Swimming lessons geared to newcomers

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This article was published 20/07/2018 (2644 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new Winnipeg charity is set to provide newcomers with free swimming lessons and water education programs beginning in the fall.

Founded by swimming instructor Rishona Hyman, Ready, Set, Swim! aims to remove financial, linguistic and accessibility barriers that prevent newcomers from learning water-safety techniques that could save lives.

“Knowing how to swim safely should not be a privilege; it should be a fundamental right,” said Hyman, who also runs Aqua Essence Swim Academy.

Children from six to 18 years old will be eligible for the eight-week program, which teaches the official Swim to Survive curriculum in half-hour lessons.

Hyman said she is working with translators and newcomer organizations to ensure lessons will be available in students’ native tongues, and participants will be provided with bathing suits, towels, bags, shampoo and a weekly snack.

Participants will stay in the class until they’re able to swim safely without a life-jacket, Hyman said.

While there’s no reliable data that shows newcomers drown or are injured in the water more often than those born in Canada, Kevin Tordiffe, the operations manager of the provincial branch of the Lifesaving Society, says it certainly seems to be the case based on anecdotal evidence.

“One of the biggest challenges with learn-to-swim programs is access and cost barriers,” Tordiffe said Thursday.

“So, initiatives like this that strive to bring swimming to those who need it are very important in our community.”

The program launch comes during National Drowning Prevention Week, days after the Lifesaving Society released its annual drowning report, which found Manitoba children under the age of four had a rate of drowning 3½ times the national rate.

Nearly all recorded drownings of young children occurred during times of insufficient adult supervision.

The new program requires parents or guardians to attend the lessons and will provide them with water-safety information in a classroom setting. Tordiffe called this “a vital step in the right direction.”

The society runs an annual education program aimed at newcomers for whom English is a second language, and hopes to reach more people in future. Jennifer Tomsich, a program manager at Newcomers Employment and Education Development Services, says her organization has operated free eight-week sessions for newcomer teens since last year.

After the drowning deaths of newcomers Arwinder Brar, 19, and Pawan Preet Brar, 20, near Kenora, Ont., earlier this month, Tomsich lamented there weren’t enough programs for newcomers to prevent such tragedies.

“I feel like (Ready, Set, Swim!) will help fill the gaps in serving the newcomer population,” she said.

The waiting list for her organization’s program is almost 60, she said.

Hyman said she will consult community organizations to determine the most accessible city pools in which to run the program.

The first eight-week session will begin in October.

The charity is collecting donations to purchase equipment, and registration information is available at its website, readysetswim.ca.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @benjwaldman