Why all kids must learn to swim

• Approximately 10 people drown every day in the U.S. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)).
• More than one in five fatal drowning victims are children younger than 14 (Source: CDC).
• Drowning is also a silent killer—most young children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time (Source: Present P. Child Drowning study).
• Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent among children aged one to four years. (Source: Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 2009)
• Seventy percent of African-American and sixty percent of Hispanic/Latino children cannot swim. (Source: National research study by the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis)
• African-American children drown at a rate nearly three times higher than their Caucasian peers. (Source: CDC)
• If a parent does not know how to swim, there is only a 13 percent chance that a child in that household will learn how to swim. (Source: National research study by the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis)

Research Study REVEALS 60-70% OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND HISPANIC KIDS CAN'T SWIM

A recent study commissioned by the USA Swimming Foundation and conducted by the University of Memphis found that nearly 70% of African American children and nearly 60% of Hispanic children have low or no swim ability, compared to 40% of Caucasians, putting them at risk for drowning. The 2010 study is a follow up to the 2008 groundbreaking research study (Phase I) that identified the predominant barriers inhibiting swimming participation among urban minority groups in the United States. The 2010 study (Phase II) identifies children’s true swimming ability and which factors most impact whether or not a child learns to swim. For full results please click on the link below.