This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Swim to Survive program, which was developed by The Lifesaving Society as a means to teach Grade 3 students the critical skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into water.
Since the release of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) global report on drowning, which found drowning to be one of the 10 leading causes of death for children and young people in every region, the importance of the Swim to Survive program has heightened. In fact, teaching school-age children basic swimming, water safety, and safe rescue skills is specifically identified by the WHO report as one of the “Ten Actions to Prevent Drowning.”
“Teaching young children basic survival swimming skills can have a lifelong immunization effect against drowning,” says Dr. Stephen Beerman, a Canadian doctor and researcher who contributed to the report. “The Lifesaving Society’s Swim to Survive program is an excellent example of how an organized, community-based approach can have an impact on generations of children. The program is a great model for other countries in the world.”
Thanks to a grant from the Stephanie Gaetz Keepsafe Foundation, The Lifesaving Society was able to fund the development of the program, which teaches three basic skills in sequence—roll into deep water, tread water for one minute, and swim 50 m.
In 2005, the program’s inaugural year, approximately 3000 Grade 3 students in Ontario’s York region participated in the pilot program thanks to funding from York regional government.
In 2006, the Ontario Ministry of Education gave The Lifesaving Society close to $1 million to fund a province-wide school grant program. Thanks to the continued support from the ministry, along with other government and community partners, almost 670,000 children from 50 school boards across 93 municipalities in Ontario have been able to participate in the Swim to Survive program. Today, the program continues to grow and is now available in all provinces across Canada.
“Spending time in and around water is a fact of life in Canada, and every child deserves the chance to learn basic swimming skills,” says The Lifesaving Society’s public education director, Barbara Byers. “Acquiring these basic skills is a fundamental requirement in any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada.
“Our goal is to reach every Grade 3 student and arm them with the skills to help keep them safe. We are proud of the Swim to Survive program’s success and are working to expand the program further.”
