FAQ

Absolutely not! Swim to Survive is different than swimming lessons – and not a replacement for them. While conventional swimming lessons teach swimming strokes, Swim to Survive is rather a program that creates the opportunity to verify if children have the basic swimming skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water and raises awareness amongst children and parents about their actual swimming skills. By participating in the program, students develop very quickly three critical aquatic skills. To do so, the instructor transmits them some basic swim survival skills and the participants have the opportunity to practise, build confidence and test their skills – an important first step to experience joys of water while feeling safe. The program increases awareness for parents as well, who will receive a certificate that indicates the skill level their child have achieved. We strongly believe that the Swim to Survive program can make the difference between life and death when an unexpected fall into deep water occurs, which is the trigger for the vast majority of drowning cases in Quebec.^[1]

The Swim to Survive Standard comprises three levels of achievement:

• The level “has achieved the Swim to Survive Standard” means that the child has demonstrated that he acquired the basic skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. The achievement of the standard is equivalent to the Red Cross Swim Kids 5.
• The level “has achieved the Swim to Survive Standard in a lifejacket” means that the child would probably not survive an unexpected fall into deep water without a personal flotation device (PFD). For the child safety, the continuation of swimming lessons is crucial.
• The level “has practised the Swim to Survive Skills” means that the child participated in all session, but did not achieve the standard objectives. The child would probably not survive an unexpected fall into deep water. For its safety, it is crucial that the child takes swimming lessons.

In all cases, achieving the Swim to Survive Standard does not mean that the child can bathe without supervision. The Lifesaving Society and the Red Cross believe that the only way to ensure the children’s safety in and around water is the ongoing parental supervision.

Yes, the Swim to Survive Standard is the same for all Canadians and is not exclusively for children. Anyone who works or who is engaged in activities near or on water should be assessed according to this standard in order to be aware of their aquatic competencies. It is important to remember that wearing a PFD is always essential for nautical activities regardless of the skill level achieved.

In the first Swim to Survive pilot evaluation, the ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport representatives were clear on this : it is from 8 years old, which means in grade 3, that children are the most likely to assimilate the safety information taught during the program.

Children of 8 and 9 years old are often more responsive and mature enough to understand the importance of the program. Also, at this age, children are able to share messages with their parents and family members.

Socio-economic and geographic characteristics of Quebec

In Quebec, the presence of many bodies of water and pools encourages us to strengthen public awareness on dangers related to water. By offering the Swim to Survive program during school hours, it becomes possible to reach children that would never go by themselves in a pool for cultural, financial or geographical (remote areas) reasons, or simply by lack of interest.

Smooth integration in the school curriculum

Quebec school, which the triple mission is instruction, socialization and qualification, is a privileged place for reaching effectively all children in the province. It’s in fact the view of the approach École en santé, launched in 2003 by the minister of Health and Social Services and by the minister of Education.^[1] Swim to Survive is a program contributing to the achieving of the Quebec school mission by educating students about safe practices around water. Moreover, the program supports the École en santé approach by fostering self-esteem and safe and healthy behaviours, while contributing to an objective of physical education classes, which is adopting healthier and more active lifestyles. The three in-water lessons allow students to move while learning water safety principles. Without forgetting that some children could enjoy their experience so much that they would start practising aquatic activities, which would increase their level of physical activity in their everyday life. In short, the Swim to Survive program is completely in line with the ministry’s education program.

The program goal is to arm grade three children with the skills to keep them safe by teaching them very quickly the minimum skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. As in any learning process, there must be a time for preparation, for practice, for integration and for evaluation. During the first lesson, students discover the skills they will be asked to execute, then they will have time to practise and acquire these skills at their own pace. An evaluation is done at the end of the third lesson to verify if children achieved the skills without or with a PFD or if they tried to achieve the Swim to Survive Standard’s skills without managing them. Each student has its own pace of learning and, for some of them, the three lessons will not be enough to acquire the three critical skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. This is why it is recommended to all participants to keep improving their aquatic skills by taking real swimming lessons.

The Canadian Swim to Survive Standard is inspired by the International Life Saving Federation (ILS)* standard which consists of rolling into deep water, treading water for 20 seconds and swimming 20 metres. The ILS* standard is based on studies conducted in Thailand following the 2004 tsunami.

This standard has been adapted to better suit the Canada’s realty. In our country, water is much colder and statistics demonstrate that in two drowning cases out of three, the victim was at less than 15 metres of safety.^[1] Experts from Lifesaving Society Canada agreed on establishing the three following skills to make the Canadian standard: disoriented entry into water, maintaining the head above water for 60 seconds and swimming 50 metres. It has been evaluated that someone able to swim 50 metres in favourable conditions would be able to swim 15 metres in poorer conditions. This is why someone who achieves the Swim to Survive Standard has greater chances to survive an unexpected fall into deep water.

* The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) is the world leading organization for drowning prevention, water safety, lifesaving and lifesaving sports. The ILS collaborates with national organizations from around the world.

No, quite the opposite. Did you know that most parents indicate that their children know how to swim? But do they really know how to swim or do they rather know how to bathe? During the pilot projects, only one child out of five was able to achieve the skills during the first lesson – with or without a PFD. It is then clear that the children’s aquatic skills are too often overestimated by their parents, and this can lead to potentially harmful situations. Since 2010, more than 35,700 students in the province of Quebec have participated to the program. While it is encouraging to see that about 56% of students achieved the Swim to Survive standard without wearing a PFD, the fact remains that 27% of them needed a PFD and 17% of them did not achieve it. In other words, almost 45% of the participants would probably not survive an unexpected fall into deep water without wearing a PFD. For the parents of those who do not achieve the standard, it is a strong signal: for their own safety, their children must learn to swim. It is then the parent’s responsibility to ensure their children take swimming lessons, to stay hypervigilant when their children are near water and to stop their children to adopt reckless behaviours. Needless to say, neither the Lifesaving Society neither anyone else but parents can ensure these prevention measures are taken. This being said, becoming aware of the actual risk encourages being more responsible and to take effective preventive measures.

Promote safe interactions with water

It is still too early to assess whether there has been a significant drop in the drowning rates due to the Swim to Survive program. However, in 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) has put drowning on the public health agenda with the release of its first report dedicated to drowning, and this report provides evidence of effective drowning prevention initiatives such as teaching survival swimming to school-aged children.

Evidence for the effectiveness of basic swimming skills is from the SwimSafe^[1] program in Bangladesh, Thailand and Vietnam.^[2]  The SwimSafe cohort study from Bangladesh with almost 80,000 participants showed a very high reduction in fatal drowning in participants compared to those in non-attending control groups.^[3] The SwimSafe program is similar to the Swim to Survive program.

One thing is clear, the better children can swim, the more likely they are to survive an unexpected fall into deep water.

Coroner’s recommendations

The role of the coroner is not only the inquest into the circumstances and causes of death, but mainly to understand them and formulate recommendations in order to prevent similar events and, thus, protect the population. The Swim to Survive program can make the difference between life and death when an unexpected fall into deep water occurs, which is the trigger for the vast majority of drowning cases in Quebec. This is what the Lifesaving Society strongly believes, and coroners share its view. At least, this is what emerges from many coroners’ reports, such as the one of coroner Jacques Ramsay (June 2008): “It would be highly desirable that all Quebec children receive minimum training to manage the three basic skills considered as critical: orient themselves at the surface after rolling into deep water, support themselves at the surface by treading water for 60 seconds and, finally, swim 50 metres to reach a safe location. This training is provided by the Swim to Survive program that can be organized within only three or four in-pool lessons (Free translation).” Many other coroners reinforce these recommendations, for example Dr. Nolet, M^e Boissy, M^e Rudel-Tessier, Dr. Lord and M^e Kröstrom.

The analysis of statistics from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec and of Quebec data we collected for research concluded that, in the last 20 years, more than 3,000 children have been affected by drowning or near-drowning in residential swimming pools. More recently, between 2000 and 2008, it is 42 children from 0 to 5 years old and 20 children from 6 to 11 years old who have drowned in Quebec.^[1] In addition, for each child fatal drowning case, we have four near-drowning cases unrecorded in our annual reviews; and between 7% and 20% of these children admitted to the hospital will live with a permanent neurological deficit or pass away from the effects.^[2]

The burden of drowning among young Quebecers is of great concern. In order to improve the situation, actions must be taken. The Swim to Survive program is one important step in that direction.

In Drummondville, where the school board has decided to offer the Swim to Survive program to all grade three students, we observe an 8% increase in the participation of the Red Cross Swim Kids 1 to 4 swimming lessons. This increase suggests that the program creates a greater consciousness of the importance of the acquisition of basic aquatic skills.

Although it is too early to concretely demonstrate that the Swim to Survive implementation contributes to reducing drowning rates, one thing is for sure: it gets young people moving. Many recent studies show that the lack of physical activity is an important issue among young people. The Swim to Survive program fights this scourge by promoting active living. Moreover, chances are that some participants will enjoy their experience so much that they would start practising aquatic activities, and thus adopt a more active lifestyle, which would contribute to reducing costs associated with health issues. Shortly, a program like Swim to Survive is a long-term investment.