During the winter, members of our sports group in Espoo reminisced about their childhood hobbies. That is how the topic of swimming came up. Back then, swimming pools were rare, and in small towns and villages, there were none at all. Children learned to swim on their own, in rivers and lakes during the summer. Such self-teaching often came with mixed experiences, not always pleasant ones.
It turned out that almost everyone in the group could swim, but many said they tired quickly in the water, felt insecure, or were afraid to put their faces under the surface. They also had little idea of what to do in an emergency. Many expressed a wish to become more confident swimmers.
However, swimming technique courses for adults are not widely available. Most are designed for young people, taught in Finnish, and are quite expensive. For older adults, the only common option is vesijumppa (water aerobics), which does not meet the goals of our group.
So, we decided to organise a small swimming course in Russian, especially since we already had a teacher! Evgeniya Mazurova earned her swimming instructor certificate two years ago. During her training, she developed a special course for older adults. A small group of seven participants began the course in winter and continued training until early summer at a swimming pool in Espoo, Finland. Participants partially covered the course costs.
At first, it was difficult for many to let go of the pool edge, to breathe out underwater, or to hold their breath. Some used swimming goggles for the first time, and absolutely everyone tried fins for the first time! But we overcame all challenges. Our brave swimmers learned to dive to the bottom in shallow water, keep their eyes open underwater, relax while floating on their backs, and, of course, swim crawl, breaststroke, and backstroke.
These are only the first steps, and the technique still needs practice, but the skills are already enough to feel confident in any pool or open water.
Here’s what some of the participants said about the course:
- “Evgeniya, thank you so much for the swimming lessons. It wasn’t easy at first, I had to relearn everything because I was afraid to put my head underwater and used to exhale through my mouth. Now I’ve learned to exhale through my nose and even to dive to the bottom!”
- “It was hard for me to move my arms and legs smoothly and exhale through my nose at the same time. But the lessons paid off , I just need more practice!”
- “For me, the hardest thing was not being afraid of deep water and going down to the bottom. But in the end, I overcame my fear and even started swimming forwards, not backwards!”
Learning to swim without learning about water safety would, of course, be incomplete, especially since many participants spend their summers with their grandchildren. That is why an important part of our programme was a seminar called Water Safety, open to everyone and held in June in Espoo.
We discussed how to prepare for a day at the beach, prevent dangerous situations, and watch over grandchildren safely. We also talked about how to recognise a drowning person and how to help, sharing our own experiences. The meeting was a great success and very timely, especially considering that this summer Finland sadly saw a high number of drowning incidents.
In July, we held a similar session on a beach in Vantaa and a mini-lecture by the river in Kouvola. Requests for such seminars have already come from Joensuu and Kotka. We plan to continue organising small swimming and safety courses for older adults of foreign origin, helping them feel more confident in the water and preventing future tragedies.
Our participants wish everyone safe and joyful swimming!
