Jordan Spurgeon
In case you haven’t been outside lately… it’s HOT in Arizona.
With the heat means more opportunites to swim in water. And an increased risk of trouble.
Whether you and your family are planning to swim in pools, lakes, streams, rivers or anywhere else, it’s important to understand some water safety guidelines.
Life Time North Scottsdale aquatics leader, Roxanne Teran, joined me for a conversation on swimming lessons, safety, and more.
Jordan: What is your experience with aquatics?
Roxanne: I grew up swimming, my family put me in swim lessons at the city of Glendale when I was four-years-old and I have loved the water ever since. I swam in club swimming for 15 years and was a summer lifeguard. I loved showing children how to swim through swimming lessons. It was always so fun and never felt like a chore. It was always super rewarding to see these kids overcome their fears and accomplish their swim goals.
Jordan: You learned how to swim early, when is the right time to get kids in the water and learn under supervision from someone like yourself?
Roxanne: I say the earlier the better. You can start as early as six months with your children. That’s more of a water exposure therapy. Actual swim lessons usually start around three years old.
Jordan: Arizona is a transplant state, there are lots of adults who don’t know how to swim, where should they start?
Roxanne: It’s never too late to learn swimming. I have about one or two adults a week here at Lifetime that reach out to me about swimming for the first time. It’s something that everyone should be able to learn when they are ready to.
Jordan: What else is involved in your role at Life Time? What are the water and aquatics events that people can look forward to?
Roxanne: We’re not just a swim lesson program. We also have a recreation side where families are able to come and do family swim. We have water slides and we even have a summer camp for kiddos to come play in the water during the day.
Jordan: What are some water safety lessons people should pay attention to when people are going hiking and cliff jumping through natural bodies of water in Arizona?
Roxanne: I always say to never go alone. I love solo hiking but when you’re around nature and big bodies of water, you should have someone you know and trust around you just for extra safety. If anyone is doing cliff jumping, always make sure the water is deep enough. I always tell people to swim to the area they want to jump in first, to make sure that it is deep enough. If you can easily touch the bottom, it’s probaly not a good idea to jump right there.
Jordan: Is there anything else you wanted to get across to our readers?
Roxanne: I want to let parents know to always be within arms reach to their child when playing in any body of water, that is one of the biggest pieces of safety advice I can offer.
