December brings with it some traditional pass-times. Baking with family, building snowmen, roasting marshmallows over an open fire…and going to swim meets?
Forgetting for a moment that we in Pasadena don’t really get to participate in “normal” winter activities anyways, it does feel a little odd swimming in December when a portion of the country is buried in snow. Waterworks Aquatics, however, is just getting started!
Waterworks Aquatics will also be hosting monthly swim competitions to allow your swimmers to see how much they have progressed since their last level advancement!
Waterworks’ swim competitions allow swimmers to experience swim competitions in a fun and exciting way. All participants are awarded with ribbons at the end of each competition, select swimmers will also be awarded with trophies depending on the amount of existing ribbons they have earned!
Children benefit from year-round swimming for a multitude of reasons. Swimming is an effective form of exercise, a competitive sport, a skill that could save one’s life and is suitable for young and old exercisers alike. Here are a few reasons why children should continue swimming all year long:
1. Children who swim year-round (and from infancy) are significantly stronger and more coordinated than those who do not according to several studies. The use of the entire body mixed with the water resistance improves strength and flexibility while minimizing injuries that are more likely to occur in other sports.
2. A scientific study in Germany found that children who swim year-round scored higher in problem solving and intelligence than other children overall. This becomes especially important during the school year. Many parents believe that their children will be too tired after school to participate in swimming when, in fact, being sedentary after hours of sitting in a desk at school can make children lethargic and unmotivated.
3. Children who swim year-round are less likely to become ill than children with a less active lifestyle. Swimming keeps the immune system in shape and exercise invigorates the entire body. A healthy lifestyle leads to a healthy child!
4. Consistent swimming (and especially learning to swim) helps children succeed in life. Swimming encourages setting and attaining goals, overcoming fears to assert independence and finding new and fun ways to stay active. Something as simple as being able to play independently in a pool with friends is a huge accomplishment for young kids and the confidence that it builds is seen in school, social situations and in other recreational activities.
5. Swimming skills, just like skills needed for any other activity, can be lost over time. If a child goes the entire school year without swimming, they lose many of the skills they may have had the summer prior which can actually be quite discouraging. Unlike riding a bike or playing soccer, if a child forgets how to swim, the consequences can be much more devastating.
6. When children can swim there is a wide range of water activities that open up for them. Maybe they want to join a swim team, junior lifeguard program, learn to surf, scuba dive, sail, water ski or anything else that involves water
So why wait until the spring to get your child interested in swimming?
Waterworks Aquatics Pasadena is located at 2290 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 836-1200 or visit http://www.waterworksswim.com/pasadena
Waterworks Aquatics Holiday Hours:
Thanksgiving, November 27th – Closed
Christmas Eve, December 24th – Open 8:00am – 1:00pm
Christmas Day, December 25th – Closed
New Year’s Eve, December 31st – Open 8:00am – 1:00pm
New Year’s Day, January 1st – Closed