By Nick Landry

Before becoming a client facility in 1999, St. Martinville City Pool experienced a drowning. Many of you are familiar with this incident, as the story is documented in the E&A training video, "Touched by a Drowning." In the years following the incident, the city administration and pool management set out to make a difference in the aquatic safety of the city’s population.

The city pool began offering low-cost swimming lessons to the public to try to address the fact that a large percentage of the population of the town lacked basic water skills. However, even with this option, many people did not take advantage of the lessons because of an inherent mistrust of water environments, as well as financial and transportation problems.

In 2001, one of the members of the local Kiwanis Club, Christine Berard, came back from a convention with information on one of Kiwanis International’s projects called "Every Child a Swimmer." She approached the pool management with the possibility of running the program in St. Martinville. The program is designed to target 3rd graders. However, Edna Landry, who has over 40 years of swim instruction experience, felt it would be better to target the kindergarten students. This choice was supported by the fact that, at the time, the Early Learning Center for St. Martinville was located within easy walking distance of the City Pool.

The Kiwanis Club formed a committee to help garner the approval and support needed from the local school board and the City Council. The City agreed to take up the project and to be responsible for liability. The School Board reluctantly agreed to give the project a try. The principal of the Early Learning Center was contacted and the project was set to run during the last week of school for 5 days. Information and permission forms were sent home and about 130 students signed up. The City provided supervisors, lifeguards, and some swimming instructors. Edna Landry, who teaches at Trinity Catholic, the local parochial junior high school, enlisted the help of the Builders Club, which is a partner of the Kiwanis Club. These students were excused from school to participate in the program. Mrs. Landry also contracted with some of her private swim instructors and some professional teachers, some of whom had experience with special education students.

The program begins at 11 a.m., with three classes of about 50 students combined, coming every 45 minutes. The first few years, 5 classes were held, including a later class for the Catholic school students. This past year, 4 classes were held and about 160 students received instruction. Every adult instructor is given 2 young helpers from the Builders Club. The ratio of students to adult instructor is about 5 students to one instructor with 2 helpers. Most students begin the program fearful and very inexperienced. Many have never been in water where they could not touch the bottom. By the end of the 5 days, most students have mastered putting their face in the water, getting in a prone position to float and kick, entering the water by jumping, and properly putting on a lifejacket. Many can float and kick, tread water for a short time, and jump into deep water and come up on their own.

Before the program was initiated, few young children frequented the City Pool and few came to lessons. Now many young children come to swim during the summer and many come to swimming lessons. This has impacted the overall safety of the pool clientele as more and more children can comfortably navigate deep water and many children have mastered good swimming skills. Much interest is generated in the Jr. Lifeguard Program, which served 80 participants this past summer, ranging from 10 to 15 years of age.

The local school board and the City Council, as well as many parents who have come to visit during the program, were so impressed with the safety provided by the staff that they have wholeheartedly endorsed the program. The entire cost of the program is paid by the Kiwanis Club. It raises funds for the project with an annual community "Pepper Festival", which features crafts, games, music, and food. Usually the cost of the project runs about $2000. Buses have been hired in the past year because the kindergarten students moved to a different facility which is not within walking distance. The Kiwanis Club paid for the transportation costs. The project involved many Kiwanis volunteers, many of whom take off of work, more than 30 Builders Club volunteers, more than 10 pool personnel, which included lifeguards and supervisors, and about 6-8 private instructors. The program works to make a pro-active approach to aquatic safety become a reality in the community.

This program provides an avenue to provide free lessons to local children, and can be used with any swim instruction program that your facility currently uses. You may contact Edna Landry at St. Martinville City Pool at 337-394-3993 or via email ednaml@bellsouth.net. Edna and the St. Martinville Kiwanis Club are anxious to help out in any way or provide more information. If you would like a DVD showing the program, or if you would like to see the program in action, contact Edna Landry. The program is usually run during the last week of school in late May. Contact your local Kiwanis Club or visit www.kiwanis.org to find an organization near you for more information about "Every Child a Swimmer".

     
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