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

[fred_mouse]

Australians, in my experience, are Really Big on swimming lessons. It is really common now for babies under 6 months old to be in 'baby swim' classes if the parents can afford it. The state education department provides summer classes that are partially funded for kids between 6 and 17. I think last summer I paid about $30 for two kids to do two weeks of daily lessons, plus entry to the pool (which the pool did a discount pay once thing for as well). And swimming lessons are part of the primary school curriculum. Two weeks of taking swimming gear to school, being bussed to the nearest swimming pool, half hour lesson, back to the school.

So, even though we had a pool in the back yard, and I swam there a lot (unsupervised for much of it) I also did years of swimming lessons. Higher levels are about competitive strokes though. And I stalled about three levels before the top, because my shoulders don't do the right think in overarm, and I couldn't breathe.

[highlyeccentric]

Yeah, the Australian emphasis on swimming is a real Thing. I say I can't really swim, because I can't swim laps (not for lack of swimming lessons - the muscle memory just hasn't stayed with me), but then I go near water with a non-Australian and... I'm probably not so bad!

[fred_mouse]

Yeah. The muscle memory is weird! I don't swim from one year to the next, but like you, I'm not so bad!