With the aquatic centre shutting down for nine months due to a modernization project, Robinson will have to find lifeguarding opportunities in either Red Deer or Olds.
But for now, he has seized additional inspiration from the Bates Wardle Award, a young lifeguard already placed in a real life or death situation like the 15-year-old kid in Tilley on Aug. 10, 1951.
“I’m very happy I did, obviously, and I'm proud of myself that I acted in time and noticed it,” said Robinson. “The only thing I would have done differently is blow my whistle just because I was kind of alone on deck.
“I had to, like, knock on the door and save someone.”
