HOLLAND, Mich. — The Holland Aquatic Center (HAC) will be a host site for the 13th annual World’s Largest Swim Lesson (WLSL). The event will be held on Thursday, June 23 at 12:30 p.m.
The World’s Largest Swim Lesson is a global event that takes place over 24 hours at hundreds of aquatic centers, swim schools, and waterparks around the world. Since it began, more than 332,000 children and adults have participated in the event. The Holland Aquatic Center’s event will include a safety presentation, along with a 30-minute lesson. Participants will also be given a free Family Splash pass to use immediately after the lesson.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning was the leading cause of unintended death for children in the U.S. between the ages of 1-4 in 2021. Drowning is also the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in the world.
“We are aware of stats that say participating in swimming lessons can reduce a child’s risk of drowning by up to 88%,” said Dan Christian, Holland Aquatic Center’s operations manager for instructional programming. “At HAC, we work to reduce the risk even further, and being a host site for WLSL is one way we can do that in conjunction with our other great instructional programming. Reducing a person’s risk of drowning is not only about knowing how to swim; it’s also about water safety knowledge in general. Respecting the water is paramount to a lifelong foundation for drowning prevention.”
The 13th annual World’s Largest Swim Lesson will be held on Thursday, June 23 at 12:30 p.m. The lessons will be available for free, however donations to the center are encouraged.
