Although many swimming courses have been canceled due to corona in the past few months, many children from the Freising district have learned to swim.
The reward was given on Saturday.
Freising
- Splash! The water splashed quite high when the first of three days of action took place in fresch last Saturday under the motto “Freising swims”. From noon on, 40 children took the opportunity to take the swimming badge test in the indoor pool free of charge. The action days of Wasserwacht Bayern with the support of Wasserwerke Freising are intended to serve as an incentive and reward for all children who have learned and practiced to swim hard despite the pandemic.
At noon on the dot, the Freising water rescue service actually had its hands full, because the first rush at the edge of the pool was quite high. In order to be able to take the exams in peace, the indoor pool with a water depth of two meters was used. "Quite a lot of water," said a little boy who wasn't so sure whether he should dare to jump in or not. Kudos to the water watch, who always responded to the fears or questions of the little ones with a lot of empathy, so that everyone could successfully pass their exam.
For the swimming master assistant Dominic Popp, such days of action are a stroke of luck, because the horror of the two accidents is still in his bones in fresch.
Overall, he observes that there is a tendency for fewer children to come to the water park than years ago, which, in his opinion, is due to the fact that the number of non-swimmers is increasing in childhood.
It is therefore all the more important to have all the offers to teach the youngsters how to swim and to reward them for doing so.
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Emma Kopriva (9) showed a ring from the edge of the pool - without any problems.
© Michalek
The parents are also responsible, emphasized Melanie Meyer, who came to the day of action with her daughters Julia (11) and Laura (8) Zandt.
Swimming lessons are currently not offered in the girls' primary school; she taught her two daughters to swim herself.
And with success: While Laura made the seahorse with flying colors, Julia can now wear the bronze youth swimming badge.
“That wasn't bad at all”, confirmed the five-year-old Fabio, who swam the lane after jumping into the water without dropping off and, after successfully diving, can also call the seahorse certificate and patch his own.
His parents Christoph and Lorena Arnold were also visibly proud: Fabio learned to swim from theirs while on vacation in Italy.
“We are permanently in the water,” explained Oliver Kopriva, who came to fresch with his wife Antje and daughter Emma.
Emma wanted to know: she successfully completed both exams one after the other.
Mama Antje proved that it is never too late to learn to swim: she only learned to swim recently as an adult.
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"It is important to motivate the children", knows Verena Holzer from the Freising water rescue service.
© Michalek
It is simply important to motivate the children, explained the aspiring lifeguard Verena Holzer from the Freising water rescue service. Before the children go into the pool, they should not be afraid of the water. Her advice for anxious kids: start slowly, don't build up any pressure and don't force anything. A gradual increase with a start in a "shallow" pool with the support of the parents would be helpful. "Put your head under water, then open your eyes under water," explained Holzer, that would be a good first step. In the fresch there is also an extra pool with a lower water level to slowly but surely introduce the children to swimming. The 23-year-old is of course worried about one thing: In her opinion, there are fewer and fewer children who can swim well. Also important:In her opinion, the seahorse test should not hide the fact that a lot of practice is still required to actually be able to swim sufficiently well. That was also the motto that was repeated in unison by the lifeguard team and the water rescue service: "Practice, practice, practice!"
Good to know
Anyone wishing to take the seahorse test or the bronze youth swimming badge can do so again on August 28th and September 11th from 12pm to 3pm.
It makes sense to register at info@fresch-freising.de.
But you can come to fresch spontaneously without registering.
The requirements of the respective swimming tests and all other information can be found at www.fresch-freising.de.
The swimming videos, other info films and all information about the “Bavaria swims” campaign can be found at www.wasserwacht.bayern.de.
Richard Lorenz
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