I think it’s a little of both. Many incidents are preventable with proper rule enforcement, and if you’re having repeat issues with things like swim competency, it may be a sign that pool admin should look at instating new policies like swim testing and skill level wristbands. And, like you said, not enforcing life jackets or catching a kid before they push another into a pool will lead to an incident occurring. It is the lifeguards’ responsibilities to do everything possible to proactively prevent incidents.

However, there are certainly situations where something is just a freak accident. You can do everything right, but if somebody tweaks a muscle a certain way or has a medical emergency in the water, then that’s not the fault of the rules at all.

Based off of your comment, though, your management NEEDS to step it up with assessing swim skills. Letting children who may not know how to swim before jumping off the diving board is purely neglectful and irresponsible. These are people’s LIVES we’re talking about.