Newmarket resident Anahita Irani said it felt wonderful to be back in the water.
The parent took the chance to dive back in for a free drowning prevention program offered by the town at the Ray Twinney Recreation Complex. After two years away from the pool, she said she loved it.
“Just jumping in the water was, ‘Oh my God, am I going to be able to swim?” she said. “The lifeguards were amazing … It was fun. It was so well guided. It’s nice to see the whole community come together.”
The Town of Newmarket kickstarted a month of free Swim to Survive program June 6. The Lifesaving Society-based course offers families the chance to learn basic swim skills to avoid drowning. Following a pandemic-related hiatus, the program is now offered in five languages throughout the month, including Farsi, Spanish, Mandarin, French and English.
Aquatics staff Julia Ashton said they wanted to offer it in an array of languages to improve accessibility. The languages picked are based on what was available with staff.
“The nature of the program is trying to make swimming and swimming skills as accessible as possible,” she said. “The language barriers tend to be a big one.”
Director of recreation and culture Colin Service added they also hope to reach more newcomers to the country with these options.
“Often, newcomers to Canada are the most vulnerable to drowning because they have never had the exposure to lessons or to water in the same way. We wanted to address that vulnerable area as well,” he said.
The program aligns with both Water Safety Week June 4 to 11 and national Recreation Month. Service said the town is running a variety of programs for the month, meant to highlight the benefits of recreation.
“The staff are incredibly excited to be planning things again. We’re all excited to see people be able to participate,” Service said. “Through the pandemic, we really learned the value of recreation. We often take it for granted.”
Sandra Powell also took part in the Swim to Survive program and said she wanted to get her children used to the water again.
“It’s been some time,” she said. “It was a brilliant program … (my son’s) comfortable in the water, and that’s only because he has a family member there to support him."
The program is running for free every Monday this month, with drop-ins welcome but registration available at play.newmarket.ca. Each Monday will be offered in English and one alternative language, with Mandarin June 13, Farsi June 20 and Spanish June 27.
Service said they want to do more programs offered in different languages, but there are challenges.
“We’re at the mercy of the staff that we can hire,” Service said. “We have to find a really sustainable way to deliver these kinds of services on an ongoing basis, and that’s something we need to continue working on.”
Still, Irani said the town did a good job with the course.
“It’s nice to see everything returning back to normal.”
