I read a story today how a teen died when he was fishing and dropped his cellphone in the water, and tried to retrieve it. Calm waters too...the article stated that none of them were good swimmers.

I was a strong swimmer early on. My sisters and I took lessons at the YMCA. I know that cramps, water currents, bad weather and other factors can make a person drown, but I always think it's such a shame when people drown because they can't swim -- when it's avoidable. Here's the article.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1477773/

The question is, what kind of a swimmer are you?

I'd say i'm a good enough swimmer. My parents taught me how to swim and I took lessons at the Y when I was a kid.

I'm an ok swimmer. I'm not the best, but I can do it.

I can't go underwater ever since I got sucked in by the ocean. If my sister wasn't there, I can't imagine! :eek:

I'm not pro, but I'm a pretty decent swimmer.

(15 years of swimming classes will do that for ya.)

I never took actual lessons, but I've had a pool in my backyard my entire life and I'm good with that. And I've made it out of the ocean alive. So. I think I'm okay.

I can't go underwater ever since I got sucked in by the ocean. If my sister wasn't there, I can't imagine! :eek:

:eek: :(

That sounds like an awful experience, Kelly.

I'm not pro, but I'm a pretty decent swimmer.

(15 years of swimming classes will do that for ya.)


That is an awful lot of swimming classes. :lol:

I wish I knew how to swim. I enjoy being in swimming pools, the ocean, etc. but never learned.

I have a fear of deep water and large bodies of water in general. When I was a kid, my family took a vacation in Canada. I went out too far in the hotel pool in Quebec and almost didn't make it out! :eek: My dad still says that was one of the scariest moments of his life - one of his kids in that kind of danger. The lady lifeguard got to me in time. I ended up catching a chill and got a bad cold.

The next summer, my mom signed my sister and I up for swimming lessons at our local community pool. I hated every single second, especially when we had to go off the diving board. I told my mother this just recently. She said if she'd known how deeply I felt about it, she wouldn't have made me go. I guess I was too afraid to say anything!! :lol:

I'm a very good swimmer. My uncle, who was a Navy seal in Vietnam, taught me how to swim. Also, like Katie, I had classes at the Y.

I have a fear of deep water and large bodies of water in general. When I was a kid, my family took a vacation in Canada. I went out too far in the hotel pool in Quebec and almost didn't make it out! :eek: My dad still says that was one of the scariest moments of his life - one of his kids in that kind of danger. The lady lifeguard got to me in time. I ended up catching a chill and got a bad cold.

The next summer, my mom signed my sister and I up for swimming lessons at our local community pool. I hated every single second, especially when we had to go off the diving board. I told my mother this just recently. She said if she'd known how deeply I felt about it, she wouldn't have made me go. I guess I was too afraid to say anything!! :lol:


That is a pretty terrible experience you had in that hotel pool, Monika. :( :eek: I remember the first time I had to use the diving board, I was really scared. After I did it though, I could not get enough of it.

I love the water, love to go out in the boat and love to lay on a float in the pool but I can't swim. I almost drowned when we went to Daytona one year, but my husband managed to pull me out. I even took a couple of swimming lessons but just couldn't master it.

That is an awful lot of swimming classes. :lol:
Well, really, it was once a week. I don't remember anymore what I did in terms of swimming lessons when I was really young - but I do remember I was at the community center's swimming pool at least 2x or 3x a week up until about second grade ('92). Then I moved and started going to a school that had its own swimming pool, so every Wednesday for PE class, we would go swimming instead of using the gym. Plus on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays that school had open swimming night, where the general public was invited to use the pool... I took advantage of that a lot up until about junior high. I still did so, but not as often. The last year I had PE classes w/ Wednesday swimming was my junior year in HS, and that was only one semester (fall 2001).

So, yeah, I've always been around the water a lot growing up... be that I was in it, near it or around it.

That is a pretty terrible experience you had in that hotel pool, Monika. :( :eek: I remember the first time I had to use the diving board, I was really scared. After I did it though, I could not get enough of it.
Yes, it was a frightening experience. Then last summer, what began as a simple drive home from the library turned into me being caught in a flash flood!! :eek: I was the only one in the car and was just terrified. Thankfully, I wasn't too far away from home, and both the car and I got back safely. I was completely soaked, and had nightmares about it for days afterwards. :eek:

I can swim, as long as it's not in the deep end of a pool.

We've had a nice in-ground pool for over 20 years but I rarely ever use it.

I was a lifeguard when I was 17. Used to be a fish (no wonder my sign is Pisces!). Once I got into my 20s though I really didn't do much swimming even for myself then. When we moved into our current house I was thrilled it had an inground pool so I have swum as much as possible in the last 11 years.

I think all kids should be taught to swim or at least how to float and tread water as soon as possible. I'm always extremely mindful of my niece and nephew when they're over. They can swim now enough to save themselves if they had to, but they still aren't comfortable with the deep end which concerns me.

I can swim, as long as it's not in the deep end of a pool.


That's my husband and his brother. Actually, also our sister-in-law and their kids. They'll go over to it only with "noodles".

Same here...I'm only 4'11", so I can't even touch the bottom and it freaks me out. I like swimming, though--when I was a kid, you couldn't get me out of the pool!

I'd say I'm a decent swimmer overall.

I can swim, as long as it's not in the deep end of a pool.

I'm a pretty good swimmer but I don't really swim in that deep water. I'll probably be scared to swim in like 20 ft water without a lifejacket. But I can do the basic strokes like backstroke, breaststroke and stuff like that you know.

I never learned how to swim. A neighbor gave me a few lessons when I was about 11 years old, but I didn't follow through.
So when I am at the beach, I only wade in about waist deep.

I will teach you...
Honestly, I love to swim, as I mentioned earlier. I swam before I could walk, thanks to my dad, who is also a swimmer; speaking of pools, if there is not a deep end, anything over 5 feet, then I am not interested..I absolutely love swimming in deep waters, the deeper the better:)
Yeah, my mom had my sibs and I in these swimming classes for babies when we were babies. Considering the fact I was ~12 to ~14 months old by the time I was walking on my own, it's pretty safe to say I was swimming before I was walking, as well. :lol: Never been afraid of the water, as far as I can remember. I do get a little nervous if I'm in the deep end, but that's only because of the pool filters at the bottom. I have no ****ing idea why, but they scare me. (incidentally, this reminds me of Guts, by Chuck Palahniuk. Read at your own risk, and don't say I didn't warn you!) After a bit, though, I'm OK.

Are you a good swimmer?

I'm an ok swimmer. My sister started swim lessons last week. Her swim lessons are for two weeks total. Four days each week (Mon-Thur). She can swim a little. My brother can really swim. In high school he was on the varsity swim team all four years. He got a letterman jacket.

I can't swim, We've had an in ground pool for 22 years and I've probably been in it no more than 20 times. Swimming just doesn't interest me at all.

i can't really swim. i can get in the 3 and 4 feet deep end, but beyond that, it's a no no. i've taken swimming lessons & have tried to conquer my fear, but it always comes back. lol.

My mother was a worrywart. I was the youngest of three girls, with just two years between us in age. My mother had my sisters and I signed up for swimming lessons at the YMCA when I was probably eight years old. Best thing, because to this day, I'm a strong swimmer. I think it's one of the best gifts you can give a child. Teach them how to swim at a young age.

Believe it or not, but i taught myself how to swim about four years ago.

Not really. I can get by, but nothing great--and in the ocean? Forget it!
I only learned to swim as a teenager, so I got a late start with it.

Not terrible, I just lack the stamina. And I can't tread water, so I don't go past 5 feet. And I HATE to dive! Total fear of mine.

I wish I had a pool. I'd be in there a lot.

My mother was a worrywart. I was the youngest of three girls, with just two years between us in age. My mother had my sisters and I signed up for swimming lessons at the YMCA when I was probably eight years old. Best thing, because to this day, I'm a strong swimmer. I think it's one of the best gifts you can give a child. Teach them how to swim at a young age.
definitely. my mom had me take swimming lessons from when i was about four until i was about seven and i'm glad she did. it's a great skill to have.

for the last five years or so i've refrained from swimming because my hair is getting so long (it's to my thighs now) and it's a hassle waiting so long for it all to dry, even with a hair dryer. showering is enough for me to deal with. it isn't worth cutting though, i've wanted my hair like this since i was small.

My mother was a worrywart. I was the youngest of three girls, with just two years between us in age. My mother had my sisters and I signed up for swimming lessons at the YMCA when I was probably eight years old. Best thing, because to this day, I'm a strong swimmer. I think it's one of the best gifts you can give a child. Teach them how to swim at a young age.

I couldn't agree more. My grandmother was afraid of the water, so my mom never learned, but she insisted that my brother and I learned to swim when we were kids. I don't think my brother ever cared for it, but I love the water. I don't even mind the deep end. I've only been off a diving board once, but I'd love to have a chance to do it again someday.

- Kristen

No. I can stay afloat for a while. I'm better at floating on my back.

I'm good enough to save myself from drowning. At least I hope so. I've never had to prove it.

Not really...I'm scared of big, deep bodies of water. My mom enrolled me in swimming lessons when I was a kid and I hated them. :lol: But I do realize the importance of being able to swim.

I'm good enough to save myself from drowning. At least I hope so. I've never had to prove it.

Same here.

I took swimming one summer for the 1 PE credit that we had to have in high school. I wasn't as good as alot of the other students but I still passed.

Swimming is probably the only thing physical I do well (or maybe just do). I'm not sure I'd say I'm great at it, but I definitely hold my own. I love the water.

im not an amazing swimmer or anything but i consider myself pretty good, at least, enough to survive in the water, lol. i love swimming, especially in the ocean.

I'm a really good swimmer. When I was in grade school I went to the Y for lessons.

I am an awsome Swimmer

I can't swim at all. I even took a couple of swimming lessons but did so bad that I quit. My dad could swim a little but my mom was afraid of the water, so we hardly ever went to a lake or creek and we never went to a pool. My husband & son are great swimmers & love the water, & I'll put on a lifejacket & get in the water with them but I'm still kind of wary of being in deep water.

Same here.

I took swimming one summer for the 1 PE credit that we had to have in high school. I wasn't as good as alot of the other students but I still passed.
We had to take swimming in PE every year, and we had to take PE evey semester. So I swam 4 times in HS. It's a good thing I knew how to swim already or they would have flunked me. Seriously. My school was Nazi-like with their PE classes.

Swimming is one thing I do very well and I enjoy. I'm always taking my kids to the pool and they love swimming, too. My 9 yr old daughter wants to spend all her time in the 10-ft deep end--naturally, I'm swimming right along beside her all that time! (Although she can tread water, she tends to get tired sometimes & I have to help her). One of her favorite games is to drop a quarter at the bottom and then retrieve it!
I am leery of swimming with my kids in a lake, though. If one of them were to sink, you wouldn't be able to find them (the lakes around here are muddy!) I'm a worrisome mother who makes them wear floaties or life jackets in the lake!

I had yet another bad water experience in the summer of 2007, when I travelled to California to visit my friend Brenda. I ended up going to a water park with her, her kids and one of the neighbors. There was a water slide called the Vertigo Body Bowl there - very long and twisty. Brenda warned me that it was VERY fast but I wanted to try all 4 slides there. So I went and it was so fast I felt like I was breaking the sound barrier!!

This water slide drops you into an eight-foot section of the pool. There is a lifeguard there at all times, but I had a problem. Since they make you take your glasses off before going on the slide, I couldn't see him. I went under a couple of times before he finally fished me out. It was very scary, and I was pretty dazed. He had to ask me if I remembered what day it was, etc. I did. I didn't go back on the slide, btw. :eek: :lol:

I admit i'm not a very good swimmer I only swim in a Pool where I can reach the floor on the pool, i don't go in the deep end or anything.

Yes.

Nope. I almost drowned in the deep end of a swimming pool once before. After that rather terrible experience, I don't want to be in or near water ever again

I can swim good enough in a shallow end of a pool or a calm lake but I'm not a good enough swimmer to swim in an ocean!

I like to consider myself a pretty good swimmer. I also love to swim in waves lol.

according to my physical therapist I'm a good swimmer. (I take aqua-therapy)

I love to swim and I have been doing it since I was eight and every weekday my parents signed me up for swimming lessons because they thought I would get more exercise and it would relax my muscles. And the first time I had my first swimming lesson I screamed and cried because my legs hurt so much and I could hardly move but when I learned to swim a lot more I just loved being in the water and my mom always called me Ariel because The Little Mermaid was my favorite movie at the time and because I swam like a mermaid
Bestie

I know what you mean; I LOVE my aqua-therapy!:talk:

I cant swim very well....... I can stay above water but not for long,I get tired out!!

Now I am. When I was younger my cousins had to teach me how to swim. How you ask? By jumping off a diving board and they'd help me tread water.

Im glad you got better buddy :)

I've always been scared of water, it's a running joke between me and some friends. My friend would threaten to DUNK me when I often complain about having burn out :eek: