Schools | Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury

Swim to Survive

The Lifesaving Society defines the minimum skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. These are expressed in a skill sequence in the Canadian Swim to Survive standard:

ROLL into deep water
TREAD water for one minute
SWIM 50 meters

Swim to Survive is aimed primarily at children, but people of all ages should be able to perform the Society's Swim to Survive standard.

Why Swim to Survive?

Basic swimming ability is a fundamental requirement in any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada.

The Society believes swimming is a life skill that all children need to learn, just like fire safety or street proofing.

The Society estimates half of Canadian children never take traditional swimming lessons - even though "swimming" is the second most popular activity (after bicycling) in Canada among school-age children between 5 and 12 years of age. The Lifesaving Society wants to ensure every child has the basic skills to survive.

Swim skills are not innate - they need to be taught - and all children deserve the chance to learn.

Our research shows that most drownings occur close to safety. If every child in Canada could pass our Swim to Survive standard, it could reduce the number of drownings by half.

Isn't it just swimming lessons?

No. Swim to Survive is different from swimming lessons - and not a replacement for them. Swim to Survive teaches just the essentials needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water - an important first step to being safe around water. The Lifesaving Society strongly encourages parents to enroll their children in swimming lessons.

What's the Swim to Survive School Program?

The Lifesaving Society aims to have every Grade 3 student in Ontario achieve the Swim to Survive Standard. The Society has a Swim to Survive school grant program to help make this happen.

The board of education and pool owner/operators coordinate the timing and logistics of getting the students from the school to the pool.

The pool facility arranges for the pool time and Swim to Survive instructors. The school board arranges student transportation and communication with parents. The Lifesaving Society supplies instructor materials, teacher and parent materials and Swim to Survive certificates.

Swim to Survive+

Swim to Survive+ builds on the Swim to Survive skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water: ROLL into deep water; TREAD water for 1 minute; SWIM 50 m.

The Swim to Survive+ program is geared toward presenting real-life situations for children in Grade 7. The + (plus) means participants learn:

How to ROLL, TREAD and SWIM WITH CLOTHES ON.
How to help a friend in deep water without putting themselves in danger (TALK, REACH, and THROW).
Basic physical fitness concepts through interval training and a fitness swim.

The Lifesaving Society developed the Swim to Survive+ program as a result of its drowning research and the Ontario Coroner's recommendation for a more advanced water safety program to ensure children graduating from elementary school have basic swimming and water safety skills.

The Society is paying special attention to the growing body of research that shows that the thrill seeking, pleasure-seeking part of the teen brain develops at a faster rate than the judgment and impulse inhibition skills that adults have. When combined with the fact that as pre-teens and teens get older, they become more independent spending more time with their friends and less time under adult supervision.

Swim at School

School presentations, held in June are conducted by the Aquatic Leader who emails local schools inviting them to participate. Tailored to different grade levels, the presentations cover essential water safety topics such as staying within arm's reach, swimming with a buddy, and wearing lifejackets. Engaging methods like songs and short stories are used for younger students (Kindergarten to Grade 3), while older students (Grades 4 to 8) learn about boat and open water safety. Activities, which may vary, include trying on lifejackets, water safety games, CPR stations, and more. These interactive sessions aim to effectively communicate important water safety messages.

School Water Safety Presentations:
If you are interested arranging a Water Safety Presentation for your school, please email the Aquatic Programmer.