Drowning – Not Waving

A recent report on a compulsory Junior school swimming program found that less than one third of the students had been successful in a 50m swim and thus most were not awarded their certificates. So, what does this mean in reality?

Being able to swim safely is one of those skills that don’t matter until it becomes a skill that you must have in order to get out of danger or save someone else. Everyone should be able to do it.

A second concern is why did this educational program fail and what could be done to improve the training? Was this another thing that had to be done because parents weren’t doing it or was it actually important enough that it should be a part of every student’s educational experience?

This program needs to be successful or the consequences could be tragic.

Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia