With summer in full swing and more activity in and around pools and bodies of water, the City of Tampa's Parks and Recreation Department is offering free swimming lessons Thursday as part of the 16th annual World's Largest Swimming Lesson.
Lessons will take place across four City of Tampa pools beginning at 10:00 A.M.
The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson is a global drowning-prevention event launched by the World Waterpark Association in 2010.
“Every child deserves the chance to learn how to swim - it’s more than a skill, it’s a lifesaving tool," Aquatics Team Supervisor Louis Campanello said. "Events like the World’s Largest Swim Lesson help bring national attention to the critical need for water safety education, especially in communities like ours where drowning remains a leading cause of preventable death."
Supporting the event is the local non-profit organization, Smile Like Aubrey, which encourages drowning prevention awareness and advocates for self-rescue swim skills.
"In 2020, when everyone was adjusting to working from home, our family experienced the worst tragedy: the loss of our beautiful 16-month-old daughter, Aubrey," said Smile Like Aubrey co-founder Matt Strojnowski. "We want to do our best to prevent this tragedy from happening to another family, but we also want Smile Like Aubrey to be a celebration of her life."
Swimming is a life-saving skill for children and a vital tool to prevent drowning, the No. 1 cause of death for United States children ages 1-4, and second-leading cause for ages 5-14.
From 2013-22, there were 235 unintentional drowning deaths in Hillsborough County. In that same 10-year span, there were 4,244 unintentional downing deaths statewide (data from www.flhealthcharts.gov).
The World's Largest Swimming Lesson is taking place at four City of Tampa pools:
- Copeland Pool, 11001 N 15th St. (media will be present)
- Loretta Ingraham Pool, 1611 N Hubert Ave.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pool, 2200 N Oregon Ave.
- Cyrus Greene Pool, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows risk of drowning can be reduced by 88% if children participate in formal swimming lessons between the ages of 1-4. But a survey conducted by the American Red Cross in 2020 found that 56% of Americans either can't swim or don't have the necessary basic swimming skills.