According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, drowning is the leading cause of injury death for young children ages one to four, and three children die every day as a result.

Thankfully, many parents at Naval Station Everett (NSE) are playing a key role in protecting the children they love by putting them in swimming lessons. Swim lessons are available for children of all ages at the Tsunami Pool located at Naval Station Everett.

The lessons are available all year long, with a total of seven different levels to best suit the child’s needs. A child as young as six months can begin taking swimming lessons. They attend a parent/child class which offers the unique opportunity for parents to interact with their child in a fun and safe water environment, with an emphasis on water orientation and water safety.

Other classes include preschool, advanced preschool, and levels one through six, where children learn the basics of swimming such as using proper body position, floating, breathing control, and the different swimming techniques and strokes.

As children advance to the more difficult levels, they will be able to swim longer distances as their endurance builds more and more.

Once they reach the final level, level six, they can choose to improve their swimming abilities in either fitness, competitive, or life saving skills.

The instructors who teach the swimming lessons are all highly trained and experienced.

“Right now, I have a very experienced staff,” said P.J. Mallon, Aquatics Manager at Tsunami Pool. “Out of my nine instructors, five are Water Safety Instructor (WSI) certified by the American Red Cross.”

NSE Swim Instructor of two years Chelsey Slattum, who has been lifeguarding for a total of 10 years, believes that being able to swim is essential to anyone.

“Learning to swim is an important life skill,” said Slattum. “It’s important for the children to not only get over their fear of water, but to also be able to have fun in the water.”

For more information on swimming lessons held at the Tsunami Pool, go to http://www.navylifepnw.com, or call (425) 304-3388. Adult lessons are also available upon request.