Amateur Swimming Association

Open water near Jaipur

• New research released today by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) shows that a fifth of children have experienced trouble in open water, with 40% of parents saying it was a serious incident
• ASA launches the biggest ever open water safety initiative Swim Safe for the third year running today
• The ASA is urging parents to make sure their children are proficient in open water situations and not to rely on others to ensure their children’s immediate safety

The Amateur Swimming Association and RNLI are today launching a new campaign to educate parents on the dangers of open water swimming. Despite the RNLI warning that swimming in temperature below 15 degrees celsius can seriously affect your breathing and movement, 26 per cent do not believe cold water would affect their child’s swimming ability.

Furthermore, although most fatalities occur in open water or in the sea the research reveals that nearly half (43%) of parents wrongly believe that if their child can swim in a pool they will be safe in the sea. More worryingly, one in eight parents admit that they don’t always supervise their children when they are in the sea or open water, even though one in seven parents say their child cannot swim (needs floats, doesn’t take their feet off the floor or can’t swim at all).

The ASA and RNLI are urging parents to take more responsibility for their children in open water and concerned that the message of the added dangers and difficulties of beach swimming are misunderstood by both parents and kids.

The push is part of the ASA’s annual Swim Safe programme which is a joint initiative between the organisation and the RNLI which aims to give children aged 7-14 years old visiting the coast an opportunity to understand and learn about the differences between swimming in a pool and the challenges of swimming in an open water environment

Watch our video of Jon Glenn (Amateur Swimming Association),Duncan Goodhew MBE (Olympic Gold Medalist) and Steve Parry (Olympic Medalist).

As the new curriculum beds in to primary schools across England, questions are being asked of school inspection body Ofsted as it is revealed that the standard and regularity of swimming is overlooked in school assessments.

Schools and swimming

This lack of accountability is worrying for two fifths of parents who have not been informed of their child’s swimming ability, and is particularly concerning with 45% of 7-11 year olds (primary school aged) unable to swim 25 metres unaided.

That’s according to a new report released today by the ASA, which recommends that schools should be allocating at least 25 hours of study time a year per child for curriculum swimming.
However, the report, which surveyed primary schools across England, shows that less than half of all schools offer that level of swimming instruction, while one in 14 schools (over 1,300) offer no swimming provision at Key Stage 2. This is despite a 40% increase in fatalities amongst all young people in the water in the last year.

If primary schools can commit to adopting the recommended approach, the ASA estimate that approximately 200,000 additional children would leave primary school being able to swim.

Patient Talk

Patient Talk

Amateur Swimming Association

Concern as one in five children experience near-misses in open water – this is useful information for parents of children with autism

Children and Health – continued concern over the quality of school swimming. Watch Steve Parry and Duncan Goodhew explain why school swimming is so important.