Okanagan Group Gets Award for Funding Free Swim Lessons for SD23 Students

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com

The Across the Lake Swim Society is being honoured for their commitment to health and safety in the Central Okanagan.

Earlier this month, the society received the Doctors of BC’s Excellence in Health Promotion Award for funding the YMCA Okanagan Swims program. The award was given out during the ceremony in Vancouver. “This is a significant achievement,” says Dr. Mark Fromberg, local physician and President of the Across the Lake Swim Society.

Left to right: Dr. Mark Fromberg and Peter Rudd, Across the Lake Swim Society and Randall Wight, YMCA, at the Doctors of BC Awards Ceremony. (Photo Credit: Contributed)

“This award shows that doctors across the province recognize the impact this program has on the health and wellbeing of our next generation. Along with the YMCA of Okanagan, we want to make sure every child has the opportunity to learn the basic swim skills necessary to stay safe in and around the water.”

This program gives free lessons to all children in grade three throughout School District #23. The funding covers the transportation to and from school as well as three sessions. The one and a half hour sessions include 45 minutes of individual instruction and 45 minutes of water activity to help the kids master basic skills.

The pool at the Kelowna Family Y. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

In Canada, 500 citizens drown every year. Since the Okanagan is covered in so much water and since drowning is the second leading cause of death for children under age 10, the YMCA Okanagan Swims program is filling an important need in the region.

The collective goal for both the Across the Lake Swim Society and the YMCA of Okanagan is to see more kids access swim lessons every year. “We hope this program will eventually support other grades in the Okanagan and possibly province-wide,” says Randall Wight, Senior Aquatics Manager at the YMCA of Okanagan.

“The more kids we help, the healthier our communities will be.”