Swimming: an elitist pastime?

[Rii]

^ The data I'm looking at sez that most drownings of adolescents and adults occur either due to accidental entry into the water or whilst swimming/paddling/wading, the latter in particular occurring mostly in non-pool environments, i.e. those where conditions are not entirely predictable, suggesting that the problem is folks suddenly finding themselves quite literally out of their depth. Seems to me that knowing how to swim (and I include basic safety/survival knowledge - i.e. water entry techniques and the ability to recognise rips - as part of that, in the same way that knowing how to drive is not strictly limited to the mechanics of operating the vehicle, if it was then 10yr olds would be on the road) would significantly reduce the likelihood of such deaths.

 

[trampledamage]

At the beginning of the summer there were three or four drownings reported in the news of teenaged boys in Toronto - they all died pretty much the same way: jumped into a pool at a condo, couldn't swim.

I suppose the real life-saving skill is teaching teenaged boys not to do stupid things, but I don't think they cover that at my leisure centre

 

[melancholymecha]

Im from South Florida & I cant swim. My mom made me take classes when i was a kid & I hated them & was terrified of the water. Still am.

 

[Holdfast]

^ The data I'm looking at sez that most drownings of adolescents and adults occur either due to accidental entry into the water or whilst swimming/paddling/wading, the latter in particular occurring mostly in non-pool environments, i.e. those where conditions are not entirely predictable, suggesting that the problem is folks suddenly finding themselves quite literally out of their depth. Seems to me that knowing how to swim (and I include basic safety/survival knowledge - i.e. water entry techniques and the ability to recognise rips - as part of that, in the same way that knowing how to drive is not strictly limited to the mechanics of operating the vehicle, if it was then 10yr olds would be on the road) would significantly reduce the likelihood of such deaths.

I admittedly don't know about Oz, but in the UK, drownings are about 300 per year inland, 300 per year coastal. I believe the USA has a similar incidence rate (obviously their absolute numbers would be higher given the greater population).

So to start with, that's a really, really low number. That in itself makes it questionable whether swimming can be classified as an important life-saving skill.

But we can go further. Out of those 600 deaths, a significant percentage (I believe around a quarter to a third) are in the under 5s. They cannot be expected to swim well, so their ability or lack thereof is almost irrelevant. Of the remaining 350-400, a large chunk (again about a quarter or so of the remainder) are intoxicated. Remove those (if you're drunk, even if you're a good swimmer, you won't be swimming well). That knocks us down to about 250-300. A large percentage of the rest are adolescents who are simply being stupid: playing on thin ice, cocking around near canals, showing off to their friends, etc, etc. If they weren't being stupid, they wouldn't have died. So the key variable isn't their swimming ability, but their lack of ability to monitor their risky behaviour. OK, that probably leaves us with about 50-100 where otherwise responsible adults died through drowning. Some of those are the elderly or otherwise disabled, where their swimming ability has been degraded. What does that leave us with... a generous 50 a year, maybe, where being able to swim better would have been the bottleneck variable that would have saved their lives? Pretty damn small number. And even there, a lot of the deaths might have been prevented with prompt CPR at the scene by a passer-by.

I'm not saying being able to swim wouldn't, in some long-shot situation, save your life.

I AM saying that to consider it a key life-saving skill, which everyone should acquire, something to be prioritsed, and whose absence is a serious issue requiring social study and even possible remedy by the state, is quite a stretch.

If you wanted to reduce the number of deaths from drowning, teaching people to swim would be WAY low down the list. The top things would be:

1) Educate on proper parental supervision of their children near water (be it a beach, or a pool, or especially the family bathtub).
2) Educate adolescents not to mess around near water
3) Ensure adequate railings/protection near water
4) Educate adults not to drink heavily near water
5) Educate adults how to perform CPR, and the importance of continuing CPR on drowning victims (esp. cold water drownings) far longer than they might otherwise do in other situations.

Teaching people to swim better would probably come next, after those. Prioritising it, given how badly we do the others, isn't going to yield a particularly good ROI.

 

[Marie1]

I don't think horse-back riding and swimming are elitist, in fact, I'd almost say just the opposite.

People with below-ground pools probably have more money than average to afford the pool, the legally proportioned fence and added insurance perhaps.

But I'd say a beach usually brings people together. An exception would be when people, esp. in tropical places, buy "beachfront" property and then think they own the ocean and try to prevent locals from swimming there... but that's just being a jerk.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

I love swimming ~ I wouldn't say it's elitist at all and I assumed that everyone in the States had their own pool (well they do on the tele!).
It's one of the best forms of exercise, the only pain is going to the local pool and having to change, shower before you get in the pool and then dry etc. And pay the car parking costs ~ outrageous! I'd love my own pool in my garden ~ heck I'd just love a garden! Anyway...

Son learnt at school, Man does not swim (which has made holiday plans interesting).

Last summer when Myself, Son and Friend went to the beach and swam in the sea made me realise I need to practice more as the 'tide drag' was really strong, but it was wonderful. Swimming into the waves and bobbing about on your back Ah lovely.

Now I don't think golf is elitist either ~ although it will depend on what club you join. The one I work at is a 'pay and play' so you get all sorts, but the members think they are really special, which really raises my ire as they are the cheapest people on earth.
The cost of some of the golf clubs is eyewatering but more fool them, and less than 15% are bought by our members!

As for polo ~ Oh I wish... Give me a field, a string of polo ponies and a couple of mallets and you can call me elitist until the sun fails to shine

K'Eh, wannabe snob

 

[Count Zero]

Is this a serious question? Private pool ownership is so strongly correlated with abundant wealth that the Greek finance ministry is using Google Earth to crack down on tax evasion.

Yes, because Greece has a pool tax... They only check whether you're evading the pool tax by using Google Earth.

In theory. In practice, folks who lie about pool ownership are likely to be lying about other things too; and if the ministry has cause to investigate a given individual/household for violation of a particular clause, you really think they're not going to run over the entire filing with a fine-toothed comb whilst they're at it?

No, but your post implied they were doing it because pools mean wealth means possible tax evasion and I was just pointing out that that's not the case.
Besides, in Greece, if you'd look closely at anyone's tax claims, you're likely to find a (minor) case of tax evasion. You don't need any pools for that.

 

[Marten]

I don't swim regurarly, but have swimmed a kilometre or so a few times.

 

[Udat]

I suppose you can call me an elitist because I`m a horse rider and whilist your at it add racist and if you like you can call my cousin a white racist for beating Micheal Phelp world record and winning two gold medals in the Olympics. I suppose representing my country was a totally elitist thing to do and had nothing to do with my talent at riding horse and everything to do with the color of my skin.

Thanks

Udat.

P.S. Why don`t you call me a White Racist Faggot.

Cheers.

 

[Roger Wilco]

What? That's a bit harsh, where did that come from?

And you've been to Olympic Games as an athlete for Zimbabwe? Grats if yes. Must've been a cool experience regardless of whether you won anything or not.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I suppose you can call me an elitist because I`m a horse rider and whilist your at it add racist and if you like you can call my cousin a white racist for beating Micheal Phelp world record and winning two gold medals in the Olympics. I suppose representing my country was a totally elitist thing to do and had nothing to do with my talent at riding horse and everything to do with the color of my skin.

Thanks

Udat.

P.S. Why don`t you call me a White Racist Faggot.

Cheers.

Dude ... where did that come from?

 

[Udat]

To Roger Wilco - Haven`t been to the Olympic`s my cousin has, I`ve only represented my country in cross boarder events.

I suppose this sort of thing just irks me. I hate been labled.

 

[Snaploud]

"Run for fun...? Who the hell would run for fun...?"--Back to the Future 3

 

[Chris3123]

I think a swimming pool is a rather elitist thing to have in one's backyard,

How is having a pool in your backyard in and of itself elitist?

Maybe not elitest, but at the very least you can be no lower than solidly middle class.

Well, certainly.

It shows you have enough disposable income to spend on the construction

Not necessarily. We didn't spend a dime on construction of our pool. It came with the house. (Though it probably made the house a bit more expensive than if it didn't have the pool.)

and monthly maintenance of a pure luxury.

Yep. Nothing inherently wrong with spending money on luxuries, though.

I think a swimming pool is a rather elitist thing to have in one's backyard,

How is having a pool in your backyard in and of itself elitist?

Is this a serious question?

Well, yeah. I ask because we have a pool in our backyard, and we don't fit any definition of elitist I can find. We don't think we're better or should be taken more seriously because we have a pool (or for any other reason), and we're certainly not upper-class.

Private pool ownership is so strongly correlated with abundant wealth that the Greek finance ministry is using Google Earth to crack down on tax evasion.

I asked how a having a pool in your backyard, in and of itself, is elitist. However much private pool ownership is correlated with abundant wealth, not everyone who has a pool is filthy rich. As I said above, we have an in-ground pool in our backyard, and we're middle class. A comfortable middle-class, but middle class none-the-less. Heck, there are lots of middle-class affordable houses around here with pools.

And as for swimming itself, by no means is it elitist. You can be dirt poor and still swim.

 

[Naira]

As mentioned above, having a swimming pool here in Greece is rather elitist but swimming is not. Kids are not taught swimming in school (since there are no pools in schools) but, since this is Greece after all, almost everyone swims in the sea from an early age so people generally know how to do it.

As I said above, we have an in-ground pool in our backyard, and we're middle class. A comfortable middle-class, but middle class none-the-less. Heck, there are lots of middle-class affordable houses around here with pools.

I guess it depends on the place one lives. Where I come from, most people live in apartments. Even those that have houses usually don't have much land. Only really rich people get to have pools here (plus, a pool comes with a high tax).

 

[Marten]

All Swedish children have to learn how to swim in school.

 

[Rii]

I'm disappointed to learn that we only have one Michael Phelps on the board.

 

[Goliath]

I guess it depends on the place one lives. Where I come from, most people live in apartments. Even those that have houses usually don't have much land. Only really rich people get to have pools here (plus, a pool comes with a high tax).

My father and his wife have a pool. They also own a string of horses--Arabian horses, at that. Their house overlooks a nice little valley, where the horses can run around and do horse stuff.

But they live in rural Saskatchewan, where your neighbours are sometimes too far away to be seen with the naked eye. And they bought that house at a time when land-prices had crashed. There's no way they could afford it now.

Plus, while they certainly live comfortably, they would probably bristle at being called "elitist". They've both been members and active supporters of Canada's social-democratic party, the NDP, for as long as I've been alive.

 

[AJBryant]

I'm disappointed to learn that we only have one Michael Phelps on the board.

Well, there *is* only one of them, after all.

I'm like a freaking fish, but I can't say I'm Michael Phelps.

 

[Rii]

Yes, because Greece has a pool tax... They only check whether you're evading the pool tax by using Google Earth.

In theory. In practice, folks who lie about pool ownership are likely to be lying about other things too; and if the ministry has cause to investigate a given individual/household for violation of a particular clause, you really think they're not going to run over the entire filing with a fine-toothed comb whilst they're at it?

No, but your post implied they were doing it because pools mean wealth means possible tax evasion and I was just pointing out that that's not the case.
Besides, in Greece, if you'd look closely at anyone's tax claims, you're likely to find a (minor) case of tax evasion. You don't need any pools for that.

Yeah; but even if everyone is evading taxes, it's the households with potentially the most untaxed taxable income that the department is going to direct their limited resources to investigating, and an unregistered pool is a neon sign (visible from space) flashing 'dig here for money'. You don't go looking for tax cheats in low income neighbourhoods - beyond standard random sampling that is - not because there aren't any, but because there are infinitely more productive fish to fry.