All Blog Posts (276)

As I was passing alongside New York’s East River recently, taking a break from my busy schedule and enjoying the view, I began thinking about the experiences I have encountered from the early years of my life as “Daddy’s Little Girl,” being his first born.  All of a sudden, I felt such a huge hole in my heart thinking about how fragile he has become as a 90+-year-old man. I wanted to jump in the water and swim my tears away, but instead held them back by focusing on the many wonderful…

In 1910 or 1912 when Wilbert Longfellow started teaching swimming and began training people to be swimming instructors, he said, "In order to learn to swim, you must overcome your fear."

This truth was lost in the past 100 years. What happens when a truth is lost?

Many people suffer. In this particular case, many people have drowned.

Two people, Paul Lennon and I, realized in the 1980's that the lessons we were trained to teach didn't work for half our…

As we all know, there are far more children's swimming lessons given in this country than adult lessons. This is true even though there are 3 times as many adults in the U.S. as children (U.S. Census, 2010). And about half of adults can't swim (Gallup, 1998).

One might think that the market for adult lessons would be staggering (and it is) and that anyone who wants to expand their swimming instruction business would want to capitalize on it.

However, many swim instructors are…

Your creativity is needed to produce short videos to touch people’s emotions to encourage people to learn to swim. The Winning videos will be used to promote the Step Into Swim™ Campaign to raise funds to donate to organizations that create more swimmers.

EXTENDED TO AUGUST 31ST

A life-saving device named after Malibu's Emily Shane made its first rescue this weekend in Oregon.

The EMergency Integrated Lifesaving LanYard—or EMILY—is a 25-pound, remote-controlled robot fashioned much like a baby jet ski, which was adopted by the Depoe Bay Fire Department last year.

According to Depoe Fire Chief Josh Williams, the device was instrumental in the rescue of a father and son at the Otter Rock surfing area in Oregon Sunday afternoon.

"We are pleased…

Nearly half of all flood related deaths occur in vehicles. Most of these deaths take place when people drive into flooded highway dips or low drainage areas.

A low-water crossing is where a road, without a bridge, dips across a normally dry creek bed or drainage area. Motorists who attempt to cross these flooded low-water crossings are putting themselves, their vehicles, and any other occupants of their vehicles at deadly risk.…

A law signed by Gov. Corbett last week allows a fine of $250 to $500 for a violation, two points on the offender's driver's license, and the cost of any rescue by first responders. The law, which drew unanimous support in the state House and Senate, takes effect in September.

We encourage you to review this article at: …

http://www.lifesaving.com/general-interest/news/lifeguard-company-resigns-amid-firing-scandale

That's what industry members are urged to do by National Swimming Pool Foundation CEO Tom Lachocki - We're asking everyone in industry to Step Up and Give $10 to Step Into Swim Campaign. Ten dollars is not a lot to ask -- and if you take that one step, NSFP will take the next step up to $20.

Here's the news release announcing the campaign today; please, take a moment, and step together with NSPF on this initiative.

Step Up and Give $10 to Step…

In less than a month, the world will turn its attention to London for the summer Olympic Games. The aquatics venue (designed by the reknowned team at Zaha Hadid Architects) is stunning, and of course, the competition means new interest in aquatics. Swimming and diving are among the most popular events.

 …

Here's a blog post from Tom Lachocki at National Swimming Pool Foundation, sharing his perspective. 

http://nspf.org/en/Blog/12-06-18/The_Best_Health_Insurance.aspx

Yesterday, June 14, I had the chance to be a part of the global water safety event known as the World's Largest Swimming Lesson. Each year since 2010, swimmers around the world have come together simultaneously to break the record and promote the importance of swim lessons. At Blue Buoy Swim School, in Tustin, CA, there were officially 106 enthusiastic…

As I troll the internet looking for news stories related to aquatics i am noticing a very real and scary trend over the past few weeks; there aren't enough Lifeguards.  In  Tulsa Oklahoma  the city was unable to open all five of their pools when scheduled last week due to a shortage of Lifeguards.  According to Tulsa Parks spokesperson Rob Hendrick the staff was five or six Lifeguards short of the number needed to safely open the last pool.  In Columbus Ohio the Columbus Recreation and Parks…

The newest Carnival "Fun Ship",set sail on it's maiden voyage this week, featuring a unique onboard waterpark. Passengers on the Carnival Breeze can experience Carnival WaterWorks, with attractions including a signature Champagne Bowl waterslide and a multi-level interactive play…

Today was to be the start of the End of Drowning World Conference for Swimming and SCUBA Instructors in Sarasota, FL.

The website stated exactly what the meeting would contribute to instructors of swimming and SCUBA diving. It was perhaps too powerful for people to believe. Or maybe people think they already know it.

Midway through the marketing campaign, the title of the meeting was changed. I thought,…

Aquatics has both a serious side and fun side. The American Heart Association has taken steps to put a little fun into a serious situation. The following video helps the average person learn to do CPR. Now, it doesn't compare to an actual CPR certification course. But, if this video gets people to think about PUSH HARD, PUSH FAST. Then, AHA has done its job.

Enjoy! Feel free to dance! I know I did.…