Masters coach makes push for adult swimming lessons

About 37 percent of American adults can’t swim, that’s why U.S. Masters Swimming has declared April Adult Learn-to-Swim month.

Kroc Masters Swimming coach Mike Hamm said his team plans to make a big push this year to offer lessons and get adults swimming.

In the U.S., 10 people die every day, not including boating-related accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.

Those are frightening statistics in states like Washington and Idaho where water is everywhere and swimming and boating are popular pastimes.

In 2011, 93 Washington residents died from drowning, according to the state Department of Health. Males, American Indians and Alaska Natives are at higher risk for drowning. The report also said that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for drowning.

Idaho has the second highest unintentional drowning rate in the nation for children ages 1 to 5 with 6.14 children drowning per 100,000 population. That’s second only to Florida, according to the CDC.

Hamm, who also owns a swim school in Coeur d’Alene, said fear is the main reason many adults don’t know how to swim.

The popularity of Ironman is the reason many adults are now learning to swim, he said. People sign up for the grueling triathlon and then decide to learn the sport.

Yet he said learning to swim and appreciate the water isn’t difficult.

“Making the phone call is the hardest part,” he said.