Those darned swim checks

[Beavah]

In the previous thread, Tampa Turtle writes:

 

I have seen pretty good swimmers fail under the camp system. Stress or the venue it is a lot of pressure. We never tease the guys that fail and will keep re-trying until they pass.... Last year we had a ring of fellow scouts and scouters swimming along with a guy to help him out.

 

Yep, that's the way of things, except that many units aren't as caring and pro-active at protectin' their kids as Tampa Turtle's.

 

I've never been convinced that it's necessary to provide scouts with stress and pressure on the first day of camp, in some big impersonal swim check production. Especially since by and large yeh see camp swim check signoffs that don't really meet the BSA First Class requirement of swimmin' in a "strong manner", so their value is pretty dubious. The kids who can't even flail their way through it weren't likely to be jumpin' out to the deeps to begin with.

 

More to the point, teen lifeguards routinely handle swimming pools with higher ratios of swimmers to guards than we have at BSA camps, and they do it without doin' swim checks. Every day. All over the nation.

 

Knowin' swimming ability for boating activities I think is more important, but that can be handled in a more kid-friendly low-key way, don't yeh think?

 

In da previous thread we got all hot and bothered about poor pranks that (psychologically) hurt or embarrass kids, but honestly I've seen far more "damage" from swim checks and even from some camps' approach to medical checks.

 

Is it time we stopped hidin' behind a safety excuse with this one, and rethink it a bit? What does your unit or camp do to make this more reasonable and fun for boys?

 

Beavah

 

[desertrat77]

Beavah, excellent question.

 

Though my camp staff/lifeguard BSA are decades past, mulled this over a bit. My recommendations to National:

 

I think the swim check has become more of a tradition ("we've always done it this way") than a valid need.

 

Perhaps in the early days of scouting, when most camps were primitive and waterfronts were rivers and lakes, the swim check was a big deal.

 

But do we need swim checks if the scouts swim in a pool? I don't think so. Unless there is a deep end, and the scout can demonstrate that he can swim across the pool and back before he's allowed in the deep end.

 

Swimming in a lake or river...if they want to swim in the "swimmer" area (deepest water, etc), then yes, do a swim check. Close to shore in the traditional "nonswimmer" and "beginners" area? Nah, just let the scouts jump in and splash around.

 

Would save quite a bit of time and trouble on that first day of camp if swim checks were done away with. For the scouts that want swim checks, conduct them during open swim, or the first five minutes of swimming MB class.(This message has been edited by desertrat77)

[IM_Kathy]

last year the camp my son's troop attends allowed for troops to pre-test if done by a registered lifeguard, but we were unable to make that happen.

 

this year though they dropped the "registered" part so we will be going in a couple of weeks to do run swim checks and just have a swim party type meeting.

 

as the swimming MBC we've always done this as a troop in case we canoe before summer camp, but after cross-over. All new scouts do 2nd and 1st class rescues as well. And then anyone with partials in swimming or lifesaving have a chance to work on those too. so it's just nice that now this will count and they don't have to retest first day of camp.

 

Before this last year it was very important to test at camp as the pool use to always be freezing cold and we would have boys that would be affected by that tempature and so while they could earn the swimming MB in a heated pool, they couldn't pass the swim test at camp. And it was always the supper skinny boys that would have issues. Now they have fixed the pool at camp - it's still cooler than most pools, but it's not ice-cold.

[Twocubdad]

We do checks off-line, before we get to camp. Mostly for practical reasons -- we've never made it through a check at camp without thunder rumbling through.

 

So far, it's just been a single-purpose activity. The best pool around for the swim checks isn't very visitor-friendly. They'll let us do the swim test for free, but want to ding all non-member (which is everyone) for a guest fee to stay and play. We do plenty of aquatics activities through the year, though.

 

I was a Water Safety Instructor (back when WSIs were certified to teach all ANRC aquatics courses top to bottom)so I run the tests myself. I'll get one of the lifeguards to sign off on the paperwork.

 

Interestingly, last summer we had one kid who had the worst case of home sickness I've ever dealt with. Got off the bus boo-hooing and didn't stop until sometime Wednesday afternoon. Turns out one of his(many) problems, was he had been put in the "baby class" for Swimming MB (he hadn't attended the troop swim test). I walked down to the waterfront to discover that the kid had essentially been given private swim lessons all week by one of the senior instructors. The guy was terrific, understood that the boy was very homesick and in a couple days had the kid's swimming skills up to par with the rest of the class. The fellow couldn't have been any better.

 

So at what point can we no longer protect every beginner or non-swimmer from his perceived embarrassment? The swim test wasn't this fellow's problem, it was his lack of swimming skills. He was given every bit of support, encouragement and opportunity he possibly could have been given, but was still unhappy. Had he not qualified for the MB (although with the help of his private instructor, he did) would he have been equally upset? How should we have protected him from that little bump in the road? Should we have taught knot-tying in private so as to protect the feelings of the knot-challenged?

 

In the thread on hazing/pranks, I argued that we should protect kids from unnecessary embarrassment. But again, there is a cost/benefit analysis to be performed, and swim tests are clearly on the plus side. Maybe swim tests are needed for free swim, but when you look at the totallity of the aquatics program, ability grouping is a big part of how we do aquatics safely.

[AlFansome]

 

...and just to make the swim check more stressful, try doing it at 7000' in the Sierra in a lake of snow runoff. Shivering kids does not a positive experience make.

 

 

[frank10]

Most camps will allow a scout to white tag it if he wants to, just come down to the water front and hang it on the board. Want to swim in the deep water, you get tested in the same water you will swim in. Testing in a warm indoor pool won't tell me how you will react to falling off the deck into the lake.

[SeattlePioneer]

Oh dear. Imagine how stressful it is to DROWN!

 

 

Water too cold? Better to drown than subject Scouts to such STRESS.

 

Too deep?

 

Too much pressure to be part of the herd being tested?

 

Tough!

 

If Scouts can't pass on day 1, they can come back and try again as many times as they wish.

 

I've always seen the swim test handled quite professionally. It's a reasonable test for boys who may be out rowing, canoeing, sailing or swimming.

 

I like it JUST AS IT IS thank you!

 

 

[IM_Kathy]

I agree they need done and in the type of environment that they will be swimming in. The camp we attend has a pool for swimming and then lake front for boating activities. so swim tests are done in the pool.

 

we have 1 scout that was given alternate requirements for his swimming requirements - he had cancer and the treatment stunted his growth and muscle developement. He understands it, and it doesn't bother him unless someone decides to pick on him because of it. This year he's going to try for beginner test.

 

we have 1 scout that nearly drowned when he was very young and never jumped into the deepend without a float of some sort until he was a webelos. worked with him quite a bit and finally his second summer camp as a boy scout he not only passed the swim test but also earned the swimming merit badge.

 

another scout had never had swim lessons. worked with him while working with the boy that nearly drowned and he earned the swimming merit badge a year after the other boy.

 

the boy that had cancer is working on the hiking merit badge as he's uncertain if he will be able to pass the swim test any time soon let alone the longer distance for the merit badge. He's already a star scout so he's been focusing on some of the eagle required and figuring out what he can do given his circumstances.

[perdidochas]

I've gotta admit, I've seen the camp swim tests to be stressful. What my troop is going to do this year is have practice swim tests before hand (unfortunately the camp won't take our swim tests, need to see them for themselves). Ironically, last year, the camp we went to let us do the swim tests. We had the boys swimming it in open water in a local bayou. I had not doubts about those boys ability to swim.

[SeattlePioneer]

Lots of things in Scouting have been watered down.

 

 

I propose that we do not water down the swim test!

 

 

 

[qwazse]

Waterfront is all lake. So, checks are a pretty practical safeguard. If a boy doesn't want to swim test, we don't make him. There's no shame in starting camp a land-shark. We're not a 1st Class First Year troop, so there's no point in rushing a kid and turning a routing safety practice into a hazing ritual.

 

I keep my certification up to date so that we can test boys whenever they are ready. I also make a point of volunteering at camp, so aquatics staff are freed up to teach those same kids later on.

[dfolson]

I was just reviewing Aquatics Supervision 34346.

 

Chapter 5, page 38 Swim Classification Tests-----

 

Any conscientious adult who is familiar with basic swimming strokes and who understands and abides by the following guidelines can administer the test.

 

So where does the requirement for a lifeguard come from?

[perdidochas]

The lifeguard requirement can be a local council or camp requirement.

 

I don't propose watering down the test. I would just propose making it less high stress by having the younger boys practice it.

[Tampa Turtle]

My good little swimmer younger son failed the first time at camp. Sucked in too much water after jumping in from a dock and failed. Tried again and failed. Took him three tries and he was fine. I was really proud he kept going back--he really wanted to do teh water activities. Other boys wouldn't even try, or deliberately "threw" the test by jumping in, swimming the minimum for beginner and getting out. *sigh*

 

With my arthritis I have a very hard time finishing and have failed a few times. I have had to swim in the beginner area some years. So it stresses me out too. Ironically I used to be on the swim team in H.S.--I think I just lost my aqua-mojo.

[Oak Tree]

The requirement for a trained lifeguard typically comes from the camp.

 

Our camp allows us to do our own swim checks, but they have to be signed by a lifeguard.

 

We've typically avoided the Scout camp swim check for multiple reasons. There's thunder. There's bureaucracy (waiting in a long line). There's the hassle of trying to make sure everyone carries their swim suit with them at the right time.

 

Much easier to do on our own. We also use that test to make sure everyone is ok for boating activities.

 

As for the "strong manner", that's the worst part of the requirement. If you take some kid who's learning how to swim, and finally makes the required 100 yards, are you going to tell him, "Sorry, not strong enough."? That seems like a great way to kill a kid's motivation.