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8 benefits of swimming throughout the winter
Benefits of learning to Swim during Winter!
It’s winter and it’s the cooler time of the year here in the UAE, so it’s a great time to spend time outdoors, and there are so many reasons and benefits to keep swimming throughout the winter.
1. Stay away from winter viruses
Wait, that can’t be right! Except, it is! Swimming year-round boosts fitness levels helping your child build a stronger immune system. As a result, children are more resilient to stress and illness. We see parents withdrawing their children from our learn to swim programme at the start of the Term 2 believing it will help avoid illness. Perhaps, it stems from the old tale that children who have ‘wet hair’ or who ‘go out in the cold’ get sick. In reality, children who swim throughout winter are in fact less likely to catch colds and flu.
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2. Swimming is a great way to keep fit
Unlike the cold countries, here in the UAE kids have an array of outdoor activities they can be a part of throughout the winter months to keep fit. And when it comes to fitness, swimming tops the list. It’s a great way to remain fit and it’s a sure way to keep those energy levels maintained.
3. Hamilton Aquatics pools are always warm
To keep our swimmers comfortable, our pools are set to a higher water temperature during the winter months. So irrespective of the outside temperature, it’s always a good day for your swimming lesson at Hamilton Aquatics.
4. Practice till you succeed is a mantra we strongly believe in
Children need to maintain and reinforce existing skills to advance and develop their ability in the water. Months of start & stop lessons may end up “going to waste” as swimmers lose their “feel for the water” both physically and psychologically. Such reinforcement is particularly important for infant, toddler and pre-school aged children when long-term skill retention and muscle memory are starting to develop.
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5. Discontinuing swimming lessons can lead to a decline in swimmer’s progress
In our experience, swimmers who take lessons year-round show good levels of confidence and independence in the water. A discontinuation of lessons through the winter months typically results in a drop in technique and stamina usually within a period of 4-5 weeks or even less. Staggering your child’s swimming progress during the cooler months every year isn’t going to get them very far. They may forget many things they had practiced, meaning you’ll need even more lessons before they get back to a level you feel confident about.
6. Swimming is a sport that could save your child’s life
Accidents can and do happen. It’s imperative that your child understands how to handle an emergency and stay confident in the water. Our swimming lessons, be it in summer, winter or any other time of the year helps reinforce your child’s swimming and safety skills so they are prepared if anything goes wrong. We have a water safety week as part of our learn to swim programme which ensures swimmers are armed with the skills they need to face an emergency in the water.
7. Continuation of swimming lessons helps combat anxiety in the water
Continued participation in swimming lessons across winter is the best way to prevent otherwise unwanted outcomes that may include being scared of the water, worried about the depth of the water, or just feeling uncomfortable in and around water. By not continually attending swimming lessons, it invariably leads to a child being unable to perform at the level they were previously able and, in turn, to a decline in confidence and performance.
8. It’s better than twiddling on the phone or the PlayStation
Get your child out of the house and far away from the screens! Swimming is a great way to cure the screen bug that seems to be catching up very fast!
Now that we have looked at the benefits of swimming, let’s look at what’s instore for our Term 2. For all paid bookings on or before 15th February, we are offering some fantastic benefits on our learn to swim programme:
10% off first weekly swim
25% off second weekly swim
50% off third weekly swim
We also offer online assessments. Simply visit https://www.hamiltonbay.app/hamiltonaquatics/bookings/register and answer a few basic questions about your child’s current swimming status. This way, we can either assign a level right away or request you to visit one of our many pool locations for a 1:1 free assessment.