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Open Water Swimming and Safety Lessons a big hit at Utulei Beach

The Department of Parks and Recreation ‘2012 Summer Youth Program’ Free Sports Clinics is well underway at this time, with various clinics happening throughout the island.

One of those free clinics just ended its first session yesterday—the Open Water Swimming and Safety lessons being taught at the Utulei Beach Park by the American Samoa Aquatics Agency (ASAA).

“This is the ending of our first session for the American Samoa Aquatics Agency, with the participants receiving their certificates,” said head of the ASAA Zero Iaulualo.

He said that during the sessions— which lasted two weeks, with lessons three times a week— the kids have learned a lot. The second session will begin this coming Monday.

“There’s still time for parents to bring their kids down to the park to sign up for the second session, if they haven’t done so already. We’ll be here at Utulei Beach Park on Saturday (today) and on Monday, when the next session begins, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. for parents to bring their kids down. The parents can come as late as next Wednesday to sign their kids up, but we encourage them to try come before hand” he said.

“All of these kids are new to this and the parents have been stating how wonderful it is to have a program like this, to teach their kids how to be safe in the water and how to swim correctly. It’s been a really great program for us and the community has responded positively. We will continue to do what we do best and that is to teach water safety and swimming lessons,” said Iaulualo.

Samoa News received some positive comments from parents about the swimming lessons, with one parent saying, “My kids look forward to these swimming lessons and were always excited about coming out here to the beach for their lessons.”

Another parent said, “This program is run well, with well trained instructors. The ASAA did a great job in teaching my child how to swim and be safe”.

Before receiving their certificates, the kids demonstrated for their parents what they learned during the lessons, with a swimming contest using the ‘Front Crawl’ swimming technique. They also showcased how they learned to float on their backs in the water, a technique that can help swimmers relax and conserve energy in an emergency situation.