by Larry Chowning –
Middlesex County is surrounded on three sides by water and has 135 linear miles of waterfront shoreline. Learning how to swim has for generations been a critical life skill for children growing up in the county.
Recognizing the significance of this and need to encourage water safety, Middlesex Family YMCA has partnered with Middlesex County Public Schools (MCPS) and Deltaville Community Association (DCA) to develop a program for teaching swimming to all second graders at Middlesex Elementary School.
District Executive Director of the Middlesex Family YMCA Buzz Lambert said that the Y recognized that there was a countywide need for children to learn how to swim and there were not enough avenues for parents to go to for their children to learn to swim.
“Our service area consists of 989 square miles of water and drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths among children in Virginia,” said Lambert. “For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency care for nonfatal submersion injuries.”
He also said that children ages 5-14 most often drown in swimming pools and open water and 58% of parents do not consider drowning a threat…
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