Free Local Swimming Lessons for Children & Adults

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA—Lifelong learning is an ethos at Simon’s Rock. It applies to everything. Look no further than the Kilpatrick Athletic Center, where the Everyone Swims initiative gives students, faculty, staff, and community members of all ages the opportunity to develop and strengthen their skills in the water.

During Everyone Swims, the college will host free swimming lessons for children and adults. The initiative is one part of the year-round programming that promotes health, wellness, and safety.

“Not everyone learns to swim as a child. If you don’t know how, our message is that it’s never too late,” says Bill Meier, facility director for the Kilpatrick Athletic Center. “And if you are a strong swimmer, we give you the opportunity to teach others to swim, making this initiative a great way to give back to the community.”

Learners will focus on the five competencies of safe swimming as outlined by the American Red Cross: jumping in water over their head, treading water, turning 360 degrees, swimming across the pool, and getting out of the pool without the use of the ladder.

Everyone Swims has a historical affinity with the Adult Learn to Swim Program, a nationwide initiative sponsored by United States Master Swimming and based on an adult-learning program launched by Meier at the Kilpatrick Center in 2014.

More than 30 percent of the U.S. adult population doesn’t know how to swim, a statistic the Adult Learn to Swim initiative hopes to reduce by enabling members of communities to help each other learn. To achieve this goal, the national organization supports a network of program directors and volunteers at local chapters with training.

You can view a schedule of Everyone Swims events by going here

(press release sent to WSBS from Bard College at Simon's Rock for on-air and online use)