Windsor offering free 'swim to survive' lessons this summer

Windsor, Ont. — The pandemic idled many programs, including swimming lessons for students in grades three and seven.

So, the City of Windsor is offering it throughout the summer, to kids and their parents at outdoor pools.

“The lifeguards on duty all know about the program,” says Jennifer Knights, acting Executive Director of Recreation and Culture for the City of Windsor.

“They (lifeguards) can walk family members through what it feels like to go through an unexpected fall in the water,” she says.

And then the lifeguards can teach children and adults what to do.

“They need to be able to roll (into the water) and then it’s a tread and a swim,” says Knights.

She says they should be able to tread water for one minute and then swim 50 meters, to mimic swimming to shore.

“While it’s not the program we run with the school boards during the year, which we usually have well over 4,000 students participate in, we are hoping we get families coming out and taking an interest this summer,” Knights says.

The City is also launching a lifejacket loan program at Sandpoint Beach, which opened June 29.

While lifeguards are on duty, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., weather and water quality permitting, beachgoers can sign out a life jacket for any member of their group, and return it at a designated time.