Swimming promotion for children: New program in the Regensburg district

Swimming promotion for children: New program in the Regensburg district

There is a positive initiative in the Regensburg district that takes care of children's swimming skills. The program “Join in – Show up!” was created to ensure more primary school-aged children learn to swim. This measure was started by the Bavarian state government at the beginning of the 2021/22 school year and the results are promising.

Over 1,300 preschool children and first graders have already taken part in this program and redeemed their vouchers for the “Seahorse” early swimmer badge. The goal is clear: the proportion of non-swimmers should be significantly reduced when they start school. From the 2024/25 school year, the swimming support program will be offered permanently to all preschool children in the district to ensure that no child is left without swimming skills.

Vouchers for swimming courses

The new vouchers worth 50 euros for swimming courses have already been distributed to all preschool children and are valid until August 31, 2025. These vouchers can be redeemed at various swimming schools as well as at the water rescue and DLRG local associations. The providers of swimming courses are required to contact the Regensburg district office after the courses have been completed in order to settle the costs.

In order to ensure that as many children as possible have the opportunity to redeem their vouchers, the redemption period for the voucher campaign for the 2023/24 school year has been extended until December 31, 2024. This gives preschoolers and first graders more time to attend swimming lessons.

Expanded swimming options

The program “Join in – Show up!” However, this is not the only option that the Regensburg district offers. There are also the “Swimming Star Courses” and the “Swimming Intensive” cooperation project, which is aimed at children in the third and fifth grades. Last school year, over 3,000 children took part in these courses and earned various swimming badges.

The district administrator emphasizes the importance of these programs: “It is very important to me that we promote children’s swimming skills on several levels and convey to them the joy of swimming safely.” Further Swim Star courses are planned for the coming school year for children who cannot yet swim. Interested parents can contact the school administration at the district office directly to receive more information.

The school office is available for further information about the “Intensive Swimming” cooperation project. These initiatives show how seriously the Regensburg district takes promoting swimming and how important it is that children learn to swim at an early age.