Swimming through summer waters

News that the National Conservation Commission  (NCC) is aiming to increase the number of lifeguards  on Barbados’ beaches in time for the heavy summer  holidays would have been welcomed by a community  rightly concerned by unfortunate drownings that  occur during the year.Admittedly, ten more lifeguards added to the existing complement of 80 will not be enough to provide adequate coverage for the whole island, and while it would  be unrealistic at this stage to expect every beach to be manned by the three-member crew needed to supply daily services,  it should not prevent us from doing all we can to create the safest possible environment for beach users everywhere.One important step would be for us to use a variety  of methods to greatly increase the number of Barbadians  who know how to swim. For in a nation completely surrounded by water, it is nothing short of astounding how small a percentage of people can actually swim.This shortcoming could very well have a lot to do  with the message of fear of the sea that is contained  in the traditional Barbadian observation that the “sea does  not have a back door”. Repeated and passed on over the years, the implied  danger associated with the sea has become deeply implanted  in the national psyche.It has also been firmly established by social scientists  that fear of drowning is a learned attitude and behaviour,  and that it is therefore much easier to teach very young children to swim before they have been conditioned  to fear drowning. What therefore is desirable would be for Barbados to mount a national campaign to teach as many young children  as possible to swim as early as possible, thereby  at an early stage helping to break this cycle of fear of the sea.We are well aware that over the last several years some progress has been made on this score through programmes  by clubs, schools and individual families.This is to be commended and encouraged. However, this thrust clearly needs to be accelerated and expanded; statistics show that the majority of the population still do not know  how to swim.Some years ago, relatively large numbers of people were taught how to swim in classes conducted in the sea  at the then Harbour Police Station and in water elsewhere. There is no reason why a similar approach could  not be examined for implementation under  the right conditions.This mass-based approach to teaching people to swim  for their own safety and that of others, should be mounted  with the same frequency, spread and public educational  appeal as that which currently accompanies healthy lifestyle living exercises.The need for Barbadians to feel comfortable and confident using the sea and other bodies of water, and to be able  to safely do so with competence and skill, is no less important than the national benefits to be derived from a generally healthy lifestyle.