Day 257/365: Friday's Unscientific Poll: Swimming Lessons

[nanila]

Poll #20449 Swimming lessons

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 82

I know how to swim.

Yes
78 (95.1%)

No.
4 (4.9%)

I had swimming lessons

As a child.
64 (78.0%)

As an adult.
4 (4.9%)

Never.
16 (19.5%)

[Optional] I never had swimming lessons because

Humuhumu has been having swimming lessons for about 14 months now. She started in the summer before she began school. She passed Stage 1 fairly quickly, but it has taken her a long time to get through Stage 2, which she officially passed today. This means she can move from the shallow learner's pool, which is only 80 cm deep into the "big" pool, which starts at 90 cm. She had to swim for five metres unaided on both her front and her back in order to move to Stage 3. She can actually swim 10 metres on her front, possibly more.

Keiki's going to start swimming lessons Sunday next, with the same awesome teacher that Humuhumu had. She's going to have a new teacher in Stage 3.

I never had swimming lessons because I grew up in Hawai'i. We always lived in places with swimming pools (apartment complexes and the like) or close enough to the beach for me to be able to go there every day. No indoor pools or heated water needed. I don't have any memories of not being able to swim, so I must have learnt quite early. Watching Humuhumu go through swimming lessons has therefore been a novelty for me. She's already a lot more comfortable being totally immersed than I was. It makes me think that it would have been good for me to have had lessons, as I'd probably be a much better swimmer now.

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

I didn't have swimming lessons for two and a half reasons.

Firstly, my dad was a fisherman and I grew up on the beach and in boats. I could swim before I started school. I vaguely remember learning to float, and doing kicks. I mostly remember doing lots of treading water, which is important if you fall off a boat, even with a life jacket.

My school in NZ offered swimming lessons, but in the summer when I was 5 or 6 I had impetigo and was banned from using the pool.

By the time I was in Australian and able to take lessons again, I was self conscious about doing beginner lessons as a big kid. the system there was you couldn't progress to more advanced lessons until you had the cert from the early ones. I do remember doing some lessons where we had to practice freestyle and breathe every fourth stroke.

[fred_mouse]

Oh, the not being able to progress. I hit 'Junior' at about age 8, and then stayed there for the rest of my primary education.

[ironed_orchid]

So frustrating.

[fred_mouse]

yep. I could swim the distance (I could near on do a length underwater at the Kala pool), I just couldn't do the stroke the way they wanted.