LESSONS IN SWIMMING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20162, 24 January 1929, Page 10

LESSONS IN SWIMMING.

Forty-six lives have been lost by drowning in coastal and inland waters of Xcw Zealand in the past month. That traffic record may justly be attributed very largely to the lack of adequate instruction in swimming, and, as one commentator has remarked, lack of elementary knowledge of the means of selfpreservation in surf and currents. Representations have repeatedly been made to the Government in advocacy of the inclusion of such instruction in the school curricula, but they have so far failed to disturb the official apathy. In the judgment of Governments and Parliament, a grant of £-200 a year to the Swimming Association is an adequate recognition of the national interest in the matter, and appeals for more assistance have been ignored. It represents an allowance of about one-sixth of a penny for every child attending school, and instead of being the foundation of universal education in swimming it does little more than tantalise the hopes and the efforts of the association to provide systematic instruction. There are manifest reasons why compulsory swimming lessons should be included in the work of the primary and the secondary schools, not only with a view to the preservation of life, which is part of the State's duty, but also as a most valuable form of physical training. The refusal to acknowledge this obligation appears to be based wholly on the argument that swimming facilities are not accessible to all schools. It is not a convincing excuse. There are very few districts in New Zealand without a beach or a stream or a lake deep enough for swimming, and generally it may be said that where the natural facilities are least favourable, in the sense of swift currents, deep pools, or cold water, the risks of drowning are greatest, and the need for protective art and knowledge most imperative. "With reasonable encouragement and adequate financial assistance there would not be any difficulty in establishing, on a permanent basis, a system of instruction that would embrace all but a minority of the children of New Zealand. If the Education Department cannot be persuaded to acknowledge its responsibility, at least the Government should accept the repeated offers by the Swimming Association to undertake it, and supply the association with adequate funds to cover the cost of the necessary instructors.