Survey Points to Racial, Ethnic Gaps in Children’s Swimming Ability

WICHITA, Kan. _ Cliff Fanning, director of Linwood Recreation Center, is among local African-Americans aware of a potentially life-threatening fact about black children: Many can’t swim.

A recent study has given credence to that long-held assumption, which has roots deep in black history. The study found that nearly 60 percent can’t swim _ roughly twice the rate of white children. About 56 percent of Hispanic children can’t swim, according to the survey, which was conducted by the University of Memphis for USA Swimming, the sport’s governing body.

The survey points to historical, cultural and socioeconomic reasons for the swim gap. But it overwhelmingly found that parents’ ability to swim and attitudes toward swimming were key to whether or not their children could swim.

National and local authorities said they are working to reduce barriers and promote water safety and swimming, but parents also play a role in exposing their children.

“If nothing else, get kids acquainted with it,” said Doug Kupper, director of the city’s Park and Recreation Department.

The USA Swimming study surveyed nearly 2,000 children ages 6 to 16, asking about their ability to swim and their attitudes about swimming to better understand the disparity in drowning rates among youths.

Nationally, African-Americans hold unintentional drowning rates that are three times higher than white children for ages 5 to 14 years old, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2005, nine Kansas children under the age of 14 died of unintentional drowning, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s most recent numbers.

The department did not report the race or ethnicity of those children.

Before the USA Swimming study, Aquatics International, a trade magazine, published a series in 2005 called “In the Minority” that took an in-depth look into the facts behind the drowning disparity.

“It kind of was a wake-up call to the industry that aquatics has been a sport for the privileged in a lot of ways,” said Gary Thill, editor for the publication.

Historically, Thill said, the lack of swimming in the black community traces back to slavery days, when slave owners kept black people from learning to swim to prevent them from escaping. Later, segregation prevented many black people from swimming in public pools.

Thill also pointed to financial cutbacks in municipal budgets, which kept pools from being built or maintained in inner cities.

Cultural barriers can’t be ignored, either, Thill said, noting hair care concerns for black girls.

“It sounds really silly, but it’s a big deal,” Thill said. “Black girls spend a lot on their hair, and they don’t want to get it messy or ruin it in the water.”

Fanning, who taught himself to swim in middle school so he could tag along with friends to area pools, points to the costs of swimming lessons, which sometimes place a financial strain on families.

In the 30-plus years Fanning has spent with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, he has seen fewer minority children at pools, even in diverse neighborhoods.

McAdams, he said, used to be packed with people. And deterioration at Fairmount Park’s pool led to its closure. A water fountain has since been installed there.

“A lot of our kids are low income and parents don’t want to put money out to swim,” Fanning said.

Tyler James and Cherron Ezell have five children, ranging in ages from 10 months to 12 years. Their kids don’t yet know how to swim, though they like getting in the water.

James, whose father taught him to swim around age 7, said he knows it’s vital his children learn. But he said, “The lessons are a little expensive… so we don’t make it a main priority.”

Yet to address the swimming gap, there has to be a desire for people to have their children participate, said physician Julie Gilchrist, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Injury Center.

“The family has to make a decision out of all the choices for recreational activity, whether soccer, basketball, football, or lacrosse, that you also consider it’s more than a recreational activity,” she said of swimming. “It’s a lifesaving skill, and it’s important.”

National and local officials are trying to increase minority swim rates.

USA Swimming launched an outreach campaign and has recruited role models such as Cullen Jones, the United States’ first African-American world record holder, and a 2008 Olympic hopeful, to help.

Locally, Kupper said he doesn’t think the cost should be a factor because pool fees have stayed consistent in the eight years he has led the department.

City-run swimming lessons start at $25. Admission fees to city-owned pools are $1.75 for children ages 18 and under and $2.75 for adults per visit. Discounts are available for bulk passes.

The department is also trying to recruit more diverse lifeguards.

“I think we have a better opportunity to attract more swimmers if we have more ethnic minorities in positions of being lifeguards so that they can show that anybody can learn to swim,” Kupper said.

The city employs about 100 lifeguards, but roughly five are minorities, according to Barbara McGuire, the department’s aquatics and special events coordinator.

Area YMCAs draw a large number of minorities to the Y’s Splash program, a six-week water safety course for second-graders. Students, with parental permission, qualify to participate in the free program if their school has at least 60 percent of its students receiving free- or reduced-price lunches, a federal indicator of poverty.

Mim Wilkey, executive director of community development for the YMCA, said they target second-graders because “it’s the grade where we believe they are able to step out on their own.”

“They don’t have parents there to help them,” Wilkey said.

Peggy Burns, vice president of the Wichita Black Nurses Association, said parents need to rethink swimming, ease their fears about the water and get their children involved.

“I encourage (parents) when their child is 4 or 5 years old, especially, to get them into lessons,” she said. “We’ve got our Ys to take them to. We’ve also got parks. “It’s just a fun sport.”

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OVERCOMING THE SWIMMING GAP

_Learn to swim well.

_Adults should practice “reach supervision” _ always stay within arm’s length of a child in the water.

_Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by a residential pool: a first aid kit, cordless phone, emergency contact information, a reaching pole and a ring buoy with a nylon line attached.

_Surround a backyard pool with a fence at least 4 feet high on all sides, preferably one with vertical bars and spacing small enough that children cannot slip through and a self-latching lock.

_Never swim in an area that does not have a lifeguard.

_Check with local officials to see what types of currents are most common in the area you plan to swim.

_Don’t let your guard down at water parks; follow all posted instructions and always slide feet-first unless directed otherwise by the ride operator.

_Learn first aid and CPR.

Source: The American Red Cross

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(c) 2008, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).

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