Swimming lessons at Hanmore Lake

By Irene van der Kloet

The third week of July is earmarked as National Drowning Prevention Week. Annually, 400 people in Canada die in water-related preventable incidents. In a country with thousands of lakes, learning how to swim may be considered an essential life skill, and like anything, the younger a person knows how to swim, the better. Smoky Lake Lions Club has organized swimming lessons during National Drowning Prevention Week for children aged 0-12 for 70 years. The lessons occur at Hanmore Lake and are in high demand: for the lessons from July 18-22, 160 children were registered on July 17. Some children return after participating in these lessons in previous years, whereas others take lessons for the first time where they may have to overcome an apprehension around water. The children’s progress is recorded in a booklet; if it is missing, the instructors will evaluate the child’s skills to determine their level. “We have never had a turnout like this before,” Lion Dennis Jonker says. Dennis has been organizing the swimming lessons for many years and had to bring another instructor in – above the four already contracted – to answer the high demand this year. In the lake, instructors prefer to work at a lower ratio than allowed, to enhance safety and keep a better eye on every child. The instructors are all Red Cross certified and love working with the children. “I am also a tennis instructor, and I have learned that children learn better if you play a little game with them, challenge them. It has to be fun for them while they learn simultaneously, ” Owen, one of the instructors, says. Progress is closely watched by the parents, whom all welcome the nice weather. In the tot’s groups, the parents actively participate in the lessons. Many of them don’t need to travel far for the lessons as they are camped at the lake campground. Though most children are from the Smoky Lake area, some come from as far as Edmonton. “We are camped here for the week and are taking advantage of this opportunity,” one of the parents mentions. Taking swimming lessons in a lake is different from lessons in a pool. The environment is more controlled in a pool, so watching the children is more manageable. In a lake, the weather plays a role in how well the children learn: in the sunshine, it is more fun to be in the water than in pouring rain. The lake temperature can’t be controlled; the lake is an open space, you can’t see the bottom, and the footing is different than in a pool. Though the weather cooperated with an average of 23-24 degrees and sunshine, some children are chilled from the water but can warm up by the campfire that the instructors made for this purpose. Most really seem to enjoy the lessons. It was a busy week for the instructors, and it was a challenge to put the schedule together with so many children, but they managed well. Smoky Lake Lions Club plans to continue hosting swimming lessons during National Drowning Prevention Week.