YMCA now offering free swim lessons for children and adults

Kids are having fun in the sun at the YMCA this summer.

From swimming to going to the beach on the Mississippi Gulf Coast so many of our summer activities revolve around the water. At the YMCA, water safety is a number one priority.

The YMCA is offering free swim lessons to 1,000 children and adults through a grant. The offer started in October 400 lessons have been given so far. The grant will carry through next year.

Last October, the YMCA received a grant funding free swimming lessons offered to the public. In swim classes, children learn basic swimming skills and water safety tools. Blossman YMCA Aquatics Director Mandy Clark says the lessons teach children more than just swimming technique.

“Knowing water safety especially at a young age, starting at six months, is huge. We need to know exactly how to flip over on our backs and get to safety. We learn these awesome rules where we think so we don’t sink, and we look before we leap. We learn how to swim with a buddy instead of swimming by ourselves. So, we teach so much more than just swim lessons.”

Classes are held Monday through Thursday for two weeks and extend into the fall. Each class holds between four to six children with one instructor per every four children and the offer extends to other locations including Pascagoula Parks and Recreation and the Kroc Center.

Following the free swim lesson, children can purchase more swim lessons to learn more advanced skills and open other opportunities. Maria Ross said, “My son Phoenix is in his third level swim class so he’s here for stamina and endurance. They have a noncompetitive swim team that you can be a member of once you can swim the length of the pool without assistance or stopping.”

To learn more about signing up for the YMCA’s free swim lessons visit mgcymca.org.