It is no secret that swimming is a key life skill and one that can be retained for life. In that sense, it is quite similar to learning to ride a bike; once you have mastered the basics and developed the muscle memory and coordination, the fundamentals stick with you.   

However, like any sport, practice makes perfect, and with swimming that is no different. There is a reason that the national Scottish Swimming framework (in partnership with Scottish Water) exists to ensure children become safe and competent swimmers. This framework is one that Sport Aberdeen is proud to follow, having last year been crowned Learn to Swim Provider of the Year 2024.

Arguably, swimming is unique to other sports too – it is the only sport which can save your child’s life. Drowning still remains one of the ten most common causes of accidental death in children aged five to 14 years old, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation.

By enrolling your child in regular swimming lessons, you are investing in their learning of vital water safety skills including how to tread water and float, as well as basic rescue techniques.  

Not many sports can be started so young, but with swimming, you can be in the pool with your child from when they are born, creating happy memories and helping them start to form good habits. This is part of the early years programme at Sport Aberdeen, specifically for children aged from birth up to 4½ years old.  

Children can then transition into the school age programme which is recommended for improving confidence and developing overall swimming ability. Currently, this programme has five stages:

Swim Skills 1 (A and B)

Children develop their confidence and gain the ability to perform a wide range of core aquatic skills without buoyancy aids. They will be introduced to the basic technique of the four strokes and be introduced to sculling.

Swim Skills 2 (A and B)

Children increase the competency of the core aquatic skills and develop basic stroke technique. They will be introduced to diving and will further develop their awareness of being in and around water.

Swim Skills 3

Children will be introduced to more advanced stroke technique and achieve Triple S standard. They will practice diving more and will further develop butterfly and breaststroke, aiming to achieve legal technique.

Swim Skills 4

Children will be able to demonstrate their competence across all four strokes. They will be introduced to lifesaving skills and basic aquatic discipline skills to enable their progression.

Club Ready

Children will improve and maintain their stroke technique over distance whilst increasing their swimming stamina. They will learn to improve efficiency and develop turn technique for all four strokes and gain knowledge and understanding of club training practices in a variety of core aquatic skills.

It is recommended that children progress through all the levels to become strong, confident swimmers. Just because a child can swim, doesn’t mean they are competent in a different environment, such as an outdoor pool.

Being a confident swimmer can open up doors into enjoying other water-based sports too, including:

• Canoeing/kayaking
• Surfing
• Paddleboarding
• Wakeboarding
• Waterskiing, and more!

Asides from being a core life skill, swimming is a lot of fun! It gives children a chance to make new friends, play games, go to water parks on holiday, improve their cardiovascular health and learn valuable lessons including perseverance, patience and consistency.

Seeing children smile and laugh whilst feeling a sense of achievement at progressing to the next level or being awarded ‘Swimmer of the month’ is unbeatable!