The swimming skills of the Latvian population are critical. This is evidenced by a recent survey conducted by the Latvian Swimming Federation (LSF) and the association "Swim Safely", as well as by the statistics - every year, water claims the lives of almost 130 people on average.
Currently available data show that 57 people have died on the road [this year], while 59 have drowned," Gemze said.
A whole range of institutions are working to improve road safety, which cannot be said for safety on water, she added..
"That is why we, the association, together with the Swimming Federation, keep this issue active and alive all the time, because we think that it is not the right situation in our country that we do not think about drowning in general. We do not have a drowning prevention strategy, even though it was developed and proposed as a solution five years ago," said Gemze.
The drowning prevention strategy covers many different aspects - not only the prevention of individual, tragic events, but also swimming education for children, safety in swimming pools, the number of lifeguards at beaches and legislation.
The assessment and understanding of what it means to know how to swim can be very different for everyone, and this is one of the fundamental problems in Latvia, Platonovs said. He cited the Scandinavian countries as a good example, where there is a common definition of what good swimming skills mean. In Latvia, discussions are still ongoing and there is no single clear definition.
"There are people who think that being able to swim means being able to stay afloat, while others understand it as being able to swim quickly and for a long time in one of the swimming styles. These are two extremes, but in reality, we should look for a middle way. We do not require the public to be able to swim at a sporting level. We are basing ourselves on the Scandinavian definition, the short version of which is: to be able to swim 200 metres, including 50 metres on your back. This is the minimum we can say that we can feel more or less safe in different situations in the water," Platonovs said.
The expanded definition also includes other elements of water literacy, including the ability to dive, the ability to put your head in the water and hold your breath underwater, the ability to dive to depth, the ability to lie in the water, and the ability to get out of the water without being too tired, especially if it is a pool with higher edges or a lake with a footbridge on which to pull yourself up.
He stressed that parents cannot teach their children how to swim safely enough because they lack the knowledge to do so.
"I've seen what happens on the lake when parents want to teach their children to swim. They throw them in the water and say - well, you move your legs and arms, what don't you understand, it's easy!" Platonovs said.
