Launched Adult Learn-to Swim Program

This very special Saturday, Friends of + POOL launched an Adult Learn-to-Swim program!

It was amazing to see so many adult learners who had never had formal swim instruction take the plunge!  We wanted to make sure the students had as much one-on-one attention as possible, so we had one instructor for every three students. Shout out to our instructors Nella, Vladimir, Artem, Sarah, Tom and Teri, all of whom were gracious and patient instructors! 

Each group of students was paired with an instructor based on their experience level. Some had participated in a class or two or had lounged in a pool before, others had never been in the water. Some groups were just learning how to put their face in the water and blow bubbles.  Others were able to start floating and learn a few strokes. One group of students even ended up in the deep end of the pool by day’s end! 

Huge shout out to the most brave and adventurous of students.  Thank you Marlene B., Martha, Jasmine, Michelle, Jackie, Lauren, Aleena, Dianne, Marlene J., Li, Antionette, Kashfi, Amy, Dian, and to Sabrina and Siu Chin, a mother and her adult daughter who took the class together! The lesson flew by for us, and as they say, “time flies when you’re having fun!” 

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Did you know that 54% of Americans either can’t swim or don’t have all of the basic swimming skills? Additionally, parents who do not know how to swim are less likely to have children who know how to swim. As a major US city surrounded by water, we believe it is important that our city works to change that statistic. Making sure all New Yorkers have the skills to get in the water is also an important part of our vision for the future: where New Yorkers are swimming safely in the river. 

Friends of + POOL is part of the movement to get more New Yorkers into the water and learn skills that could one-day save their life.  Be a part of the movement to get more New Yorkers into the water. Support Friends of + POOL’s Adult Learn-to-Swim Program here.

The launch of this program was generously funded by the USA Swimming Foundation.