The six-year-old daughter of Sabrina Lühr from Soltau in Lower Saxony has had her “seahorse” badge since last year. However, it will probably still be some time before she gets the bronze badge – also known as free swimming. A place at the DLRG will not be available for another year and a half. This is not an isolated case: from Meppen to Delmenhorst to Pinneberg, DLRG associations report long waiting times when asked by our editorial team.
Long waiting times for swimming lessons: The reasons are varied
The bronze badge is considered the most important swimming test: only then are children considered independent swimmers. “We are 31st on the waiting list. That is not satisfactory, in fact a complete disaster,” says Lühr, who has another daughter aged five. Her two children had to do the “Seahorse” in a crash course, because the early swimming course is not even offered by the DLRG Soltau due to capacity reasons.
“There is a lack of staff and we are unable to get more pool times to offer the courses,” says Bjarne Crone, spokesman for the DLRG Soltau, when asked by our editorial team. A temporary closure of the swimming pool has also led to the waiting list getting longer and longer. “Anyone who registers for bronze now has to expect a two-year wait,” he says. Desperate parents keep contacting him, asking whether something can be done about the situation.
Parents register their children as infants
It is not only the DLRG in Soltau that has long waiting times; other local groups are also reporting hundreds of children waiting for free places in swimming badge courses. “We have the greatest demand for the ‘Seahorse’ course, and you can easily end up with a five-year wait,” says Joven Scholte-Aalbes from the DLRG Meppen. He also complains that many parents register their children at a very young age. “For us, this means that we have to call the list first, have dead files and have to put children who are too young on hold because others need the place more urgently.”
Only with the bronze badge (free swimmer) are children considered safe swimmers.
Photo: dpa/Peter Kneffel
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DLRG criticizes inadequate water habituation
Another problem is that children now need longer to pass the swimming test. “Many parents no longer take their children to the swimming pool and when they start the course with us, they don’t even dare to get water on their faces or are afraid to put their heads under water.”
According to Nils Warnecke from the DLRG Pinneberg local group in Schleswig-Holstein, many parents are unable to get their children used to the water for financial reasons: “Swimming has become extremely expensive,” he told our editorial team. He is also encountering more and more “water-shy and frightened” course participants. According to his information, there are over 500 children on the waiting list in Pinneberg, which here too means a waiting time of at least two years. The DLRG Delmenhorst local group even reports a waiting time of three years. The list is even temporarily closed to further registrations.
DLRG President Ute Vogt: The demise of swimming pools is the main cause
DLRG President Ute Vogt can only confirm what the local groups are reporting. “The need is very great in most places. We cannot make up for what is no longer being done in schools on a voluntary basis,” she said in an interview with our editorial team.
Ute Vogt, President of the DLRG.
Photo: dpa/Stefan Puchner
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She says one of the main reasons is the decline in swimming pools in Germany, which means that children no longer learn to swim at school. “Many primary schools no longer have a swimming pool within easy reach and lessons have to be cancelled, even though they are part of the curriculum.”
Swimming courses take place in hotels and health clinics
According to Vogt, there are also local groups of the DLRG that have to travel more than an hour to reach a swimming pool. “The need is so great that people are avoiding pools in health clinics or hotels.” Although this is an emergency solution to obtain the “Seahorse” badge, these places are unsuitable beyond that. “For example, a certain water depth is required in order to receive proper training.”
To counteract the huge backlog of children’s swimming courses, Vogt is calling for a round table between the federal government, states and municipalities. “The states are putting swimming into the curriculum, but are not taking care of implementation and the municipalities are overwhelmed,” she sums up. “We therefore need to bring together all those involved, including the swimming training associations, to see where in Germany there are primary schools with a swimming pool nearby. In large cities, things are looking better in some areas, but in rural areas there is a gaping void.”
More investment programs and municipal swimming centers needed
Although the federal government does occasionally offer investment programs, Vogt says that these are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. “The municipality that is the fastest, has a plan and also certain financial means will be awarded the contract. That cannot be allowed. The contract must go to those where the need is greatest and where several schools do not have a swimming pool at all.” According to Vogt, it is also conceivable to set up joint municipal swimming centers.
Vogt also stresses that the “Seahorse” is far from sufficient. “The Seahorse does not mean that a child can swim. It simply involves more in-depth familiarization with water and is the precursor to learning to swim.” Almost every day, children and young people have accidents in bodies of water due to poor swimming skills. “Swimming is vital for children and safe swimming begins with the bronze swimming badge.”
Meanwhile, Sabrina Lühr is still hoping that she will get places with the DLRG for her daughters’ bronze badges. But she is also looking for crash courses. “You don’t have a choice,” she says. And there too, you have to be quick, otherwise all the places will be gone.
