Summer Olympics and SwimToday.org

The countdown to Summer Olympics is on! Our family gets so excited in the weeks leading up an Olympics season, and we make it a point to watch events together as often as we can (related: thank goodness for DVRs).

Can you guess which sport ranks as fans’ favorite at the Summer Olympics? It’s swimming!* USA Swimming reports that during and after Summer Olympics, they see a dramatic rise in the public’s interest to learn more about swimming, both for recreation and as a sport. To help serve the public’s need for information, USA Swimming has created a fabulous online resource called SwimToday.org.

At SwimToday.org, people can find answers to questions like:

• What level of swimmer am I?
• What level is my child?
• What equipment does my child need?
• Where can I find a place to swim in my area?
• How do I get started or get my child started in swimming?

In addition to the social, physical, and emotion benefits of swimming, there are important safety factors to consider as well. Did you know that drowning is the 2nd-leading cause of accidental death for kids 1-14? Swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 80%.

When we moved from Oregon to Texas, we were amazed to find that every neighborhood has a central pool. We knew right away that we would need to get our kids into lessons, if for nothing else than knowing they would be safe in the water. Now our kids know the fundamentals (which, I confess, is as much as I know, too), but I’ve often wondered if perhaps we could all benefit from learning more skills and spending more time swimming in the pool than splashing in it. I have a feeling that this year’s Summer Olympics and SwimToday.org will be the encouragement we need to make that happen.

Visit SwimToday.org to learn more, and don’t forget to tune in to the U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials, airing live on NBC June 25 – July 2.

*Gymnastics is either tied for first, or is a close second, depending on the poll.

**Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with USA Swimming and The Motherhood. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.

__________________________________________________________