Swim To Survive

The World Health Organization reports that drowning is one of the ten leading causes of death for children and young people in every region of the globe. Teaching school-age children basic swimming, water safety and safe rescue skills is one of the Ten Actions to Prevent Drowning identified by World Health Organization (Global report on drowning: preventing a leading killer, 2014).

In Canada's water-rich environment, basic swimming ability is a required life skill for survival. The acquisition of basic swimming ability is a fundamental requirement for any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada. Affordable training should be available for all children to the level of the Canadian Swim to Survive standard.

Canadian Swim to Survive standard:

The Canadian Swim to Survive standard is a minimum National standard for swimming skills. It defines the essential minimum skills required to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. These are expressed in a straightforward sequence of:

ROLL into deep water

TREAD water for one minute

Swim 50 meters

It is recognized that there is a wide range of aquatic training available well beyond this minimum.