SWAMI's Guadalupe Summer Program in Full Swing

SWAMI's Guadalupe Summer Program in Full Swing

JULY 13, 2013 --  For the second straight year, Race Swami's Guadalupe Summer Swim Program is under way as twelve students from the Guadalupe School in Rose Park completed the first week of these lessons held at the Northwest Recreation Center pool located near the school.

Headed by SWAMI coaches Chelsea Peterson and Pam Chamberlain (with help from Senior Swami swimmer and volunteer, Marcela Vasquez), each coach directs six kids for about 35 minutes of pool time taking them through a journey of admirable and conducive swimming skills, coupling that with some basic safety guidance and knowledge around the pool. "We added this component to the swim lessons because it's not just about learning to swim more proficiently, but to know what to do in an emergency near a body of water," Pam said. "So we teach them things like, what do you do if this happens--if you need to save your friend who just fell in the pool and can't swim?"

The lessons are for four days, Monday through Thursday, for one hour each session. A new group from the school comes each week in what amounts to three weeks through the month of July. Lessons are a mere $5 per swimmer set up through the school, and the proceeds essentially cover pool rental costs at the center. "We're not doing this for the money, obviously," team president Leslie Motley said. "We just enjoy this partnership with Guadalupe School and with the hopes that maybe some of these kids will endup joining the team and becoming even more amazing swimmers. In fact we do get some of our new swimmers directly from our Guadalupe program."

What's most satisfying to Race Swami though, is that they are empowering local youth to be safer around water. "These kids definitely know what to do now in the event there is an emergency, and that's what this program is all about," Motley said.