The Rossland Pool is celebrating its 80th Birthday this summer! To celebrate the historic pool, the recreation department has created a video that can be viewed on YouTube. Type in “Rossland Pool – 80th Birthday” into the search bar – and enjoy! If you have photos, videos or newspaper articles you would like to add to the video, please contact our office at 250-362-2327 or by email at recreation@rossland.ca. We’ll continue to add to the video all summer and release the final version at the Birthday Party Bash on Wednesday, Aug. 15. During public swim, from 1-4 p.m. the pool staff will be organizing games and contests for the kids. The Marlins Swim Club will enjoy some races from 6-6:30 p.m. and then at 8 p.m. the pool will be hosting a floating movie night.
Having a local pool in Rossland has become increasingly important for our community, with the recent regional recreation dispute and increasingly warm summer weather. The pool is an important option for the children in the community to recreate in the summer but more importantly, to learn how to swim and to develop good judgement in and around water. Learning these skills is a life safety issue - it is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under. Teaching children to swim is a rewarding profession that teaches valuable life safety skills. Swimming instructors are in high demand in our region – the courses required to become a swimming instructor are offered through the Red Cross and hosted by many of the Aquatic Facilities in our area.
The AWSI (Assisted Water Safety Instructor) and WSI (Water Safety Instructor) are two separate courses that cover the foundation of instructional skills including teaching methods, learning styles, physical principles, progressions, communications, safety supervision and feedback. The AWSI is a 40 hour course that includes eight hours of assisted teaching and individual study assignments. Candidates need to be 15 years old to register for this course.
The WSI (Water Safety Instructor) course is a 40 hour course that focuses on how to effectively plan, teach, and evaluate the performance criteria of the Red Cross Swim Kids program. The course emphasizes stroke development, drills, and corrective strategies and provides Instructor candidates with opportunities to apply their teaching skills and knowledge through hands on teaching assignments.
There are many opportunities for part time swim instructors in our area and not just for local youth. Being an adult swimming instructor is a challenging and enjoyable profession that can provide rewards for the instructor and the student. If you would like more information about the AWSI and WSI courses, please contact the recreation department or log on to the Red Cross website.