”
Team WLSL
” (World’s Largest Swimming Lesson) prevents childhood drowning by spreading the word Swimming Lessons Save Lives.
On June 21st all over the globe, for 24 hours, aquatic centers are teaching kids and parents a like life-saving skills.
Chad Day, Director of the Hulbert Aquatic Center, joins It Takes 2 to tell the good news: West Fargo is officially the first in North Dakota to take part!
(Photo courtesy of Chad Day, taken on June 21st at the World Largest Swimming Lesson event in West Fargo, ND)
The statistics are scary.
Research shows:
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The problem is life threatening for children
:
Per the CDC, drowning remains the leading cause of injury related death for. children ages 1-4, and the second leading cause for children under 14. Internationally, the World Health Organization estimates drowning is one of the top five causes of death for people aged 1-14 in 48 of the 85 countries it monitors.
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Many lack basic swimming skills
:
In 2014, a survey completed by the American Red Cross found more than half of all Americans (54 percent) either can’t swim or don’t have all of the basic swimming skills.
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Parents don’t recognize supervision is key
:
According to a 2016 Safe Kids Worldwide report, despite the fact that lack of supervision played a role in the majority of drowning deaths, less than half of parents (49 percent) indicate they remain within arms’ reach of their child in the water.
More than 41,000 swimmers in 27 countries on six continents participated in 2017. Each location and tens of thousands of participants help spread the
Swimming Lessons Save Lives
™ message each year.
