Have you ever wondered why so many parents are enrolling their children in swimming lessons? Swimming is a valuable skill and lifelong sport that will benefit your kids for the rest of their life. Moreover, swimming also enables your kids to be active and healthy. In this article, it will focus on some of the key benefits of swimming for children.

Why must I do warm-up and cool-down activities?

A good workout begins with a good warm up and ends with a good cool down activity. So the next time you are exercising, do remember to spend a few minutes to commit to doing warm-up/cool-down activities(Note: Spend a long time on this activities if you intend to do more intense workouts).

Importance of warm-up

• Increase of blood flow to muscles that are active
• Gradually improve contract and reflex timings
• Reduces stress to the heart
• Reduce the risks of injury (muscles, ligaments etc.)
• Athletes feel more psychologically prepared

Importance of cool-down

• Reduces the risks of injury
• Helps to slow down heart rate after intense exercise

At Isplash Swim School, we ensure all students to have proper warm-up/cool-down activities before any intense training sessions. An example of how our instructors conduct warm-up/cool-down activity is shown on the case study below.

Case study

Instructor Zhen Hao plans a swimming lesson for kids at Sengkang Swimming Complex to train stamina of his students(Short distance sprinting).

Note: Case study is for illustration purpose

"The eyes are the window to your soul."

-William Shakespeare

In a vibrant city like Singapore, many people tend to forget about the little blessings they have in life. One very common blessings that many of us tend to forget is to be thankful about is the ability to be able to see this beautiful world.  Hence, it is very important to protect our sense of sight. All Isplash Swim School students are strongly encouraged to put on their personal swimming goggles when they are having swimming lessons.

Importance of swimming goggles

• Protecting eyes from chemicals such as chlorine which damage eyes' tissues and causes irritation
• Protection against harmful UV rays (note: not all goggles are tinted with UV ray protection coats)
• Allow swimmer to have a "High Definition" experience for clear view under water

Tips on choosing swimming goggles

• Choose one which has UV ray protections when you frequently swim in outdoor pool (eg. Choa Chu Kang Swimming Complex, Clementi Swimming Complex etc.) during day time
• Choose a right sized swimming goggles. If it does not fits properly, it can cause leakages which cause swimmer to feel uncomfortable and lose the purpose of protection against chemicals
• For swimmers with short sightedness, try getting a swimming goggles with the right degree for an HD view underwater

After learning the importance and tips on swimming goggles, do remember to get your own pair before heading to the pool! You can conveniently get your swimming goggles at most of the sports retail outlets (eg. Sportslink have outlets at Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang sports and recreational centre, Clementi Mall, Westmall etc.)

Signs of drowning

Referring to the Singapore Life Saving Society, below are signs of a drowning victim:

• He/she is rarely able to call for help
• Instinctual arm movements : trying to push himself/herself upwards
• Facing towards shore

Actions 

• Call for help from lifeguards or any emergency help

• NEVER attempt to rescue the drowning person by entering the water if you are not trained as you will be endangering yourself.

• Throw a flotation device 

• Once the drowning person is on dry land, begin CPR if there is no spontaneous breathing or pulse. Keep the head and neck very still in case of neck, head or spinal injuries (Put two solid and hard objects between the head to minimize the victim's head movement

Singapore Life Saving Society, is the appointed SwimSafer Secretariat. SwimSafer comprises of a progressive six stage programmes which emphasize on proper swimming techniques and survival/life savings skills. Isplash Swim School conducts swimming lessons for kids according to SwimSafer syallabus so that all our students are able to attain basic level of lifesaving skills and swimming proficiency.

One common query that parents and students inquiry is regarding the difference between Swimsafer and NASSA(National Survival Swimming Award)/Learn-To-Swim program. Students, especially those who started swimming lessons before 2010, will be familiar with the NASSA program.

SwimSafer is a national water safety program in Singapore introduced in July 2010 by the National Water Safety Council (NWSC), a council appointed by the then Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS).  Swimsafer will replace the NASSA and Learn-To-Swim program.  

The program objective is to impart swimming proficiency and water survival skills to kids in order to reduce drowning incidences. These skills are necessary after reviewing that more than sixty percents of drowning incidences in Singapore (between 2005 to 2008) occurred in open waters, such as the seas, rivers, and reservoirs. 

SwimSafer Programmes are conducted by certified SwimSafer Instructors. Isplash Swim School's in-house group swimming lessons for kids are designed according to the SwimSafer syllabus. 

Find out more about the different stages of SwimSafer by clicking on the links below:

SwimSafer Stage 1

SwimSafer Stage 2

SwimSafer Stage 3

SwimSafer Bronze Stage

SwimSafer Silver Stage

SwimSafer Gold Stage