Jul 2000
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Swimming Classes on our LakesBy David Brison
The Big Clear Lake public beach was a busy place in the afternoons this past week. Central Frontenac swim instructors, Josee Tanner and Travis Bailey, have their hands full giving lessons to around 60 children.
In the mornings this week, they are at Long Lake where there are about 50 children registered.
Josee and Travis are well qualified for the task. They both have the
National Life Saving Certificate, and other life saving credentials.
Travis is a certified Instructor.
The instructors follow the Red Cross curriculum. When I was there, the children, who ranged in age from around 3 to 10, were at ease with the instructors and were participating enthusiastically. The instructors say that it has taken about a week for some of them to get over their shyness, while some have to overcome a fear of the water. One little girl proudly told Travis, "I put my face under the water in the bathtub - all the way to the bottom."
Josee, 19, took swimming lessons at Sharbot Lake when she was younger. "I failed my orange badge and gave up on swimming for awhile. When I was 15, I went to Kingston, and in one summer when all the way through the YMCA program." She wants the children she teaches to have a positive experience.
The classes at Long Lake and Big Clear Lake are in the 2nd week of a
3-week program. The classes then move to Sharbot Lake and Eagle Lake
for 3 weeks. The final two weeks of the summer at the Sharbot Lake
beach are for older swimmers who are seeking advanced badges.
