Survival Swimming Lesson Plans
Inexperienced people often drown because they never learned how to swim in clothes. Our lessons address this problem in a fun and entertaining way.
Swimming in clothes may be an obvious training element, but is often ignored by many swimming clubs, leaving members unprepared. This is usually one of the most popular sessions among advanced swim teams, intended for competent swimmers. If regularly practised it combines strength and stamina with variety and fun.
Most lifesaving activities and watersports involve getting wet from spray or going into the water, sometimes often, sometimes only occasionally. The point of this training is to get you familiar with your watersport clothing and lifeguard kit. These lessons should be supervised by lifeguards.
Into the Pool
Check that everybody in your class has at least one full set of clothing to swim in and one dry set for their way home. For hygiene reasons always shower in your training clothes before each session. Lifeguards will check for dry spots.
The teacher leads by example and demonstrates how different clothes influence your swimming ability. You'll learn how heavy wet clothes really get and how that affects your swimming skills, a key to aquatic survival. The more clothing layers you wear in the water, the harder your training gets. This adds realism, builds strength, and prepares you for an actual emergency situation.
Function and comfort are as important as rescue preparedness and familiarity. Swimming in your clothes is great fun to learn and practice before you go for any adventures in wild open water. Once you've carefully chosen your adventure kit, put it on and jump into a local swimming pool.
It may be quite a challenge to swim several lengths fully clothed,
but it is healthy fun and gets you strong over time.
Try a variety of outfits to gain confidence in the water.
Once you're good at swimming in your adventure clothes and have achieved an adequate level of confidence,
keep it up to stay fit.
First Lesson
Primary Focus: These lessions teach how to move in the water, keep your balance and enjoy swimming.
Student Goals: Overcome anxiety and learn proper breath control, comfort with submersion, independent floating on the front and back, independent kicking to and from the wall, roll onto your back as a place of safety, and elementary backstroke.
Build up your fitness levels and water confidence as you socialise with others in this fun activity. Laughter is a good way to release some of the tension. When scared or nervous, most people tense up, losing their ability to react to the water. Shake it off, dance it out, have a giggle or smile. Remember, we do this because it is fun.
Better swimming lessons start easy and get progressively harder when they include elements of survival swimming. It is better to focus on individual skills than on one overwhelming exercise.
Clothing is used for realistic lessons and training to be prepared for an eventual emergency.
The Dutch Zwem ABC is the probably the best programme that uses this approach.
Beginners Class
Primary Focus: Teach the main swimming strokes and skills needed to stay safe.
Student Goals: This foundational swim class is for beginner students to achieve comfort with basic swim skills.
Clothing: T-shirts and shorts or other minimal sportswear.
During theory training we explore water safety and what swimming strokes work best in various situations. Explain how different types of clothing affect their swimming abilities and how to cope with this.
They then hop into the pool and practice the various swimming strokes.
At the end of the lesson you give them a preview of the "Intermediate" lessons
where they can put on extra clothes.
This is usually a lot of fun and gets them motivated.
Intermediate
Primary Focus: Teach proficiency in advanced aquatic skills and swimming strokes, and how to gain control of breathing for underwater swimming. It is for students with no anxiety when submerging or floating on their backs.
Student Goals: To efficiently move through the water demonstrating confidence of breath control, freestyle and backstroke.
Clothing: As above plus long pants and long sleeve top.
The theory lesson includes an overview of various swimming techniques. Try on different kit and learn how to wear it in a safe way.
They then go into the pool fully clothed to simulate a situation where they may fall into the water, or go for a swim on an adventure trek.
Practice a variety self rescue skills, including what to do when you break into ice.
Show ways to rescue others, even using clothes as towing tool.
Swimming 300 meters, push-ups and sit-ups on pool side
and a lot of climbing out and jumping in is all part of the fun.
Finally round off the lesson with a few pool games to get used to swimming fully clothed.
Advanced
Primary Focus: Teach about adventure trekking and how to stay safe in the water.
Student Goals: Work in a team, learn the use of various equipment and gear.
Clothing: As above plus rainwear or boating kit.
A variety of outdoor skills and hiking outfits get explored. Teach how to pack a waterproof rucksack with the dry essentials, while swimming in all the clothes that can get wet or dry quickly. The trick is to keep the bag's inside dry while they swim 100 meters.
Finally teach how to handle inflatable boats, capsize and climb in again, and other exercises and games.
This is quite exhausting due to the heavy waterlogged clothes, but huge fun.
It involves getting out and changing into different kit a few times.
Rain clothes also cause more drag when swimming, especially ponchos.
Non-Swimmers
Primary Focus: Prepare non-swimmers for an emergency by making them familiar with the feel of clothes in shallow water.
Student Goals: Build confidence to handle a dangerous situation and avoid trouble.
In an emergency you may not have a choice of swimwear, so we practise it with different clothes in a safe and stressfree environment. Don't worry, this is quite a pleasant experience and requires no swimming skills.
Recommended clothes for your first time:
- T-shirt and shorts or leggings
- Tracksuit or unlined rain pants
- Anorak or hoodie, thin and unlined
At the shallow end sit on the edge and dangle your legs in the water. Feel the resistance your clothes make as you move your feet. Next lower yourself into to the water and wade until you're in about chest deep. Move around until you gain full confidence wearing your clothes in the water.
Now take a deep breath and duck under.
Float underwater for a moment.
Notice that clothes will slow you down, but not pull you down.
You may even get a lift from trapped air pockets.
Additional Resources
- Tips for teaching swimming in clothes
https://bing.com/search?q=open+water+survival+swimming+lesson+plan+fully+clothed - Survival Swimming Program Lesson Plans by Life Saving Victoria (LSV)
https://lsv.com.au/toolkit/pdf/Survival-swimming-lesson-plans.pdf - Tips for teaching swimming in clothes LSV
https://lsv.com.au/toolkit/pdf/Swimming_in_clothes_Teaching_tips.pdf - SWIM & SURVIVE – STAGE 12 Royal Life Saving WA
https://royallifesavingwa.com.au/-/media/files/rlsswa/training/swim-teacher-lesson-plans/lswa_sns_stage12lessonplan.pdf