Opinion

Swimming better

It is an admission, not being able to swim, and it's one, I was told years ago when I ended up in a learn-to-swim class by mistake, that many men refuse to make. In my case the learn-to-swim instructor refused to believe my protests that I needed just stroke correction until I abandoned the yellow float and did a lap with my best great Australian crawl. Sorry sorry, she fussed, it's just that many men won't admit they can't swim even when they come to learn-to-swim classes!

A friend, a 52-year-old man, had no such reservations when he told me this week that he couldn't swim a stroke to save his life. He'd tried to learn but his dread of water paralysed him. It did surprise me, that a born-in-Australia man could not swim. I can understand someone from northern Europe, for example, not being

able to swim, but not swimming must deny an Australian many forms of recreation or put him or her in great peril.

Anyway, it strikes me that there is surely a great many more Australians who can't swim well enough and who, therefore, are in greater peril. Poor swimmers, presumably, are more willing than non-swimmers to get in the water.

Royal Life Saving's 2009 Drowning Report - http://www.royallifesaving.com.au /www/html/2399-2009-nsw-drowning- report.asp - shows that an average of 26 people drown while swimming in NSW each year while 20 drown after falling in, and I assume that the former think they can swim well enough and the latter know they can't swim at all.

Children who frolic competently and safely in the backyard pool may be deemed by their parents to be able to swim and thus get no lessons, when the fact is that many of them could not swim 50 metres. Many people who go into the surf are in trouble if they find themselves in turbulent water and unable to stand, and more surfboard riders than you'll believe cannot swim more than a few strokes.

We have many government and commercial learn-to-swim programs but it seems to me that we need, as well, swim-better programs for both children and adults. I'd guess that swim-better programs would save at least as many lives as the learn-to-swim variety. A bonus, a national health bonus, is that swimming is an enjoyable, efficient and impact-free means to fitness. Should we put more emphasis on teaching people to swim better?

Posted By: Jeff Corbett on 8/04/2010 4:37:00 PM | Comments (22)

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With you on that one Jeff, but nothing will beat the old Les Lazurus way of learning to swim... A kickboard to the back of the head if your not keeping up with the pace! Learn to swim should be compulsary to all children just like immunisation injections. There is a % of drowning per year with an age bracket (3-5yrs old) that has never changed. How many fatalities has there been this year so far Jeff?

Posted by The Real Tough Titties, 9/04/2010 10:24:12 AM, on The Herald

So glad my mum took me to swimming lessons when I was a kid. It is great for fitness too, training in the pool. The 'Across The Lake Swim' on Lake Macquarie in February each year, 3.8 kms from Coal Point to Belmont is my greatest and only sporting achievement, and a real joy for someone who didn't have much interest in cricket or football.

Posted by Jim, 9/04/2010 10:36:24 AM, on The Herald

The Across the Lake is a great event, Jim, and achievable, I think, by a poor swimmer after a year of training. I've done it three or four times although not for at least a decade.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 9/04/2010 10:44:45 AM

You raise an important issue here, Jeff. It is something that needs to be addressed. particularly for men, admitting to being unable to swim is a real taboo. Remember the advertising campaign from a couple of years ago that promoted adult literacy (learn to read) programmes ~ the Reading Writing Hotline? I thought that was packaged really well, and hopefully went a long way towards helping people feel some dignity in seeking help. Surely a programme that helps adults feel good about becoming better swimmers is worthwhile? According to the Newcastle Herald's little cousin (the Sydney Morning Herald) today, obesity is now more deadly than smoking, at a population level. Swimming helps.

Posted by Abundance, 9/04/2010 10:44:44 AM, on The Herald

It's very easy to become obese. Stay in bed longer, eat tasty comfort food, watch the teev, chips, takeaway, tv in the bedroom, and so soon exercise becomes too difficult. Swimming is a good place to start.

Posted by Jeff Corbett on 9/04/2010 11:04:05 AM

Inablilty to swim among adults of all ages is alike to adults without any literacy skills. The only difference is they are not as liable to drown if they remain illiterate and no doubt shame and embarrassment is behind a good proportion of these persons not seeking any remedial solutions.

Posted by MizJasper, 9/04/2010 10:50:40 AM, on The Herald

just do sidestroke - normal swimming (Aust crawl) is too hard to match up breathing etc. sidestroke will at least save your life, easy to do and most efficient form of swimming (preferred by US Navy [apparently - the internets never lie, can it?!].

Posted by Flipper, 9/04/2010 11:13:05 AM, on The Herald

JC i'm all for teaching kiddies how to swim, but i'm more focused on teaching them how to count. Relevance ?(i hear you think). The Laurie Lawrence ad "Kids Alive - do the five" jingle has six items, not five as the name implies. 1 Fence the pool 2 shut the gate 3 teach your kids to swim that's great. 4 supervise 5 watch your mates, 6 and learn how to resucitate. Clearly six, not five. I guess "come on you pricks, do the six" isn't as catchy as "kids alive, do the five". Or perhaps i'm being a pedant - my wife insists "supervise" and "watch your mates" is one item. I disagree. Supervise implies a carer relationship, whereas watch your mates implies a peer relationship. All in all, it's a complete non-issue but it bugs me every time i see the ad.

Posted by fista, 9/04/2010 11:14:27 AM, on The Herald

fista - you have made me laugh aloud with your "C'mon you pricks, do the six!" You've made my day.

Posted by Flipper, 9/04/2010 11:20:23 AM, on The Herald

Well I am considered relatively literate, but swimming, not to save my life and yes I was born here. I cannot blame my parents for this. I was taken regularly for swimming classes in school holidays (which I hated) and Dad often took me to Lambton pool to try to instil some ability in me; but I am a failure! Having said that I keep clear of the water other than the shower, but I know I should address this issue. I suspect I am not alone in this and will blame time poverty (and horror at the idea of being in swimmers) for not having taken steps to ameliorate this deficit, not shame or embarrassment.

Posted by Cricket Tragic, 9/04/2010 11:24:16 AM, on The Herald

Perspicaciously put, Fista. I like that.

Posted by Abundance, 9/04/2010 11:38:41 AM, on The Herald

After a few laps of a pool fista, your frustrations would be gone. You can push as hard against the water as you like, and you sweat but don't get sweaty.

Posted by Penny, 9/04/2010 11:56:31 AM, on The Herald

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