Why is swimming such an important activity?
Even though you might be someone who never wants to be near the water, you should still consider learning to swim.
And if you’re someone who feels like they are half fish, there are even more reasons than just loving the water to dive right in!
1. Don’t Be a Statistic
The most obvious reason to learn to swim is to stay safe.
Between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, there were 1025 drowning incidents in Australia where 339 incidents were fatal.
Of the fatal incidents, 17 incidents were children aged 0-4, 15 were aged 5-14, 36 were aged 15-24, 125 were aged 25-64, and 94 were aged 64 and older.
In every group, 65-85% of victims were male.
The most dangerous places to swim are creeks and rivers, followed by the beach, then the ocean/harbour, and then lake/dam. Swimming pools are less likely to have a fatal incident, probably because of the presence of lifeguards and having a limited swimming area.
The reasons for the trend of males being at such higher risk are unclear, but it may be because males tend to take more risks than females.
2. Being a True Life-Saver
When you take swim lessons, you’ll likely also be taught how to assist other swimmers in distress.
You’ll be taught to recognize when someone is in distress, especially since signs of a swimmer in distress can be very subtle. We tend to think someone will be thrashing and screaming, but the truth is they might look like they are having fun right before they slip under the water.
Having the trained eye to realize that someone is in trouble can mean the difference between life and death.
You can signal for a lifeguard or other experienced swimmer to commence rescuing.
Furthermore, having the training to effectively and safely be able to secure that person and bring them to shore is necessary. Without proper practice, you might end up accidentally drowning yourself if you help another swimmer in distress.
You need to know which tools to use for rescue, how to use them, and how to swim while carrying another person if they are panicking or unconscious.
You’ll also likely learn CPR and how to get water out of a person’s lungs which can save lives in places other than near the water, as well.
3. Emergency Aid
43 incidents were flood-related, meaning those people didn’t expect to need to swim. Being unable to swim well, being inexperienced with swimming while clothed, a difficult water environment, and exhaustion most likely caused many of these flood-related fatalities.
If you are swept up in flood conditions, having a strong swimming ability can truly save you from an unfortunate fate.
In the case of an emergency, you may also be able to contribute to rescue efforts to save other people caught in natural disasters.
Even in situations like a capsized boat, a water landing in an aeroplane, or a car crash that sends a vehicle into a lake, you can be of assistance.
The training you go through in a swim class can give you the physical tools to save lives (swimming skills) as well as the mental tools (being able to assess and take charge in a situation, and acting swiftly).
Learn everything you need to know about swimming with swimming lessons on Superprof.
4. Live More Freely
Since most of the planet is covered in water, there is a good chance you’ll find yourself near it from time to time.
Natural sources of water as well as manmade ones like swimming pools and water parks are all places that offer great fun, but also require the skills to stay safe.
If you have little to no swimming skills, you will likely spend the majority of the time in places like this in fear. And for good reason!
However, if you know how to swim and are confident in your skills you can enjoy your time in and near the water with a lot less stress. You still need to be cautious, but there is a much bigger buffer between you and water-related trouble.
If you’re a caregiver or parent, having your child know how to swim also relieves you of some of that fear for them. You will want to keep an eye on young children for many reasons, but if they can swim you can trust that if you lose sight of them for a short time, they are most likely okay.
And remember that you can end up in the water even if you didn’t mean to!
5. Make Great Friends
Enrolling in swimming classes is the perfect opportunity to meet new people and make long-lasting friendships.
In our formative years, we often make friends we will know for the rest of our lives specifically in clubs or lessons just like swimming classes. It’s an activity where everyone cheers each other and learns a new skill side by side.
Kids often learn to swim in school or in a centre meant for young learners. This is great because everyone they learn with will be similar in age and skill, and you know the coaches have experience teaching children.
In teen or adult swimming classes, you can be sure to find some interesting people that you click with. It can be difficult to learn something like this after childhood, so finding people in the same situation as you is very reassuring.
As an adult, the opportunities to make new friends can sometimes dwindle and it can be difficult to find new people. In a swim class, you once again get the chance to have fun and learn an exciting new thing with others, just like when you were a kid.
6. Special Opportunities
For any activity you can think of, there is a whole world with a supportive community just waiting to give you special opportunities.
If you begin swimming at a young age, you gain academic opportunities all the way through university.
Many universities have swimming scholarships that grant the recipient anywhere from a few thousand dollars to free tuition. And these scholarships are not limited to Australia! All over the world, educational institutions are looking for athletes to join their teams and compete.
If you have a solid swimming history, you might be able to get some very compelling offers from different universities!
In an even more competitive vein, becoming a swimming prodigy at a young age also opens up the possibility of competing in the Olympics.
While not many people make the rank of Olympic-level swimmer, there need to be plenty of people who compete for that greatness or else there won’t be anyone to fill the position!
You don’t have to be ultra-competitive to enjoy being part of the swimming community. Water sports and games performed for fun also give you the opportunity to have some really interesting and unique adventures.
Making new friends and networking, seeing new places as you travel to events, and being part of something different are all part of being enriched by specialized activities.
7. Unique Experiences
Off the beaten path, you can find hundreds of unique, niche, exciting activities to do that require strong swimming skills.
In many cases, life preservers and other safety measures are in place to especially keep inexperienced swimmers safe. However, even with these measures, it’s always better to know too much than not enough.
Though you may technically be able to do some of these activities without strong swimming skills, it may not be the best thing to take that risk.
Some amazing water-based experiences you can enrol in are:
- Scuba diving
- Snorkelling
- Surfing
- Windsurfing
- Wakeboarding
- Kite surfing
- Parasailing
- Ocean kayaking
- Water jet pack and flyboarding
- Spelunking
- Jet skiing
- Cliff diving
- Sea walking
- Sub-wing diving
- Spinnaker flying
- Rafting / white water rafting
- SUP yoga
Expand your world by taking swimming lessons with a qualified instructor here on Superprof!
8. Life Skills
As with any particular skill, the act of learning contributes to other character-strengthening experiences.
In swimming classes, you will learn about your own body and mind as you work to consistently improve a specific skill. Your relationship with how you handle your body and what it’s capable of improves drastically. This helps you in every physical movement that you do in your life!
You also learn how to overcome mental blocks and recognize how to boost your dopamine and serotonin with exercise.
Being committed to learning a skill such as swimming or being part of a swim team teaches you the responsibilities of punctuality and showing up to perform your best.
You learn how to take care of your body with nutrition, sleep, and preparation to achieve desired results.
Being part of a team also instils teamwork, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Having an extracurricular activity helps you learn to balance multiple aspects of your life and organize priorities as well as time management.
If you learn the skills required to save another swimmer’s life, you can also count on boosted dependability, responsibility, and assuredness.
9. Exciting Careers
There are so many avenues to explore when it comes to careers that require swimming!
Obviously, if you wanted to be a swimming coach, for any group of students, you’ll need to be quite experienced. The same goes for lifeguards.
More off-beat jobs include things like deckhand, ship captain, fisher, commercial diver, marine engineer or technician, and scuba diver or instructor.
If you’re looking for even more exciting paths, try professional mermaid or aquatic performer, field marine biologist, geoscientist, underwater photographer, exploratory diver, aquatic rescuer, dolphin trainer, kayaking tour guide, and many others!
10. Improve & Maintain Health
One of the most important aspects of our lives is our physical and mental health. These foundational parts of ourselves make everything else we do more achievable.
Swimming helps physical health extremely effectively for a few reasons:
- All-over body activation and workout every time
- Controlled breathing increases lung capacity and optimization
- Movement plus breathing strengthens the heart and circulatory system
- Water resistance creates stronger muscles than air resistance
- Buoyancy means low-impact movement, which means less wear and tear on joints
In summary, swimming is one of the most effective exercises you can do for all-over body health!
Mentally, swimming offers another set of fantastic benefits.
- Controlled breathing is like meditation and can relax the mind, even while not swimming
- Exercise releases serotonin and endorphins
- Swimming can induce a meditative state which helps mental health
- Making achievements and noticeable improvements give a sense of accomplishment and self-reliance
While safety is usually at the forefront of the reasons to learn swimming, it is more important than just that. Water safety is practical, a survival skill. But enjoying the water and being able to explore more of the world leads to a more fulfilling life, discovering things you never thought you’d find, and creating a community of people you love.
Find swimming lessons near me and get started enriching your life today!
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