New York City’s YMCA offers swim lessons year-round, and Romulus Staton, director of the Y’s lifeguard training and certification programs, wants to make sure people know that. That’s because even with summer quickly coming to a close, the Y firmly believes that knowing how to swim is essential.
“I hope to increase access to swim lessons,” Staton said, “to get people of all ages in. It’s not just for children but for parents as well. If you take your child to a pool but are not comfortable, if anything happens to your child, you won’t be able to assist them. So, for all ages, if you’re not comfortable in the water where you swim, find some place to pay for lessons. Just get yourself acclimated to the water.”
Every YMCA in the city that has a swimming pool offers swim lessons throughout the year. The fees for classes vary by location, but financial assistance is also available.
Last summer, the Y offered a “Swim into Summer” initiative, which provided free swim lessons to 500 people, primarily elementary school children, to help them get in the water. But truth is the Y has been offering swim lessons to people of all ages for several years now. They have an introduction to water class for elementary school-aged children called “Safety Around Water.”
The course teaches kids the key elements for a beginning swimmer, like knowing what to do if they fall into the water. It shows children how to catch some air once they’re in the water, before turning over and getting back to the edge of the pool. The Y’s classes also teach young kids to “Swim, Float, Swim,” or to understand that if they get tired while swimming, they can flip onto their backs, float forward, and then flip back over to continue swimming.
Reasons to learn to swim
Swimming basics classes for elementary school-aged kids, teenagers, and adults are designed to familiarize people with the water. In a 2021 YMCA survey, 44% of Black parents were found to have little to no swimming ability, and 40% had negative feelings about even being near pools.
This is another reason Staton has dedicated himself to encouraging more Black people to learn to swim. The Y has posted videos of public figures it has convinced to take swim classes.
Senator Jamaal T. Bailey and NYC Councilmember Kevin Riley last summer both took part in an eight-week swim class at their Northeast Bronx branch; Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson and Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers took swim lessons at the Rockaway YMCA; and ABC News’ “Good Morning America” journalist DeMarco Morgan, took swimming lessons last year with Staton.
Staton says he’s been involved in aquatics for a number of years now. He mentioned that, as the Y’s director of lifeguard training and certification, another great reason to learn to swim is that if you become a knowledgeable enough swimmer, you might be able to become a lifeguard.
“Lifeguarding and learning how to swim is just something everyone should be able to do,” Staton said, “because the planet is covered in water. And pretty much anything that we do, like, if we go on vacation, there’s going to be some water element involved, and you want to be able to enjoy it safely.”
The training can take a while, but if you wanted to become a lifeguard, you would just have to have a minimum standard of swimming ability and stamina, and you would have to learn a bunch of rescue, first aid, and CPR skills. The lifeguard program is a nearly 40-hour training course that features hands-on water and skill-based learning, as well as an online and classroom component.
Lifeguard classes, which are offered free of charge at the Y, are taught throughout the year. Those interested can come in for swim testing and then take a lifeguarding course. The YMCA does try to hire people once they have completed the course.
“Learning how to swim is something that everyone should work to do and should have access to. And then, because there’s water everywhere, lifeguarding is one of those jobs that you can do anywhere, pretty much. Being a new lifeguard and being someone knowledgeable and skilled enough to do that job, it’s something that’s transferable almost anywhere.”
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