Shortage of swimming lessons | A security issue

In certain cities in Quebec, there is only room for barely one in ten children in swimming lessons this fall, reveal figures compiled by The Press.

“It is essential that all children have access to swimming lessons, or at the very least, to basic learning that will allow them to survive if they fall into an area of ​​deep water,” insists the general director of the Lifesaving Society, Raynald Hawkins.

“If there is a place where swimming should be compulsory, it is in Quebec. We have half a million lakes and a river. Children will inevitably be exposed to water. It’s dangerous not to know how to swim,” adds Ironman and great promoter of physical activity Pierre Lavoie.

Barely one in ten

There are no official statistics in Quebec on the number of swimming lessons given in the province. The course offerings, coming from municipalities as well as schools or a range of private organizations, are too varied to paint a portrait.

The Press collected data in five cities and one neighborhood of Montreal, chosen at random, for the fall session. We then compared the number of places offered to 0-12 year olds with the number of children of the same age living in the area to arrive at a rate of places available per child. We excluded the very few courses offered in the school program.

Result: in Longueuil, this year, barely 6% of the 37,000 children can have access to a place in their city. The situation is particularly complicated with the closure of the 50-meter pool at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit for work. Last fall, nearly 1,000 children per session learned to swim there. These places could not be replaced.

In Saguenay, there are only enough swimming lessons for approximately 10% of the 18,000 young people aged 12 and under. This is without counting the children of neighboring municipalities, where there are no swimming pools. Just for the courses offered by the City, the waiting list can reach 1,050 names, almost twice as many as the number of places available.

“Swimming pools have closed, there is a lack of availability of pools and also a lack of qualified instructors,” explains Sandra Bérubé, owner of the Aquatitude school, which offers 580 places and has 430 names on its waiting list. “We are a private company and we receive a lot of messages from people who are unhappy because the City is not meeting demand. It’s a big problem. »

Same observation in Saint-Jérôme and Trois-Rivières, where we are also talking about one place for ten children.

“We are not meeting the needs,” says Claude Belisle, of the Académie Lafontaine in Saint-Jérôme, which offers lessons to 500 children.

“There is a big infrastructure problem,” adds the general director of the Center Loisir Multi-Plus de Trois-Rivières, David Bouchard. “Many swimming pools in Quebec were built in the late 1960s, early 1970s and need love and renovations at the same time. » His city has three inland basins, but there should be at least five, he estimates. This year, the Multi-Plus Leisure Center has not even opened a registration period for its 800 places for children. They were filled during pre-registration by families who were already taking lessons.

In Rivière-du-Loup, the situation is a little better, with enough classes for the equivalent of one in four children. However, the closure of the La Pocatière CEGEP swimming pool 17 months ago is being felt. “Many residents of the Kamouraska region now travel to our pool to access courses, which increases demand,” notes Jérémie Bouchard, spokesperson for the Rivière-du-Loup CEGEP.

Added to this is a drop in the number of monitors available. “A few years ago, we could offer between four and six courses simultaneously, with two instructors per course. Today we have four instructors on Saturday and three on Sunday. »

In Plateau-Mont-Royal, where 10,300 children aged 0 to 12 live, at least six different organizations offer a little more than 3,600 places, or enough for 35% of young residents. Children from other neighborhoods go to the Plateau to learn to swim, but children from the Plateau also migrate to neighboring districts for a break.

Anne-Marie Cadieux operates a private swimming school, specializing in children aged 0 to 6 and whose lessons take place in heated pools. Since the pandemic, the number of pools agreeing to rent their facilities to organizations like hers has decreased, she says. Meanwhile, demand has increased.

In the metropolis, the situation is complicated by the closure of two Olympic pools. That of the Claude-Robillard Center is closed for renovations, leading to the relocation of sports teams. Last fall, on this date, there were 165 young people registered for recreational swimming lessons. “This program unfortunately could not be relocated because, despite research, there was no space available in the other swimming pools,” explains Marlène Ouellet, spokesperson for the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district.

A fire at the Olympic Stadium also forced the unexpected closure of the aquatic center.

For a “pool plan”

The Lifesaving Society notes “some disparity between cities or regions in terms of participation rates, or places available, per population for swimming lessons”. “It would be necessary to take a provincial approach in order to establish a desirable rate per population and per region,” says Raynald Hawkins.

The organization calls on the various stakeholders in the aquatic world – federations, municipalities and educational establishments – to work together to implement a provincial aquatic development plan. The goal: “to meet the needs of the population and prevent the closure of public swimming pools due to budgetary constraints, while guaranteeing the safety of all and promoting healthy lifestyle habits through aquatic activities.”

Pierre Lavoie agrees.

According to him, it is up to schools to take charge of teaching this sport. “It must be integrated by the school. Physical education teachers must do their National Lifeguard training and bring the children to the swimming pool,” insists Mr. Lavoie.

The state, he said, must do more and “fund inclusion sports like swimming.”

The World Health Organization, underlines Raynald Hawkins, recommends “teaching school-aged children basic swimming skills and water safety” to prevent drowning. “In Quebec, school age begins at age 4, and it is therefore essential that these children have access to swimming lessons throughout the province,” he says.

And beyond safety, there is also health. “You have to learn to swim more than just to survive,” says Pierre Lavoie. It’s the only sport you can practice for the rest of your life. The pregnant mother. The teenager who works out. The person with musculoskeletal problems. The 90 year old. We need to get everyone moving. »