YWCA teaches kids to swim safely
The skies over Belize City may have threatened rain, but that did not deter a pool full of young people from having fun….and learning some valuable lessons at the same time. Jacqueline Woods reports from the YWCA.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
With children on their school break many of them will be near or in the water–whether rivers, lagoons or the sea. But a lot of boys and girls do not know how to swim and sometimes a happy day at the beach can quickly turn into a tragedy.
Kent Reyes, Co-ordinator, Swimming Instruction
“Here in Belize, we are in the tropics and there is a lot of water around us and we noticed there are a lot of swimming pools being built here in Belize and a lot of kids want to swim and things like that.”
Children are thrilled by the movement of water and the fun they can have splashing and playing games. But what they don’t know is that any body of water can become dangerous if you don’t know how to swim safely.
This morning we found a group of eager children learning how to safely enjoy the water. The swimming classes are offered by YWCA and a number of certified lifeguards and instructors.
Jacqueline Woods
“Janel how long have you been coming to the swimming classes?”
Janel McNab, 8 years old
“One for one week, this will be my second week.”
Jacqueline Woods
“When you came here did you know how to swim?”
Janel McNab
“No ma’am.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So were you scared of the water?”
Janel McNab
“Yes.”
However it did not take a long time for eight-year-old, Janel McNab and her friends to get rid of their fear and start to learn some of the techniques that will make them good swimmers.
Jacqueline Woods
“Shaun what have you been learning here?”
Shaun Gill, 9 years old
“Front float, back float, jellyfish float, flutter kick with the glide, the glide by itself.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Why is it important for you to know how to float?”
Shaun Gill
“Like if yuh in the deep and nobody’s there and you are by yourself and you are about to drown you float.”
Kent Reyes
“Most of the kids who came today are non-swimmers. Some of them come and first hand they have a clue about water, the water safety, how to enter the pool, how to exit the pool.”
It’s important that the children get the opportunity to swim throughout the year; that is the only way the instructors say their skills will improve. The YWCA has been trying to introduce the classes to schools, but without much success.
Corett Usher, Pool Supervisor, YWCA
“We call, we go into the schools, we send flyers. What we are saying is what they should do instead of having the P.E. at the school, they could come by the pool and let this be a part of P.E. and let them learn to swim. It’s a very good programme.”
If you are interested in sending your child to the swimming programme you are encouraged to join the second session, which runs from July thirtieth to August seventeenth. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
The swimming classes cost only thirty dollars and registration is done at the YWCA on St. Thomas Street.
