Swim for Life

August 2nd was a typical blistering hot summer day in northwest Louisiana. It supposed to be a happy family gathering for a large group of relatives and friends, including approximately 20 children, when they arrived at Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park in far south Shreveport, a popular area for picnics, swimming, boating and wading. While the adults were preparing the barbecue, most of the kids went to play in the Red River. They had been there about 10 minutes when the tragedy happened. The teens had started wading in a familiar area where the water was shallow, but they wound up at a spot where the river bottom dropped off although just several feet into the river. Apparently one of the teens stepped off of a ledge and into an 18-foot sinkhole. The others went in to try to rescue the teen, but none of them could swim. They started to slip, one grabbing the other one, one trying to save the other one -- and then seven teenagers were struggling and fighting for their lifes. Unfortunately, none of the teenagers could swim, nor the adults who were watching them from the bank. As the teenagers yelled for help, parents and relatives could do nothing but watching them drown one by one. The lone life jacket nearby was thrown to the victims, but none could reach it. At the end, only one, a 14-year-old, was rescued by a nearby swimmer. Six teenagers from two families, age 13 to 18, drowned.

The tragic drownings highlight an unsettling statistic in this country. 41.8 percent of white children have little or no swimming ability, while the number is stunning 69 percent for black children, according to a study released last spring by the sports governing body USA Swimming.

Parental fear and lack of parental encouragement were the top two reasons children and parents gave for not swimming. The continuing cycle of people not knowing how to swim and their children not knowing how to swim should end. Adults should not pass their fear of water onto their children. The parents should lead by example and learn to swim with their children. You don’t need to swim like Michael Phelps. At least you should be able to keep yourself float long enough to wait for rescue. This is one of the most precious gifts that the parent can give to their children – because it may save their lives someday.