Feeling Safe In Water
By Melon (M. Ellen) Dash

It's that time of year when you look at summer stretched out before you and say, "There will be swimming opportunities. This year, I want to be able to go."

If you are like the many adults in the U.S., a swimming opportunity is only an "okay" invitation: forty-six percent of American adults are not comfortable in pools in deep water. For them a swimming party means, "I won't take my suit, or I'll stay out of trouble: in the shallow end."

Each summer, many adults renew their determination to learn to swim if they didn't have the opportunity when they were younger or if they took lessons and were unable to learn because they were afraid in water.

If you are comfortable in water, then swimming lessons of the garden variety should serve you well. Sign up at the local Y, or take Red Cross lessons. Many city parks and recreation pools have lifeguards and instructors who teach private lessons or group classes.

If you are not comfortable in water, then your next step is not learning to swim: learning to swim is two steps away. Your next step is learning to be in control in water. Once you are in control, learning to swim is as natural and simple as learning to walk. Truly.

What does it mean to be in control? It means that you are completely at ease putting your face in water. That you understand and believe that the water holds you up. That if you are one of the few true sinkers, you can smile on the bottom of the pool because you know you're safe. That you can cross the pool slowly and rest in the middle. To be in control means you are ready to learn strokes.

What is swimming?

If you see someone comfortably resting in deep water, wouldn't you say she or he can swim? Yes. We think of someone as swimming if they look calm and comfortable.

On the other hand, if you see someone struggling with a stiff crawl-stroke to cross the pool, would you say that that person can swim? You'd probably say, "Sort-of." A crawl stroke does not make a person a swimmer. Confidence does.

There's a movement afoot to bring light to Beginning Swimming. It's to teach the community at large that swimming is personal safety in water, not strokes. It is the ability to stay in control in water and to have choices about where and when you want to go here or there in the water, not just to move from Point A to Point B.

If you are a Beginning Swimmer, then when you go to a pool this summer, give yourself more time than you ever have to experiment.

Take things very slowly. Find out what makes it feel safe to put your face in. Let yourself hold onto the wall and see if you can feel the water holding you up. It doesn't matter if your feet go to the bottom: it can still hold your upper body at the surface, which is the important part. Just play and have fun. Chances are, you'll discover something you needed to know. And that could just make your whole summer.