MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Tuesday morning, Memphis children participated in The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson (WLSL) at the University of Memphis’ Mike Rose Aquatic Center.
WLSL is an initiative that works on drowning prevention by equipping children and families with lessons on water safety, as well as to raise awareness about the dangers of not knowing how to swim. Although the local event was hosted at UofM, this is part of a global event, with different chapters at diverse public schools, swim schools and waterparks.
In Memphis, 150 girls from Girls Inc. participated in the event. According to Executive Vice President and Chief Advisory Officer for YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South Anthony Norris, for many of them this was their first swimming lesson.
"Timing couldn't been better," Norris said. "Kicking off the first week of summer just highlighting the joy of swimming but also the importance that all children learn this life saving skill."
The event was hosted by Splash Mid-South, a community coalition led by Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, as well as Safe Kids Mid-South, the University of Memphis, the Benjamin Hooks Institute for Social Change, Memphis Tiger Swimming, The YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South and city and county governments.
The event took place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Globally, WLSL took place in over 600 locations across 18 countries, with more than 35,000 participants.
According to the CDC, as of 2024, drowning is the number one cause of death for children from ages 1 to 4 years old in the United States. And, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5-14. The highest drowning rates were among Black and Indigenous children.
Furthermore, ten people die each day from unintentional drowning, according to the American Red Cross.
"Many of the swimmers that started out as young kids on the program are now coaches, swim instructors, many are lifeguards, but we really wanna prepare them to take the torch, were we broke ground with Splash Mid-South as their community coalition to really make this a mass movement where we look back and this is one of the brightest spots in the whole nation with Memphis and its swim power house, led by equity, providing opportunities to be safe in and around water for all children in our community," Norris said.
