SPLASH

Making a SPLASH in aquatic safety!

Through SPLASH, Navy Fitness strives to educate parents and youth on pool safety and the dangers associated with unsupervised swimming. With structured swim lessons, professional swim skills assessment, safe play, and active parental supervision, the risk of accidental drownings can be significantly reduced.

Keep Your Child Safe at the Aquatics Facility with Six Key Tips:

Stay within arm’s reach. Adult supervision is the first line of defense in preventing accidental drownings. Drownings can occur quickly and quietly, and in as little as 1 inch of water.

Protect your non-swimmers. Water wings and other inflatable floats and devices are not designed to save your child, nor allowed in Navy MWR Aquatics facilities.

Learn to swim. Research shows a reduction in the risk of drowning by as much as 88 percent among children 1-4 years old who participate in formal swim lessons. Navy MWR provides swim lessons for all ages. Contact your local Aquatics staff for more details.

Assess swim skills. Proper skills assessment is vital in ensuring the safety of children. Lifeguards will be available at times specified by the local facility to provide the official Navy Youth Swim Test.

Swim safely. Youth non-swimmers and swimmers must remain in their designated areas at all times. Stay safe, swim safe.

Hang it up. It only takes 20 seconds for a child to drown. No tweet, status update, text, or phone call is worth risking a child’s life.

Navy Youth Swim Test

To attain full access to the Aquatics facility, including slides, diving board, and other recreational activities, all youths 17 and under must successfully pass the Navy Youth Swim Test. Contact your local Aquatics program to schedule a swim test.

Minimum standards for the Navy Youth Swim Test include:

  1. Swim 25 yards unassisted and without rest. Swimmers must use a recognizable swim stroke for the entire distance.
  2. Tread water for a minimum of 60 seconds.
  3. Jump into the deep end of the pool and return to the surface.
  4. Exit the pool unassisted.

** Swimmers are allowed to test only once per day.

** The swim test is valid for ONE year. All swimmers must be reassessed every year. Lifeguards may require additional testing for swimmers, if and when needed. The lifeguard has the authority to request reassessment of any child at any time.

** All swimmers who pass the deep water swim test will be awarded a Navy Youth Swim License. All swimmers must show their license upon entering the Aquatics facility and will receive a wristband to have full access to the deep end, slides and diving boards. Additional testing may be required for lap swimming.