Boating and water safety instruction turned into jubilant child’s play at the second annual Swim Day held at the Gifford Aquatic Center last Saturday morning.

Sponsored by the Graves Thomas Injury Law Group, the event made a big splash and gave local children the opportunity to learn safe swimming techniques while enjoying poolside fun.

Children were taken on an imaginary boat ride to Hawaii. “Make sure your life jacket fits because you never know when the weather may change,” said instructor Dawn George as she showed the children how to put on their lifejackets and secure the straps. “You should wear it all the time like a seatbelt if you can.”

When the imaginary trip turned ugly and the boat capsized, the group moved to the enormous pool where they learned about survival and rescue techniques.

“So many children are in boats and on field trips, and they don’t know what to do if something happens,” said Katie Marleau, Gifford Aquatic Center recreation facility supervisor. “Often an inexperienced swimmer will get in trouble, and another weak swimmer will jump in and try to rescue him. Unfortunately, that sometimes results in two drownings instead of one.”

Instructors showed the children the ‘Reach and Throw’ technique of lifesaving that focuses on finding something they can reach out to the distressed swimmer to grab onto, or something buoyant they can throw to the swimmer to float on until help arrives.

Florida continues to rank highest in the nation for drowning deaths of children under the age of 4. And according to the Red Cross, 61 percent of children don’t know how to swim. Surrounded by water, Florida is also rife with pools, lakes and waterways, so it’s imperative to teach children how to swim at an early age. Formal swimming lessons reduce the likelihood of childhood drowning by 88 percent.

This is the second time attorneys Joe Graves and Matthew Thomas have sponsored the Swim Day, after having been approached last year by Indian River County Sheriff’s Dep. Teddy Floyd. Attendees received free admission, a towel, swim goggles, a swim cap and a backpack.

“We were looking for a way to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public,” said Floyd. “There’s so much bad press out there about law enforcement. We thought that by inviting kids to swim with cops they would not only learn the basics of swimming, but they’d view the police as friends. I’ve even been out there rounding up neighborhood kids who didn’t have transportation and driving them here. This is a fabulous community event and we are very thankful for the generosity of Graves Thomas Law Group.”

After the rescue lesson, the children received basic swim lessons before enjoying some pool time. The day ended with a high-energy splash party complete with a live DJ. Squeals of joy and boisterous rounds of laughter confirmed that learning to swim was a blast.

Article by: Kerry Firth, correspondent