Results from our swimming survey are here!
5.9.2023
Swimming skills and water safety have been the subject of much discussion in the media lately. Children's swimming skills have deteriorated and the downsides of summer swimming weather have led to unfortunate drownings. For years, we have organized swimming schools for women in Monaliiku.
Out of pure curiosity, we conducted a free-form survey in Monaliiku about swimming skills and the feeling of security in the water in spring 2023, with the idea of letting it bounce online during the summer holidays. To our pleasant surprise, we received 71 responses from people of different genders, ages and nationalities. The survey was conducted anonymously and included 12 questions related to swimming and being in the water.
Some surprising results
The results were expected as well as unexpected. According to our survey, 19.7% of the respondents do not know how to swim. This means that one in five do not have swimming skills at all. Seen this way, the number is quite high, especially if you start applying it to the people around you, colleagues, friends and family.
Of those with swimming skills, 29.6% say they can swim about 5 meters without a break. It is the distance between the end of the big pool and the tickets in the swimming pool. The survey emphasised the importance of learning to swim as a child: 49% of the respondents and those with swimming skills learned to swim as children either by themselves or at swimming school. Although only 2.8% say they learned to swim at school.
When asked about the importance of swimming and being in the water, only 7% of respondents added that being in the water was "not important at all." In other words, some of those who have declared themselves unable to swim feel that being in the water is important, even if they do not know how to swim or are afraid of the water.
The most impressive and at the same time surprising statistic can be found at the end of the survey, which asked how important the swimming skills and safety of loved ones are to the respondents. A staggering 88.7% said the safety of loved ones in the water was very important. This was emphasised in all nationalities, age groups and genders. In the survey, 53.5% swam to relax and 60.6% perceived swimming as a source of well-being.
Swimming is said to be a civic skill, especially in Finland, but at the moment it does not seem to reach all citizens. Swimming skills are not learned from books, but must be created in a safe and caring environment where everyone can progress at their own pace. Only by swimming do you learn to swim.