If you are like me and you learned how to swim as a child, the importance of swimming skills may be so obvious that you take it for granted. To learn to swim!
Systematic teaching that children receive today is vastly improved compared to what was happening just 50 years ago.
My father taught himself to swim as a teenager, using the inner tube of a tire in a pond. My mother took lessons and learned to swim when she was thirty. And I don't think my grandparents ever learned to swim.
To learn to swim!
However, not being able to swim in today's society can be anything from mildly annoying at best to life-threatening at worst. Let's see why.
Swimming and water safety
The importance of swimming lessons to water safety cannot be understated. Everyone, especially children, should be able to swim. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and every day several people die from drowning in an island country like our home country. That's why you should never let a child play near a pool or a lake unsupervised.
The health benefits of swimming are numerous.
•Helps the cardiovascular system, it is a low impact exercise that gives a great full body workout.
•There are also many psychological benefits of swimming. A swimming session in the pool relaxes the mind, lifts the spirits and is also often an opportunity to socialise.
•Besides that, swimming is also a recreational activity that you can enjoy with your friends on hot days..
•Being able to swim creates many recreational opportunities, which would not be safe in different conditions, such as: surfing, SUP, kayaking, boat fishing,…
•It is a prerequisite for many jobs: lifeguards, fishermen, professional divers,…
•It is a must if you want to follow in the footsteps of professional swimmers…
Conclusion
Now that I've tried to convince you of the importance of swimming lessons, and I may have succeeded, why don't you start learning to swim?
Saltamanikas Nikolas
TEFAA graduate, swimming specialty
Class A swimming coach
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