U.S. Olympic Swim Team Trials and a Useful Tool for Families

Swimming is near and dear to my heart. As I have shared before, my sweet niece drowned before she even reached the age of 18 months. This tragedy greatly affected my life and I have become a huge advocate of teaching children to swim . I started my own kiddos in swimming lessons at an early age and swimming has become their favorite summer sport. You can see my daughter swimming at age two here.

USA Swimming also knows the value of teaching children how to swim, but it is not just a safety issue, it is also a fun sport. Swimming has become one of the most popular Summer Olympic events. Every year, untold numbers of children dream of becoming the next Michael Phelps or Rebecca Soni.  Adults catch the Olympic fever, too. I am personally looking forward to this year’s summer Olympics. In fact, the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming take place in Omaha, Nebraska June 25- July 2!  That is just around the corner and you can watch the trials live on NBC. Check out this awesome video of the construction of the pool that will be used for the trials.

Last week I was lucky enough to take part in a teleconference with several other bloggers and the wonderful folks at USA Swimming. There were even a couple of Olympic medalists in the group! We talked about a great resource website USA Swimming has, SwimToday.org. This site is a wonderful tool for parents who want to get their kiddos into swim lessons. On the site, you can find a place to swim in your area, self-assess your ability, and learn the benefits of swimming and fitness.  SwimToday.org can also help parents find swim facilities that offer scholarships. Go check out the site.  And remember, according to some experts, swimming lessons reduce the chance of drowning by 80%!

Do your children swim?  Have they taken lessons? Do you love the Summer Olympics?  Feel free to leave a comment.  Share and let’s talk about it.

 

I am thrilled to be working with The Motherhood and USA Swimming toward the goal of teaching EVERY child to swim.  Please follow along with us on Twitter with the #SwimToday hashtag.