Today was my daughter’s swim test for the swim instructor job. Since she’s not lifeguard certified, she had to prove that she could in fact swim. She was nervous about the test; she hasn’t actually been swimming for months. I thought she’d do ok.

She ended up almost swimming a 200 IM (out of order, with freestyle first). By the time she’d swum the first 25 of the butterfly (her last stroke), the tester had seen enough. She was impressed with the swimming, and my daughter moved onto the second part of the test–sitting in on a swim lesson. She was asked to actually help teach the swim class.

After the first swim class, the instructor asked my daughter to stay and help with the next, younger class. She had a ball working with the little children, and when she was done, the swim teacher she’d worked with told my daughter that she was a good teacher.

Next, we wait to hear about orientation.

Until then, here’s some crappy cell phone video of what went on today. It was free swim at the Y, so three of my younger children jumped in to play during the test. My oldest daughter practiced teaching her little brother just before the students go into the water, and I coached my middle daughter on her strokes.

So my daughter had her interview at the Y for the swim instructor position today. We started the day with a major melt-down over wardrobe. I insisted she TRY ON the skirt and blouse I’d bought her for her birthday 2 years ago, and she cried, and yelled, and melted into a pool of jello.

My husband was there when she showed up wearing the outfit. The skirt touched her ankles, and the blouse was a nice feminine fit without telling the whole world her chest size. She swore the outfit didn’t fit. We, her parents, laughed, and she screamed that it wasn’t funny, and, long story short, she ended up feeling sheepish about the whole thing and wore the outfit. ahem.

Did I mention that my daughter is 17? So anyway, the interview was interesting. She was asked many questions she didn’t expect, and was told that she would most likely be teaching children to put their face in the water and blow bubbles. Note to self: That is why my children never actually learned to swim at the Y.

The athletic director seemed ready to hire, but had to first check her references.

She got a call later on today. She has a swim test for the job tomorrow.

My oldest daughter was a tough swim student. I took her to Mommy and Me swim class when she was 2 1/2. That’s when I found out that the Y doesn’t teach swimming to anyone under 3. And the Red Cross, which taught me to swim, didn’t take students until they were 5. So I took my daughter to the Red Cross swimming lessons when she was 5.

And she was scared to put her head in the water. Especially her face. After a little investigation, I found she didn’t like getting her ears wet. I bought her some ear plugs, and she was able to bob under the water.

The next year, she was not as scared of the water, and was able to do a little more in swim class. By the time she was 7, my daughter could jump off the diving board. Phew!

But my husband was not impressed with her performance after having taken lessons with the Red Cross, the Y, from the University in town, and the hospital fitness center. He said he wouldn’t pay for any more Y lessons, and he grouped all those different locations in with the Y. He thought a swim team would be the answer. I didn’t know what to do with that.

Then one day we were visiting friends from church, and their daughter had on a swim team suit. The mother told me all about the age group swim club at our nearby high school. I signed my daughter up for the team that fall, and she started really learning how to swim.

By now, at age 9, she had no more water fear, but didn’t know the strokes, nor have the stamina to practice or race. My daughter worked at it until she became quite good at the strokes.

After we switched to a different swim club when my daughter was 12, she was taught how to buddy coach. The buddy coaches would work with the younger children on their strokes. So, even though she was far from the fastest swimmer in the pool, my daughter was pretty good at buddy coaching.

She quit the swim team in 2006, and for a while she was making noise about how swimming was the last thing she ever wanted to do again. But her best friend is a lifeguard. And what with trying to find a job this summer, lifeguarding looked more attractive to my daughter. She found a swim instructor position open at a local Y. She thought she might have to take lifeguard certification before she could apply, so she wrote an email outlining her swim experience and wondering if she needed the lifeguard certification.

She received an enthusiastic letter back saying that someone with her experience didn’t need lifeguard training. She has her interview tomorrow. Cross your fingers!

Open water swimming. The final frontier. Many fledgling swimmers shudder when they think about swimming in a lake or ocean. Yet–how inviting it can be! My younger son, who is very cautious about swimming in pools will splash away in a lake. I think he likes how truly shallow it starts out. He also likes the waves. Even the fish. Come on in. The water’s nice!

Free Swim is a documentary film that explores the paradox of coastal people who cannot swim. It takes place on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, a thin strip of land with water on all sides. The island is about a mile wide at most points; it’s like walking a tight rope between two bodies of water.

There is a connection between swimming and knowledge that’s hard to quantify. Maybe it’s the effort required by swimming helps with other brain function. Whatever it is, the film explores other issues, like tourism and education through the lens of swimming.

Swim to Empower, founded by two American women, is featured in the film, teaching people to swim.

Free Swim has already been shown at various film festivals, and has won The Best of Ocean Sports category award at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in June. It was also a finalist in the Celebrate the Sea festival, and the DocuWest film festival.

For more information on this documentary, visit their website.