It's never too late! Adults take beginner swim classes

"You guys go ahead, I'll hang out over here."

Over the years, I've called out that phrase many times while hanging on to a pool's edge or sitting at a beach shore. As a child, I never took proper swimming lessons.

That fact still strikes me as odd,  since I grew up in the Philippines, a country dotted by more than 7,000 islands, where the sea is never more than a short trip away.

At 12 years old, I immigrated to Canada,  where the dog days of summer inspire jumping into the lake or making a beeline for the neighbourhood pool. 

You'd think all that fun would finally push me to learn to swim, right?  

Nope.

By that time, I was a self-conscious pre-teen, and there was no way I was going to make a fool of myself in public (80's hairstyle notwithstanding). 

But it sure is no fun to sit on the sidelines while everybody else plays Marco Polo until the sun goes down. And it's a more serious matter when you think about the prospect of drowning.

New Canadians at higher risk of drowning

According to research by the LifeSaving Society, new Canadians who have been here five years or less are more likely to be unable to swim, or feel more nervous around water.

The Society says often, immigrants may not have had access to swimming pools or beaches, or lessons,  in their home country.

So here I am now, a parent of two young children who get better at swimming each year, feeling like I'd better catch up. So a couple of months ago, I signed up for beginner swim lessons at my local pool.  

On our first day, the instructor went around the group and asked each of us why we were there. Every single student said, "My kids are learning to swim, and I'd like to keep up with them".

It's a common motivator among adult students, says Robert Kuropatwa, a lifeguard and swimming instructor for the City of Vancouver.

They want to ensure they can rescue their kids in case of an emergency.

"They're parents whose children are quickly superseding their abilities. If a child is under duress and a parent can't help them, it can get quite scary pretty quickly."

On a Tuesday morning at Vancouver's Lord Byng Pool, Kuropatwa teaches a beginner class.

There are 5 women, each with their own reason to be there. As a child growing up in China, "we'd just go to the sea and learn by ourselves, no instructor" says Jun Sun, 47, who struggles to kick her feet properly while in the water.

"I don't want to give up because I want to set a good example for my child." 

Jen Roberton wanted to face her childhood fear of water, brought on by a near-drowning experience at a barbecue with her family.

"I went underwater, and next thing I know, a lifeguard is pulling me out of the water," says Roberton, 24." A fear of the water has always been instilled in me, so I really wanted to face that."

A 'sense of shame'

Adult students have to overcome several challenges younger students don't have: life-long fears, muscle memory that makes it difficult to learn new movements, and embarrassment.

Swim instructor Robert Kuropatwa says that sense of shame is where the group lesson really helps, because people see they're not alone.

Kuropatwa recommends new swimmers sign up for consecutive sets of lessons or joining a Masters swim club that can span a broad range of abilities.

Because many drownings happen when people find themselves unexpectedly in the water,  the primary goal of lessons is to ensure you are able to stay at the surface and swim back to shore from 50 metres out in the water.

There is progress, says Kuropatwa, who recalls his last set of students.

"I remember a lady who was 57 years old, who had two children who were surpassing her ability of swimming, and she said 'I never pictured myself being able to swim in the deep end like this'.  It's a fantastic feeling.'"

The students in Kuropatwa's current class are all smiles. 

"I'm pretty proud of myself," says Jen Roberton "It's pretty difficult to do this as an adult. I'm proud of all of us."

I'm inspired by the students I met, and I have to say, I'm proud of myself too.  I'm already signed up for my next set of lessons. And I'm out to prove it's never too late.

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: It's never too late! Adults take beginner swim classes