Summer time always tempts one to venture into a water body to
beat the heat. A swim at a fresh water spring, pond or even the beach is always
enjoyable with the right company of family and friends. But how many in this
group know how to swim? One of the basic survival skills, it is a matter of
seconds to save a person from drowning. With the rise in number of drowning
cases over the past years, parents are becoming more vigilant and are enrolling
children for swimming classes, not just as a summer camp activity, but a
training session, throughout the year.
“Swimming is a skill that everyone has to learn. There are
chances of anyone falling in the water. I feel that swimming is as basic as a
person walking and running. Every child has the innate ability to swim as they
spend nine months in water in the womb. As they grow older, they should be
taught at least the basics of swimming. Many parents are understanding the
importance of swimming and are enrolling their students for swimming classes
especially during the month of May. They learn to play in the water and they
overcome their fear and learn faster as a child. They should at least be able
to tread the water, which is the basic technique of floating,” says Agnelo De
Sa, who has been training Goans to participate in different triathlons.
He also highlights that there have been so many cases of
children drowning which could have been avoided if the child knew swimming.
However, water is not a fooling matter and every child even in the bathroom of
the house has to be closely monitored. “A child is born with a sensory system
in their throat which is a reflex that locks the throat when they are in water.
But even then, toddlers and infants cannot be left unattended near water,”
advises Agnelo.
He further adds, “A child as young as one and a half year old
who has completed their basic immunization, can be introduced to the pool. As
children grow older and by the time they are 6-7 years old, they grow more
structured in their swimming. There is more demand for classes but there is
only one pool in Panjim, which is occupied by the Khelo India. Even the pro
swimmers have to use the pool either at 9.30 am or after 7.30 pm.”
Indrajeet Khadilkar has been teaching swimming for over 25 years
and looks forward to introducing this life skill to young children. “I would
recommend even a three year old to step into the pool but I admit only children
above the age of five years as it is difficult to monitor very small children
in the batch of 10-15 swimmers.
There is also a lot of awareness among parents to teach their
children swimming and this trend has been observed by Indrajeet over the years.
“At least over the ten years, there has been more awareness among parents to
introduce a skill development activity. Once children get fond of swimming,
they take it very seriously. Swimming is not just for the summer months, I have
students who come in winter as well as in the pouring rains. The child has to
first go through the basic classes and then to the advance level. Depending on
the skill of the child, they can very soon reach the advance level. Some
children love swimming and within 15 sessions, they reach the next level, where
they can train and participate in school level as well as national level championships,”
says Indrajeet.
Although a well-seasoned swimmer, Indrajeet always begins his
classes by warning the students of the dangers of swimming in the open waters.
This is a lesson he learnt the hard way. “A swimmer should never be over
confident. You can’t take water for granted. The sea is very unpredictable. I
was swimming at a national level competition when I almost drowned and was
rescued by the life guards at the competition. I always advise my students not
to venture into unknown territory and listen to the locals and life guards. The
tide keeps changing and it is difficult to navigate the water,” he warns.
Explaining the different types of drowning cases, Indrajeet
says, “There are two types of drowning. One is silent or passive drowning when
the person can drown in any water body and gradually sink in the water without
anyone noticing that they have drowned. The second type is frantic or active
drowning, where the person frantically calls for help and then there is a chain
reaction where someone who knows swimming might try to help and it can lead to
either one or both persons drowning. One very sad case of this in Goa was the
drowning of Fr Savio Menezes Gama. That is the reason the swimming should be taught
even at school.” Fr Savio died trying to save three drowning boys in 1995.
Elias Patel is a swimming instructor and the founder of Enduro
Sports Goa. He prefers to keep his batches for children small so he can give
them enough attention to teach the basic swimming techniques. “It also depends
on the pool depth and there has to be a ratio of one instructor for four
children. Babies innately swim in water. Even a six month old can balance on
their back in water but it has to be in the proper guidance of the parents.
There is no best age for learning, but by 5 and a half most kids can grasp
concepts much better,” says Elias, who is currently training children at
Rendezvous Beach Resort, Dona Paula.
Fortunately there is no upper age limit to learn swimming, “I
have a 78 year old also who is learning swimming. One has to have a very
positive point of view towards swimming,” adds Elias.
Elias
is also a founding member of the Goa Open Water Swimming Club (GOWSC), along
with Minal Kansara and Nicole Pavri. GOWSC helps introduce sea swimming to
people and helps them to inculcate a love for the ocean and a more inclusive
beach culture. “The Goa Open Water Swimming Club meets every week and through
the interaction with the water, we hope to take away the fear of those who
never ventured into the sea. Once they know they are safe, they can understand
about marine life and can explore different options with activities related to
the sea. We receive people from different parts of the country like Kashmir and
Assam and even from abroad where the country has no coastline. The sea should
be avoided from the months of June to October,” says Elias.
