Young swimmers take the plunge

Squeals of excitement were music to the ears of sports coach Ake Hosea-Winterflood who ran her first swimming lesson on Wednesday as part of the ANZ Tamariki Sports programme.

More than 30 little ones took part in the first day of the four-week programme and with each new skill learned, proud parents cheered.

A quick land based lesson got the programme off the ground before the kids took the plunge into the water at the Social Centre beach in Nikao.

While the kids that already knew how to swim got technique lessons from the island’s top female triathlete Kelly Pick, first time swimmers were getting a buzz out of learning how to float.

One parent was overwhelmed with emotion as she watched her son learn to float then swim – all in the space of half an hour.

She was so overjoyed with her son’s achievement that she asked Hosea if she could teach her husband how to float too.

But the lesson wasn’t all about fun with some serious lessons about safety around water also taught to the kids.

The next swimming lesson is scheduled for next Wednesday starting at 4pm for children aged between 7 and 11.

For more information on the swim programme or to find out what other sporting activity Hosea has in store this year for kids – call her on 24759 or on 24681.