The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation offers free swimming lessons to people of all ages. The free swimming lessons are offered throughout the five boroughs of New York City year-round in community pools. These classes are extremely important because they help prevent drowning.
Statistics show that approximately 54% of adults don’t know how to swim, and half have never taken formal swimming lessons. There are many reasons why many people don’t know how to swim, such as psychological barriers, physical technique struggles, historical inequalities and lack of access to affordable lessons. Knowing how to swim is immensely important because drowning is a leading cause of accidental injury and death, specifically for children and certain minority groups.
15-year-old Quin-Niya Contreras, a high school student, struggles with swimming. The constant fear of not knowing how to get back to the surface and drowning has led to Contreras being a non-swimmer.
She said, “My inability to swim has definitely affected me because I feel incapable and embarrassed since most teens my age already learned the skill.”
Not knowing how to swim has caused Contreras to be in constant fear for her life. However, she isn’t afraid of being in water and enjoys doing water-related activities. Contreras says she is looking forward to learning how to swim and hopes to have an instructor who is patient, honest and respectful.
The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation believes that many people have a fear of water and the lack of aquaphobia classes is one of the reasons why they are not able to move forward and learn how to swim. They also stated, “many times, if a family member doesn’t know how to swim, they then pass that down to their own children.”
As stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% for children aged 1 to 4. Furthermore, swimming is a full-body workout that engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously while putting minimal stress on your bones and joints. This makes it beneficial for people of all ages, including older adults and individuals with arthritis.
According to the Gold Medal Swim School, regular swimmers are 41% less likely to die from heart disease or stroke compared to those who are not regular swimmers. Swimming also builds lung capacity through controlled breathwork.
There are a variety of reasons why many people lack the knowledge of swimming, but one of the main reasons is cultural barriers such as segregation, religion, modesty expectations and beauty standards when it comes to hair care.
During the Jim Crow era, which enforced racial segregation in America during the 20th century, many public pools were closed to Black Americans. This led to many Black families being excluded from the swim culture.
If you or someone you know doesn’t know how to swim, here are some resources from NYC Parks: Swim for Life and Learn To Swim.
