CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The City of Richmond is coined with the name, “The River City,” because of it’s abundant surroundings of water. For this reason, swim safety experts tell 8News it’s important for those living in and out of the metro area to be “swim advocates.”
“We have a river running through our city and people access it all the time, and we have backyard pools, “said Scott Bennett, director of communications for Swim RVA,” We have lakes, ponds–we’re an hour from the beach, [and] water is around us, we’re going to be near water.”
The local non-profit offers various swim lessons, activities and camp sessions to help people of all ages be water safe, healthy, and fit. This is especially important because according to Bennett, half of the Richmond population.
“Our mission is simple, changing lives through aquatics; our vision is to drown-proof Richmond,” said Bennett, “The first key-step to that is learning how to swim.”
Bennett says it’s important to keep swim safety tips in mind before heading out for the waves. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says each year there are an estimated 4,000 fatal unintentional number of drownings which is equivalent to 11 drowning deaths per day.
Because drownings are so common, Bennett says folks should avoid swimming alone and only do so when lifeguards are present, if one is not, be sure to have a friend or someone you know with you.
“If you have a backyard pool, number one, get barriers up–get doors that can lock, make sure it’s protected at all times,” he said.
Swim safety is important for all ages, but very crucial in children.
“Drowning is the number one leading cause for unintentional injury related deaths for children under the age of four,” Bennett said, “It’s the number two for children under 14 and number five for all ages,”
Bennett says swimming should become generational, meaning important for parents to learn how to swim so they can teach their children for generations to come.
Swim RVA also provides an “Autism Swims,” program, which Bennett says has enrolled more than 70 students each year. One of those students is 8-year-old son Chase, who has non-verbal autism and loves the water.
“One of the number one causes of death in autistic children is drowning so it is very, very, very important to teach him how to swim especially because he is drawn to water,” Allie Rogers, Chase’s mom, said.
According to the National Autism Association in 2009, 2010, and 2011, 90% of accidental drowning deaths were reported among autistic children aged 14 and younger.
