As it gets warmer outside, more people are getting in the water, and that means agencies and organizations are offering reminders, resources, and programs to keep people safe and avoid preventable accidents, including drowning.
U.S. Masters Swimming , a national membership nonprofit for adult swimmers with clubs, workout groups, and other activities, designates each April as Adult Learn-to-Swim Month. According to the organization, more than a third of adults in the United States can’t swim the length of a pool, and their annual campaign is designed to reduce the drowning risk by encouraging free or reduced-cost swimming lessons this month. The city of San Diego is highlighting its reduced-cost swimming lessons as part of this effort, with information about the Learn to Swim program at the city’s 15 public pools (visit sandiego.gov/pools for more information).
“Drowning prevention is so important. San Diego is surrounded by water and there are some staggering drowning statistics, and we want to prevent drowning. … This month, especially, we’re targeting adults,” said Nicole McNeil, assistant deputy director for the city’s parks and recreation department, overseeing its pool system. “Swimming is important for people of all ages, and that includes our adult community, so we want to make sure that adults are learning to swim and knowing that we have opportunities available to create access.”
Part of that access comes from a $20,000 grant for the next three years from the American Red Cross’s Centennial Campaign , which started in 2014 to celebrate a century of swimming education. There are also other grant funders locally, including the Prevent Drowning Society of San Diego, that support the city’s outreach efforts. At several community pools, swimming lessons are $5 and there’s been an expansion of the adult swimming program. The local program includes basic water survival skills, like treading water, floating in the water, developing the confidence to turn around in the pool and maneuver in different directions, exiting the water independently, and rhythmic breathing, which is blowing air out while under the water and then taking a breath when above the surface, rather than holding your breath in the water.
There’s also a portable pool program in the Southcrest neighborhood this summer, funded by the Prevent Drowning Society of San Diego. This program provides an above-ground pool to communities without a permanent pool, teaching basic swimming skills and taking kids on field trips to bigger pools or to the beach, where they can apply what they’ve learned in the water, McNeil said. All of the instructors are trained and certified by the American Red Cross and most of them also serve as lifeguards at the pools.
The city is also in the process of hiring water safety instructors for adults who want to teach water safety skills and support the program without the rescue and life-saving role of a lifeguard (lifeguards trained in surveillance and rescue will continue to provide supervision and activate necessary emergency action plans). The only requirement is having swimming skills, so an adult can learn to swim during the swimming lesson programming and apply to be a water safety instructor for the city, and be certified on the job.
Despite drowning being preventable, it’s a leading cause of unintentional injury death for people 29 years old and younger, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In San Diego County, there were about 45 accidental drowning deaths in 2023, and there have been four so far in 2024, according to the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency . A 2021 study from the CDC also highlights the persistent ethnic and racial disparities in accidental drowning deaths, noting that although drowning deaths between 1999 and 2019 decreased overall, the rate was twice as high among Native Americans and Alaska Native people, and 1.5 times higher among Black people, compared to White people (and the disparities between Black and White people increased between 2005 and 2019).
In addition to taking advantage of public swimming programs, the San Diego County Fire Protection District recommends its pool alarm program , which began last year. Residents in the unincorporated areas of the county (the San Diego County and the Deer Springs fire protection districts) are eligible for a free pool alarm, with installation and instruction from county personnel, said Brent Pascua, fire captain and public information officer with CAL FIRE/San Diego County.
“Our message is similar to what is said throughout the United States—have (pool/water) supervision at all times; have those barriers for your pool for children; if you can, give your children lessons on how to swim,” Pascua said. “These are all things that can mitigate this problem of drowning because it is totally preventable, we just have to do our part. Lastly, learn CPR, in case you ever need it.”
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .
Most Popular
Comments / 0