City Offers Low-Cost Youth Swim Lessons and Water Safety Programs
May is National Water Safety Month, an annual observance aimed at preventing drowning incidents and keeping individuals safe in and around water. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14 after motor vehicle crashes.
To combat these statistics, the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department will provide low-cost water safety programs for youth residents this summer. The programs aim to teach children ages six months to 17 a range of water safety practices, including basic swimming skills, ocean safety, and how to respond in an emergency.
Swim Lessons
Low-cost group swim lessons will be offered for children six months to 12 years old. Lessons are separated by age and skill level and will be provided at Los Baños del Mar and Ortega Park Pool.
Residents can register for a session of eight 30-minute lessons for $60, which works out to $7.50 per lesson.
Each participant will also receive a summer swim pass good for one adult and two children to enjoy recreation swim at Los Baños del Mar for free.
Swim lesson scholarships, funded by the PARC Foundation, are available for eligible residents who cannot afford the fee.
Junior Lifeguards
Children and teens aged 7 to 17 who already know how to swim are encouraged to attend the multi-week Junior Lifeguards program to learn the skills needed to stay safe in the ocean and how to respond to an emergency.
Participants are grouped by age for age-appropriate lessons and activities, including fun beach and water games, all led by professional beach lifeguards. Over the course of the program, participants gain skills in ocean safety, hazard identification, first aid, and surf lifesaving.
Residents can register to attend the Junior Lifeguards program Monday through Friday for all eight weeks of summer for $550, approximately $14 per day, or a single 2-week session for $283.
Scholarships are funded by donations to the PARC Foundation and distributed to eligible families through SBPAL’s Campership Alliance program.
Lifeguard Certification Course
The Parks and Recreation Department will host a second reduced-cost lifeguard training course over Memorial Day weekend to increase the number of community members with critical lifesaving skills. While a typical course costs around $200, residents can participate in the multi-day training for only $75.
Local interest in this training has grown over the past few years, and participants who successfully complete the course will leave with American Red Cross certifications in lifeguarding, CPR, AED, and first aid, and will be equipped to respond in a water emergency.
Registration for all water safety programs is available on a first-come, first-served basis at SBParksAndRec.org.
Families interested in scholarship opportunities must create an online account before contacting Aquatics@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.
More information about swim lessons is available at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/SwimLessons.
More information about Junior Lifeguards is available at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/JuniorLifeguards.
Groups and individuals interested in supporting scholarships for water safety programming can donate to the PARC Foundation and designate “Aquatics” for their donation.