When did you learn to swim? How? Where?

[kelpmermaid]

This is somewhat dive related, but if the moderators move it, I will not take offense.

Another thread made me think about this...how old were you when you learned to swim? Where did you learn?

For me, I was four, just about to turn five. I grew up near the other ocean (the Jersey Shore!) and my mother had had a bad experience as a child in the waves. As soon as I was old enough, she took me to the local YMCA in Asbury Park for lessons - she was determined I would not have that fear.

 

[Mike Newman]

I grew up in Scotland in the 1960s. There were few leisure centres then that offered swimming pools. Natural swimming locations were only an option in the few weeks of warm weather in the summer.

I was 20 years old and in Military Academy when I learned to swim - it was a requirement to graduate to pass a basic swimming test (very similar to the one required by most Scuba training bodies - jump into water from 2m, 50m swim, tread water for 3 minutes)

I'm pleased to say that I passed a one mile swimming test the same summer; it's really all about 'water fitness', I was told by my instructors.

MN

 

[jbd]

very young also. Unfortunately I have kept up with it.

 

[chrispete]

I was probably about 6 and was scared to death of water - my father and his best friend put my favorite Tonka truck out a bit in the surf and told me that I had to go get it (they were made of good old steel back then, no risk of floating off ) - I eventually made it a little ways into the water and decided that it wasn't so bad after all, but still didn't want to swim in it. The next summer my parents enrolled me in swimming lessons, and I was baptized by being thrown screaming into the pool by the instructor at the deep end. Ever since then I have loved the water and it's hard to keep me out of it.

 

[ladycute1]

I was essentially a non-swimmer until age 10 or so... I almost drowned at age 8. Around 10 I learned the rudimentary skills -- but only enough to barely manage -- kept that level until college -- Then decided that I wanted to master it and took several semesters of swimming in college -- learned 10 strokes or more..

Now, at age 40, I'm a strong swimmer.

Liz

 

[trymixdiver]

I took swimming classes when i was very young 4 or 5 yrs. I grew up in Auckland New Zealand 4 houses from the beach. Everyone swam at a young age there.

i now live in Southern California.

Andy

 

[art.chick]

I had been creeping along the walls of pools from the shallow tothe deep end when I was a little kid. My non-swimming parents knew they could not save me if I got in over my head, so they took me to the Y where I took Novice swimming at 7, then Basic, & Intermediate & Advanced....the next level would have been SCUBA or lifeguard training. I begged for scuba as a teen. They said "no," but I kept taking swimming for PE in high school. Never quit loving the pool; it always brings out the kid in me!

 

[neve]

My family used to live near a public swimming pool, so Mum used to take me swimming with her since I was 6 months old. At 2 years old, I started swimming (dog paddle style) on my own with Mum watching at poolside. I started learning proper swimming styles when I was six. Mum enrolled me into a swimming club. In a year they put me in a serious training class and from age 8 I started to swim competitively. I made it to the State swimming team, but got restless after a while (traning 7 days a week and seeing nothing but tiles is just plain boring). I quit the team when I was 14. Since then, I only swim for leisure or when I go diving/snorkeling

 

[exnewwavedivers]

Learned swimming when I was a little over 10 in some local swimming pools around Metro Manila area. Friends of my mom taught me... can't remember who they are though.

When I was 14, my P.E. in high school was swimming. So I would have to go to a pool every Saturday and do nothing but swim. Unless I skip class...

 

[chiara]

I started at around 2 1/2, although I didn't take any official course until around 6 or 7.

Never quit, and don't intend to!