The City of Cape Town’s Recreation and Parks Department invested approximately R97 000 to establish a Learn-to-Swim programme at the Athlone swimming pool. The first group of new swimmers took to the water yesterday.
Approximately 30 primary school learners from Athlone Primary attended the launch.
Other schools participating in the programme include Silverlea Primary School, Peak View and Ned Damon High Schools.
Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross gave the keynote address at the event and encouraged the youth to be diligent in learning about safety and survival while swimming.
‘There have been 19 drownings at our beaches over the festive season alone. The cause of many of these incidents are because of swimmers getting caught in rip currents or swimming outside of designated areas.
‘We should not underestimate the impact of these programmes, which may lead to many lives being saved in future. More so, swimming offers many other health benefits in addition to being an enjoyable activity,’ said Councillor van der Ross
The programme will be offered at no cost to participants as part of the City’s investment in youth development through recreation.
Western Cape Provincial Minister for Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, attended the event and commended local ward Councillor Rashid Adams for extensive community engagement and commitment to ensuring that a sustainable and quality programme was initiated in Athlone.
‘There are 800 drownings in South Africa annually, approximately 600 of which are children. The Western Cape ranks third as the province with the highest number of drownings. It is important to remember that children are vulnerable near water and can drown outside of beaches and pools. Swimming is a life skill. Once you can swim, you can help someone else by helping them if they are in distress, teaching them how to swim or even by making it a career,’ said Minister Fernandez.
Lessons will be offered from Monday to Thursday from 10:00 – 13:00 with each group given an opportunity to have two sessions every week.
In partnership with four schools from the surrounding area, teachers will be responsible for identifying 50 primary school or high school learners ensuring that there is a fair mix of both girls and boys in each group.
City lifeguards will teach water awareness, swimming and basic first aid.
Progress is structured and will be measured according to their competence in four target levels.
The first level includes breathing, floating and water treading while the highest level four means competency in two or three strokes and training to be a pool lifeguard.
There are 35 municipal pools across the City which makes learning to swim accessible to many within their home communities.
Some of the pools already offer the learn-to-swim programme, with a few done in collaboration with the National Sea Rescue Institute.
The Recreation and Parks Department aims to roll out the programme at all open municipal pools in the future.