Water Safety Tips

 

Whether it's the pool, beach, water park, or lakefront, the YMCA reminds everyone to make safety their top priority!

Here are some tips to help prevent accidents when near the water:

• Only swim when and where there is a lifeguard on duty; never swim alone.
• Adults should constantly and actively watch their children.
• Inexperienced or non-swimmers should wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
• Parents or guardians of young children should be within an arm’s reach.
• Children and adults should not engage in breath-holding activities.

Facts About Swimming & YMCA Swim Programs

The YMCA offers a variety of programs that help swimmers learn water safety skills, develop confidence in and around the water, and enjoy the benefits of water exercise. The Y encourages everyone to take swim lessons - it's never too late to learn or improve your skills!

• Swimming is a lifelong skill with many health benefits that helps people stay active and healthy, and can be enjoyed as a group or individually.
• Ys offer swim lessons (for all ages), family swim, competitive swimming and diving teams, and many kinds of adaptive swim programs to meet the diverse and unique needs of children and adults.
• The Y is the largest operator of swimming pools in the United States, with more than 2,200 pools.
• Today, tens of millions of people across the United States have learned how to swim at the YMCA, including Olympic Gold Medalists Cullen Jones and Ian Crocker, as well as former President Ronald Reagan!
• Nearly 70% of YMCAs offer various aquatics programming that can include: lifeguard programs, swim lessons, synchronized swimming, skin diving/snorkeling, boating safety, water exercise and the YMCA’s SPLASH program, which teaches swimming and water safety skills to children in underserved communities.
• The Y is committed to water safety and uses a comprehensive, rigorous training program to prepare lifeguards to be vigilant and effectively guard pools, lakes or water parks. YMCAs believe strongly in ongoing training and development, regularly offering in-service trainings and facility-specific instruction for their lifeguards.

Learn more about the YMCA’s swim programs.