BRYAN, Texas — Pools all over the world Thursday brought awareness to the importance of aquatic safety and the City of Bryan’s Aquatic Center stepped up to the diving board.
For aquatics and athletics coordinator Lexi Durbin, Thursday was nothing new.
As a Bryan native, Durbin said she grew up attending this event and now she’s helping run it.
Durbin said this event is important because it lets people find out not just where their kids are at with their swimming but any of their loved ones and help them learn some lifesaving skills.
“So, if you ever find yourself maybe not at a supervised place such as a lake or river, any body of water where there’s no lifeguards or rescue there that you might be able to prevent some aquatic emergencies.”
Swim Coordinator Ulysses Tirado said he thinks this event is great, having the opportunity to potentially bring down the number of drownings in the entire world, it’s special.
“You know kids are wanting to do fun stuff all the time so I think this is very important to teach them in a fun way and fun manner, but it’s also very important for them to know how to be safe.”
Even though aquatic safety is a serious matter, you can’t help but have fun in the sun in a pool.
For Water Safety Instructor Stephanie Vilas, her goal is to make her classes fun and inclusive for everyone.
“I think that water in general, it’s a very serious topic in general in our community is how high the drowning rate is and a lot of people aren’t aware of that.”
While the gates close for the day, Durbin, Tirado and Vilas said they’ll remember their time giving people the chance to get free swim lessons because one swim lesson is better than no swim lessons at all.
To register for summer 2021 lessons, click here.