Be safe in the water

Municipal swimming pools opened on Spring Day, with free swimming lessons at selected pools and a water safety campaign launched for the season.
GIVEN Managa, a 13-year-old boy from Pimville, in Soweto, is ecstatic that he is learning how to swim; and he is determined to teach his peers as well, so that they do not drown when there are floods in his area.

MMC Chris VondoMMC Chris Vondo: Learn to Swim will curb drownings Given is one of scores of youngsters who will receive free swimming lessons this season at the newly renovated Pimville Swimming Pool. He received his first lesson on 1 September at the swimming pool, which was officially opened by the member of the mayoral committee for community development, Chris Vondo.

The opening coincided with the launch of the Water Safety Campaign and Learn to Swim programme, a partnership between the City of Johannesburg, Swimming South Africa (SSA) and the Gauteng provincial government.

“When spring approaches we worry about drowning, especially in the less-affluent areas,” said Vondo. “[This] programme is our direct response to curb this unfortunate eventuality.”

It symbolised the City’s determination to create good living conditions for citizens.

“This is also in line with the [Growth and Development Strategy] process. Another feature of a liveable city is accessible sporting facilities, including swimming pools,” he said. However, having pools would be meaningless if swimming and safety programmes of this nature were not implemented.

Vondo also announced the reopening of the 54 municipal swimming pools. As always, the pools had been closed over winter for routine maintenance.
Learn to Swim is aimed at teaching at least 1 000 children between the ages of six and 10 to swim this summer.

“They are going to be our future Olympians and Commonwealth Games swimmers. This is where we start the breeding ground for our swimmers,” said Merissa Rose, the director of sport and recreation in the provincial department of sport, culture and recreation.

Leran to swim targets underprivileged childrenLearn to swim targets underprivileged childrenShe explained that the safety campaign included an education programme to teach the public about basic water safety, what they should do in case of floods, and things they should know when they swam in dams and rivers.

The department also encouraged the creation of new swimming clubs. “It’s only through clubs’ development programmes [that] we can progress from Learn to Swim to competitive swimming and recreational galas.”

Shaun Adriaanse, the chief executive of SSA, thanked the City and the provincial government for their support. “Our core focus is on water safety and we believe that swimming is not a privilege but a right. All South Africans should be able to swim.”

Learn to Swim targets mainly schoolchildren, who swim for 30 minutes during the day as part of their curriculum. However, other children from the community where the lessons take place are also welcome to attend.

Free lessons are on offer at Pimville, Coronationville and Ellis Park municipal swimming pools.