They’d better get their water wings, goggles and flutter boards ready: students at Elgin Street Public School will soon have the chance to participate in a free swimming program next door at the Jack Purcell Recreation Centre.
Elgin Street Public School has received $5,000 in funding from the True Sport Community Fund, allowing it to offer children aged six to 12 the chance to take part in a program called Student Water Instruction Matters – SWIM – free of charge.
“We have a lot of new Canadians in our school who aren’t familiar with water safety or swimming,” says school principal Barbara Johnston-Iafelice.
“Canada is full of lakes and rivers and all sorts of bodies of water and so I think that it’s really important that they have those skills to enjoy it, enjoy the out-of-doors.”
Along with swimming lessons, the SWIM program will teach children safe practices around water, says J.V. Devine, a parent volunteer at the school.
Devine was part of the sub-committee formed by the Elgin Street Public School Parent Council that sought the support of True Sport.
“This was the perfect program and opportunity to provide children with a life saving skill that would also provide a quality recreation program during school hours,” says Devine. “Many children may otherwise never receive such an opportunity.”
True Sport specifically works to provide funding for three target groups in Canada: low-income families, aboriginal communities and new Canadians.
“The most important aspect for it is creating that access and inclusion for kids. And often with the target groups that we’re dealing with, we’re talking about kids who may not otherwise have an opportunity to participate in sport,” says Jennifer Keith, True Sport’s senior manager of engagement.
Set to start in October 2010, the SWIM program will be incorporated as part of the physical education curriculum for students at Elgin Street Public School.
“We wanted to complement the curriculum without making financial difficulties for parents,” Johnston-Iafelice says.
Though the program will be held at the Jack Purcell Recreation Centre, Johnston-Iafelice says since the centre is attached to the school, students won’t lose any school time commuting.
“They’ll have had 30 swimming lessons, so they should be quite skilled by the time they leave in Grade 6,” she notes.
True Sport has been operating for the past four years, providing funding for programs such as SWIM in communities and schools across Canada.
But Keith says that True Sport is now entering its last year. The money allocated for grants from the $2.5 million initial fund – given to True Sport by the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation – is now almost gone.
However, she says that the organization is “hoping to be able to renew in some capacity.”
Keith stresses the need across Canada for recrational programs for children like those funded by True Sport.