The theme of this special issue is “Building a Community of Champions.” The purpose of this theme is to highlight and promote a civic engagement perspective that engages, advocates, and supports communities of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in addressing the national, regional, and local evolving health-related issue of drowning. Aquatic Settings have been a pivotal focal point of social justice, water safety, and public health, not only in the past but also in our present day (Beale-Tawfeeq, Quash, et al, 2023 and Waller and Bemiller, 2023). Diversity In Aquatics (DIA) strives to positively impact the field of aquatics through programs and projects that foster vibrant and sustainable efforts nationally and in communities anchored by its leadership and membership to provide diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives focused on addressing health disparities among underserved communities and to provide innovative ways that social, economic, and political factors affect health and health equity, research on innovations to address these factors, with new ideas about what can be done to address the gaps, and to strengthen, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in aquatic settings and the field of aquatics.
Despite the incremental increase in the number of Black people who are learning to swim, the number of Black divers has not kept pace. In the NCAA Database, swimmers and divers were not segmented; thus, they all appear in the category of “swimming” by race and sex. When viewing the 2024 Division I NCAA Demographics Database, 89 (.02%) of 4307 student-athletes participating in swimming were Black women. For men, the data is equally dismal, revealing that 81 (.03%) of 2,608 student-athletes who were identified as swimmers were Black. The purpose of this research note is to examine the developmental experiences of an elite Black, male intercollegiate diver through the ‘expert’ lens of David Banks (pseudonym). The focal points of the interview are two-fold: (a) to determine the pathway to success for a Black American diver who participated in an elite junior development program as well as a highly ranked intercollegiate swimming and diving program at a ‘Power Four’ research goal institution; and (2) to chronicle his ascent into becoming one of the first Black head diving coaches in the Power Four conferences. This elite interview is important because we know little about the development of elite Black interscholastic and intercollegiate diving athletes. Five key themes emerged from the data: 1) Family Experiences; 2) Opportunities; 3) Becoming an Intercollegiate Diver; 4) When Race and Sport Collide, and 5) The Journey. One of the key conclusions was that Black males participate far less in swimming and diving than White males. This is especially true when it comes to elite divers. Moreover, the continuing argument that the swimming gap must be strategically addressed if a wave of elite swimmers and divers are going to be produced (Waller & Norwood, 2011).
The silent epidemic of childhood drowning, and the racial disparities associated with it require scalable and innovative approaches that both break cycles of exclusion and circumvent our societal tendency to overlook drowning as a matter in need of urgent resolution. No More Under, a Seattle-based water safety organization whose mission is to eradicate childhood drowning, has launched the Swim Safely Series. The series is a national program uniquely poised to overcome the various barriers associated with racial and socioeconomic drowning disparities by tapping into underutilized collegiate aquatic spaces and merging water safety with mentorship and social intervention.
Public swimming pools are a vital part of America’s recreation and sport culture since the early 1900’s. Municipal swimming pools were initially built to provide recreation and hygiene to urban communities, regardless of race or class. However, a complex history of segregation, civil unrest, suburbanization, and funding challenges has resulted in a significant decline in public pools, depriving many communities of vital recreational spaces. In many communities, options for sustaining the operation of swimming pools have resulted in pool closures. Unfortunately, once swimming pools close, especially those in aging neighborhoods in central city areas, they are seldom resurrected. They quickly decay and become not only eye sores but also the targets of vandalism and other negative acts. Thus, these decaying structures become primary targets for eminent domain and demolition. One of the key recommendations this educational essay offers is the development of an integrated system for tracking the number of eminent domain filings by state and local jurisdiction, especially where public swimming pools are concerned. Additionally, the essay encourages active citizen involvement and community involvement in monitoring public policies such as the misuse of eminent domain that leads to excessive condemnations of physical structures that could be rehabilitated.
Drowning remains a significant public health problem in the United States, with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting approximately 4,000 drowning deaths annually. Children aged 1-4 face the highest risk, and African American children are disproportionately affected–7.6 times more likely to drown than white children (CDC, 2024). In a city on the East Coast that is predominantly African American, limited access to swimming lessons heightens the risk. To reduce drowning rates, a collaborative swimming program was established between a city high school and a public school enrichment program. The initiative provided essential water safety and swimming skills to 120 students in grades 4-6, with documented improvements in their confidence and competence in the water. This paper explores drowning risks, collaborative efforts to establish a water safety program, the impact of this program, key findings, and the plans for expansion to further mitigate drowning risks in under-resourced communities.
Currently a shortage of lifeguards exists in Canada and the United States (US) (Frommer, 2023; Santucci, 2024), and those who are working as lifeguards often do not reflect the diversity of the communities they serve (Martinez, 2020). Increasing the number of lifeguards from equity-owed groups is a potential way of increasing the lifeguard workforce and decreasing the shortage of workers in these important roles, as well as a moral imperative. In this paper I explore challenges to and promising practices aimed at increasing the representation of members equity-owed groups in lifeguarding. I begin with an overview of lifeguarding in Canada and the US. Then, we summarize key challenges to the inclusion of members equity-owed groups within lifeguarding. Next, I use archival research, an intersectional theoretical approach, and reflexive thematic analysis to highlight promising practices for promoting equitable access and inclusion for members of equity-owed groups in lifeguarding.
During his 1997 lecture at Goldsmiths College in London, Stuart Hall, renowned for his contributions to sociology and cultural studies, offered his argument that the concept of race functions as a Floating Signifier. In this essay, Stuart Hall’s Race, the Floating Signifier is presented as a strong conceptual framework to support more accurate and effective positioning of race as an important consideration within aquatic research and education. Evidence from a range of disciplines, including historical research, is presented to establish both the importance and challenge of race within aquatic research and education. This evidence is also used to demonstrate Race, The Floating Signifier, and by extension ‘Hall’s Dilemma’, at work within an aquatic context. The utilisation of Hall’s approach to race as part of research within the field of genetics is highlighted as an example of its potential use within aquatic research. Mixed-method approaches and the use of ethnographic methods are recommended to support reflection, discourse and the production of tools to support improved aquatic research and education in the future.
Black youth in the United States disproportionately experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their white peers. Eliminating these inequities requires new approaches that address historical and structural barriers of learning to swim. The objective of this study was to evaluate the three-week long swimming component of a community-based discovery program to empower Black youth in Evanston, IL. Participants were Black youth ages 8-10 years enrolled in summer 2023 and 2024. Swim skills were assessed by instructors using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence (PSPWC). Caregiver surveys, collected post-intervention, also assessed perceived changes in swim skills and attitudes toward swim safety. Sixty-four youth completed the program (46 boys and 18 girls with nine boys and one girl participating in both years) and 36 caregivers completed the survey. Median instructor-rated PSPWC scores improved from 28 (interquartile range (IQR) 27, 38) to 48 (IQR 38, 48), p-value
This article captures an experience in conflict management that happened during the summer of 2024 as a recreational therapy intern with an adaptive sport and recreation organization located in the Southeastern United States. The backdrop to the case is that a recreational therapy intern worked with various special needs populations – mainly with paraplegic (adult and youth) athletes and veterans. In many organizations, user conflicts and poor communication regarding service provision and scheduling hinder the implementation of programs for special populations, such as veteran groups. In this case, a problem occurred with the scheduling of a water aerobics program for veterans, which resulted in a user conflict and poor facility policy implementation. Through effective advocacy, the issue was resolved with a renewed commitment to communicate better and to adhere to the organization's aquatics policy. The lessons learned from this case included the value of effective advocacy for veterans’ groups, effective communication, and collaboration in problem-solving.
When teaching children with disabilities, swim instructors need to be able to assess the unique strengths and needs of each child to determine modifications needed to instruction, equipment, and the setting and then be flexible enough to make changes in real-time to ensure success for the child. Unfortunately, many swim instructors only work seasonally and have the occasional child with a disability, and as a result are likely to have limited training and experiences with children with disabilities. The purpose of this pilot qualitative study is to examine backgrounds, training, and experiences of six swim instructors who work with children with disabilities. Through individual interviews, our goal was to learn how these swim instructors learn about, instruct, and accommodate students with disabilities in their swim clubs. Three main themes were gleaned from the data. These included: (1) “limited formal training and learning on the job,” (2) “learning about the child/parents can be very helpful,” and (3) “not that different from teaching children without disabilities.” Each theme is presented with quotes to support findings, and the paper concludes with a discussion of each theme and implications for swim instructors who work with children with disabilities.
We offer this short addendum to the 2017 article that appeared in IJARE, "From swimming skill to water competence: Towards a more inclusive drowning prevention future" (Stallman et al., 2017), as an editorial to argue that the essential water competencies ought to be mastered "without goggles." The focus is on the potential negative effect of goggle use during beginning swimming instruction along with their likely absence during unintended and unexpected immersions in natural bodies of water that often lead to drowning. Rejman and Stallman (2024) demonstrated the development of dependence on goggles among young adults and described its negative effect on the development of breath control skills, perhaps the most important of all water competence elements.
The phrase, 'feel for the water,' is commonly used. But what does it really mean? The traditional idea of this 'feel' focuses on the sensation of touch and use of the hands to produce propulsion. But what about water resistance? Mastering a feel for how to reduce resistance is equally important as the unique relationship between aquatic propulsion and resistance is of great importance. While being in the water, the effects of gravity and buoyancy also need to be perceived by the learner and taught by the instructor. Reflection on the effects on propulsion-resistance and gravity-buoyancy requires relevant exercises to achieve our goals whatever they might be. Different goals imply different approaches. Sometimes the aim is to reduce resistance in the water; sometimes to increase it. And why should the focus be on the hands only, while the feet are also very important? Understanding how multiple senses and body parts are involved in pursuing the aquatic teaching-learning process or 'odyssey' is the goal of this contribution.
Drowning is preventable but still claims the lives of over 300,000 people worldwide every year. The purpose of this theoretical review paper is threefold: 1) discuss the theoretical framework for a multi-faceted system of prevention; 2) discuss the importance of parenting, a crucial area where current drowning prevention research is falling short in this multi-faceted approach; and 3) discuss how evidence-based practices from psychosocial parenting research could be used to create drowning prevention interventions that support parents to implement water safety practices in their families. Practical ideas for integrating psychosocial parent interventions with drowning prevention knowledge are discussed. Such interventions have the potential to support all families, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, and ultimately reduce drowning rates and save lives.
This conceptual paper explores the complex interplay among the human brain, emotions, and decision-making processes, particularly in aquatic environments. Integrating insights from neuroscience, psychology, and behavioural economics, we investigate how instinctual responses and emotional states influence our decisions during water-related activities. By analysing both biological and psychological factors, the paper aims to illuminate the intricacies of human behaviour in various aquatic settings and highlights significant gaps in the research on emotional decision-making that warrant further investigation. Additionally, the paper suggests interventions, including plausible communication strategies, to mitigate the impact of instinctual responses and improve safety and decision-making efficiency.
Many of the UK open water accidental deaths have been attributed to the initial responses to cold water immersion (CWI) collectively known as the cold shock response (CSR). The aim of this study was to analyse the publicly available internet information on CWI and CSR for accuracy and quality compared to the ‘gold standard’ published, peer-reviewed research. Seventy-eight webpages which provided information in English on unexpected CWI and CSR were evaluated. Webpages were accessible, widely available, and had appropriate readability scores. Webpage accuracy was suboptimal including only presenting on average 10 (range 3-16) CSR components out of 19. Quality of information also was poor with only 3 webpages meeting the JAMA benchmark for high quality. In addition, 19 webpages had incorrect statements, and 15 had dangerously incorrect statements. To increase public awareness and prevent drowning, webpages should include all the physiological responses and dangers of the CSR as well as practical mitigations.
Drowning is the leading cause of death among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examined water orientation (i.e., comfort level), water safety, and beginning swimming skills of individuals with ASD of ages ranging from 3 to 13 years using the Aquatic Orientation Checklist (AOC) (Kilian et al., 1984). Data were collected during consecutive Fall and Spring semesters. A total of 23 children (n = 15 boys; n = 8 girls) volunteered for the study. Lessons were conducted twice a week for 10 weeks continuously and each lesson was 45 minutes in length. Overall, the swimming program had a significantly positive impact on the participants: they were less resistant to learn, showed an increase in comfort level in the aquatic environment, and were more willing to learn basic water safety and swimming skills by the completion of the program. These outcomes support the importance and effectiveness of teaching basic water safety and swimming skills to individuals with ASD to increase comfort level in the water and to decrease drowning rates.
This study aimed to investigate the construct validity, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability of a newly developed and comprehensive instrument for assessment of children’s swimming competence. The Swimming Competence Assessment Scale (SCAS) consists of six consecutive test items (entry, swim on front, surface dive, float, swim on back and exit) that aligns with the Norwegian curricular standard of swimming competence. The exploratory factor analysis retained a unidimensional model, supporting one underlaying statistical dimension with acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.79). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between test and retest ranged from .84 to .98, and .97 for the total score. Strong agreement among raters was obtained with ICCs from .82 to .94, and .95 for the total score. This study provides empirical evidence in key psychometric properties for the SCAS as findings support the scale's construct validity, acceptable test-retest reliability and inter-rater objectivity.
Evidence-informed decision making requires timely and readily available research and evaluation for policy and practice. In the context of drowning prevention, evaluation of interventions in the grey and peer reviewed literature is relatively scarce. Lack of evidence and associated barriers to access limits the scope of knowledge translation efforts and the application of research outcomes to initiatives designed to prevent drowning. The paper, Alcohol Focused Drowning Prevention Campaigns: What Do We Know and What Should We Do Now? highlights a lack of specific evaluation for alcohol-focused drowning prevention campaigns. We offer insights as evaluators of a youth water safety program omitted from the review by Calverley and colleagues. Greater evidence is needed alongside a checklist to guide systematic exploration and reporting of findings from the grey literature. Finally, novel knowledge translation efforts are required to communicate research and evaluation to a broad audience, in and beyond research institutions.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and self-efficacy of swimming coaches regarding the inclusion of swimmers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sample consisted of 150 Greek swimming coaches with an average age of 29.58 years. Each participant completed the Swimming Coaches Attitudes towards Inclusion Questionnaire for perceptions assessment and the Biddle and Goudas (1997) self-efficacy questionnaire. The statistical analysis used SPSS 27 to calculate Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson product-moment correlations, independent t-tests, and ANOVA. The findings of the study showed that the swimming coaches expressed positive attitudes and a high percentage of perceived self-efficacy towards the inclusion of athletes with ASD in the general swimming team. Attitudes were not associated with self-efficacy. Training in adapted physical education and the geographical distribution seemed to influence attitudes whereas gender and coaching experience influenced self-efficacy. Overall, swimming coaches expressed positive attitudes towards the inclusion of swimmers with ASD in their general team and considered their teaching effective.
