Get Ready, April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month

Swimming Saves Lives Foundation Launches 'Adult Learn-to-Swim Month'

Learn how to Reduce the number of adult drownings in your community this summer

You can do it! If you didn't learn to swim as a child, now is the time. You are not alone. I can remember learning how to swim as a child. My town offered summer swim classes. We would be bused to the lake daily for the summer. It was so much fun, except for the "test", which was swim to the big float by yourself. I didn't like it, it scared me. In fact, I quit before I had to pass the big test of swimming out to the float that was over my head. To this day I wonder why an adult was not going to swim along with me, just in case I couldn't make it. That would have made all the difference for me, and I would have conquered the quest. In fact now that I am writing this I am wondering why my father didn't take me there and help me with my fears. Huh, that would have saved so much anxiety for me and my brother. 

I ended up teaching myself to swim in a pool. I'm still fearful even though I can swim because of my childhood experience.  I made a point to have all my children take swim lessons, some did better than others, well one did better than the others! I guess this is where they all took after me. But they can swim and that is the important thing. 

I love to float in my pool, knowing I conquered my fears. I can honestly say that if I had to swim to save myself, I could do it. Even if all I did was float on my back to shore, but that was not always the case and is not the case for many people . 

This is the story for many adults who do not have basic swimming skills. Just the basic skills can save your life. Crossroads and Breathe Maine recently teamed up with The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation in Sarasota, Florida who has launched a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of adult drownings by declaring the month of April, "Adult Learn-to-Swim Month." The governors of Nebraska, Indiana, Washington, and now Maine have issued declarations in support, and other states are processing proclamation applications.

“If we can convince water-shy adults to learn to swim in April, we hope to save lives when people gather at pools and beaches for summer recreation,” says Rob Butcher, executive director of U.S. Masters Swimming.

Alarmingly, 37 percent of American adults cannot swim the length of a 25-yard pool, according to the Centers for Disease Control, putting them at risk for becoming one of the 10 people who drown every day in the U.S. When adults can’t swim, they often pass their fears and water avoidance behaviors on to their children, thus perpetuating the risk of drowning in another generation.

To reduce accidental drowning deaths, which the CDC cites as the fifth leading cause of unintentional deaths, it’s recommended that children and adults learn to swim.

Chris Pompi, a civil engineer from Adams, Mass., was 38 years old when he learned to swim. He spent time at the Jersey Shore as a young adult, but couldn’t join his friends in the water. “I stayed on the beach, soaking up the sun,” he says. And family boat trips were fun for everyone but him. When Pompi had kids, he realized that if something happened to them in the water, he wouldn’t be of any help. “Somehow, my 5-year-old had picked up on my fears, and I didn’t want him to be afraid like I was, so I knew it was time to learn.” Now Pompi and his three children enjoy swimming for fun and exercise. In addition to helping to prevent drowning, swimming skills provide long-term health and fitness benefits.

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, more people aspire to use swimming for exercise over all other fitness activities. “Through our Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, which is supported by contributions from our 60,000 Masters Swimming members, we provide grants to our local partners for adult learn-to-swim classes in their communities,” Butcher says. “Once adults learn the lifesaving skill of swimming, our 1500 local programs are there to encourage them to keep swimming and enjoy the lifetime health, fitness, and social benefits of swimming.”

To find out more information or search for an adult learn-to-swim program in your area, go to

usms.org/learntoswim.

About the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation

The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation is the charitable arm of U.S. Masters Swimming. USMS has been promoting the health and fitness benefits of swimming for more than 40 years. The Foundation provides grants to USMS’s local programs for adult learn-to-swim classes. For more information, visit usms.org/giving.