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Make a Splash Announcement
Summer is here and families across the country are taking their children to beaches and pools. As much as basking in the sun and splashing around in the water sounds like fun; according to the CDC,approximately 10 people in the U.S. drown every day and more than one in five victims are children under the age of 14.
However, there is hope. Whenformal swimming lessons are introduced to children aged one to four years, their risk of drowning is reduced by up to 88%.
The USA Swimming Foundation and their child-focused water safety initiative, “Make a Splash,” aims to combat those sobering statistics by raising awareness of the importance of learning to swim.
Parents are urged to take their children for swimming lessons as early as possible as well as to make sure that a child is never left unsupervised around any pool or body of water. But, what if you or your children are caught in a possible drowning situation? Below are key things to practice that may save your life.
- Do not panic. Stay as calm and collected as possible and remember to breathe.
- If you are able to roll over and float, do so and call for help.
- Tread water (Light movements of arms and legs to stay afloat and keep your head above water. Treading too hard can cause you to lose energy)
- Deep water bobs (submerge, push off the bottom, surface and breathe), if possible, bob towards shallow water or an exit point such as a wall.
- Grab on to any flotation device to bring yourself to safety.
About USA Swimming Foundation
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions—in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with learn-to-swim skills through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country.
To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org, facebook.com/SwimFoundation or @SwimFoundation
About Make A Splash
Make a Splash is the national child-focused water safety initiative of the USA Swimming Foundation, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. To date, the Foundation has invested millions of dollars to provide grants to qualified Local Partner learn-to-swim programs, to spread national awareness and to bring together strategic partners to end drowning. To date, more than 1.8 million kids have received the lifesaving gift of swim lessons through our Local Partner network, comprised of more than 600 qualified lesson providers across the nation.
To learn more, visit www.makeasplash.org, facebook.com/Make-A-Splash-Tour or #MakeASplash
This is an unedited press release provided to swimswam.
