“It’s not like in the movies. No one waves their hands in a panic screaming ‘help me, help me!’. Drowning is silent.”
Don’t overlook the lack of drama when it comes to drowning, according to Robert Stapf of the British Swim School.
“All of a sudden, there's nobody there anymore because they're under the water. You don't hear it. You don't see it if you don't pay attention. If you have a pool in the back, don't think you can sit on your phone and if something happens, you will hear it. It's not like that. Get off your phone. A majority of drowning occurs when a parent is within 15 feet.”
Scary thoughts. But reality can be scary. That’s what inspired Rita Goldberg, a Junior Olympic swimmer for Britain, when she moved to Fort Lauderdale, bringing her British Swim School stateside 40 years ago. Rita discovered troubling drowning statistics about two, three and four year-olds, knowing that it was rather impossible to teach traditional swim strokes to kids younger than five. “Their neck muscles aren’t developed so that they can keep their head above water,” according to Stapf. “So she asked herself - what can be done?”
But she dug deep into research, into anatomy. She was determined to help children survive water and came up with the idea that they could learn to turn onto their back and float.
“It became the method that we're teaching at the British Swim School. It’s based upon steps and progressions that are simple yet technical, where even toddlers can instinctively learn to lower one of their shoulders and turn around and float on their back,” Stapf explains.
Survival swimming is the lifesaving skill. Regular swimming is learning the strokes that take you from point A to point B.
“We’re a survival first school,” Stapf says. “We teach traditional swimming strokes as well, but survival in the water comes first. And it’s not just kids we teach these skills - adults, people with special needs, this is important for everyone.”
“Survival swim lessons are when you learn additional skills that you would need if you are in an emergency, because just swimming will not keep you safe or keep a child safe. For example, if you're in the open water in the ocean and get a cramp you can't swim anymore, or you tread water if you fall in. After treading water for 20 minutes you're done - you are exhausted and can't swim anymore. Then you need a skill where you relax and you can stay in that position for a very extended period of time. But you need to learn how to do that. The first thing that we teach is to float on their backs independently without any flotation devices. That's the number one skill we want them to know.”
It removes panic from the equation.
Stapf shares a story of some grandparents who have a pool in their backyard. They were in their kitchen and their three-year-old grandson walked in, drenched to his skin. They asked him what happened and he said that he just fell into the pool. He said that he just turned onto his back and got back to the edge like it was completely normal for him. It was, because he does it every week in class. It’s not something that he even thinks about. He fell in, turned around, then climbed out like it was no big deal. Without survival training he wouldn’t be here.
“We also concentrate on community education. One of our initiatives is something we call the Water Watcher. We have a little lanyard that we hand out. If you have a pool, when there's kids in and around the pool, you need to designate one adult as a water watcher, like a designated driver. You give them that lanyard and say ‘you watch the water’. If you have to use the bathroom, if you have to go to the kitchen to refill your drink, anything that’s going to take your attention away, you give the lanyard to someone else. That way, there's always somebody on duty.”
Thinking “it won’t happen to me” or “it’s only going to be a minute” can be a fatal mistake.
“The statistics are scary. But drowning tragedies are 100% preventable with early and proper training in survival swimming. So any little bit that you can do to make it safe in the water helps,” Stapf advises.
“We have something called Survival Week. It's part of this whole preparation. It’s where we teach the kids not just to swim and float but do that in the street clothes because when you wear street clothes, it's a whole different feeling.You're gonna be dragged down and we want kids to be prepared, because most of the accidents happen when kids are wearing their clothes. We do this every quarter. For this week, all of our lessons are held with street clothes on.”
“We also teach kids rescue skills. One of the first things that we teach is if you see another kid drowning don't jump in after him, because then you could have two kids drowning. We teach them: ‘Throw, Don't Go.’ Throw them something. Use your clothes, or throw them something to pull them out. This is one of the rescue skills we teach.”
“Most of the adults who come to us are actually afraid of the water. They won’t go near it and sometimes that will impact their quality of life. We use small pools - not super small, but not Olympic size either. We’re not here for that sort of sports training. With small pools, it’s less intimidating. This is how we build confidence for them. When they first start, they will not go into the deep end of the pool for an extended period of time until they really feel safe. All they want is to feel comfortable and be able to swim across the pool and not drown. Once they can do that, they feel much better going on a cruise - or even swimming with the dolphins - or even just going to a beach. To them, it's not a sport, but there are so many people who can't even enjoy a pool party. They don't wanna go to the beach or anywhere next to water. It's such a relief for most of them from something they’ve felt for their whole life. They've had this fear and think ‘oh now I'm 40 years old and now it's too late’. We can help you.”
Watching someone drown - especially if it’s your own child - and not being able to save them can cause a lifetime of regret and heartache. Survival swimming is for everyone.
The British Swim School is at 461 Route 46 in Fairfield. Contact them at 201-676-3630 or online at britishswimschool.com/hudson-waterfront/fairfield-route-46/
Their offices are open every day. The pool is open Tuesdays-Thursdays and Saturdays.
Lessons are open to all ages and swim levels. In addition to survival swim training, the British Swim School also offers traditional stroke lessons. See their website for details on pricing and schedule availability.