I jumped into this discussion the other day.

Erroll Dupplessis, the moderator of the discussion, brought up a very good point. He acknowledged that while hair is a big issue with black girls, (and I must interject that I knew a white boy that had huge chlorine/hair issues), there is a reason behind the hair vanity. That is, girls get interested in boys, and that’s why they want their hair cute.

It makes sense. Nobody wants to look a hot mess. But, just like the white boy I knew whose hair turned green from all his pool hours, you must prioritize. That boy couldn’t quit swimming. It was his life. So he wore a swim cap. He dealt with it.

I know, swim caps don’t keep out all the chlorine, blah, blah, blah, and there are times when you must have a ‘do, etc. And so, on those times, don’t swim. But all the other times? You can work with it.

I gave up the perm for the pool. It was a no-brainer for me. That’s just something to put out there; you do have a choice. My hairdresser understands that swimming is my favorite exercise, so she accommodates me, and tells me how I can have hair and the pool. I still struggle sometimes, being one of those annoying people that doesn’t like to ask for help, but we are working it out. She is even working with my daughter who has a swimming job right now.

My point is, it can be done, and hair shouldn’t be the excuse that keeps us dry, scared, out of shape, in a dangerous relationship with water, you name it.

What do you say?

I love The Biggest Loser. That is the most emotional show, watching people come to grips with being morbidly obese and turning their lives around. My mother died from morbid obesity three years ago, and I wish she had been able to change her life.

I watched an episode today on hulu that had a scene that made me cry. (big surprise; I cry on every episode). But this is relevant to swimming. Stay with me. There is a mother/son team on the show from Chicago. The son is the biggest person they’ve ever had on the show; he started out over 500 pounds!

The contestants had to walk on a balance beam over the width of the swimming pool, carrying beach balls across and then walking back to the other side. The mother was terrified of the water. She just couldn’t make herself do the challenge, even if it meant she could stay on the show, losing weight longer.

Eventually, the mother got so scared that she fell on the hard concrete pool deck, smashing her nose and bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital, having a panic attack.

When she was released from the hospital, her trainer, Jillian Michaels, pushed this mother to face her fear of the water. She took her to the pool and taught her to swim. To watch this woman, 51 years old, face her fear of the water and learn to swim, and the gratitude she had afterward, was beautiful.

Jillian set her free, and I cried like a baby. Learning to swim is a miracle.

I read this interesting discussion on Diversity in Aquatics. Errol Duplessis, former swim coach at Hampton University, asked the question, ‘Can the culture of non-swimming be reversed?’

I think it can, but I wonder, will it? I read in Darrick Linton’s response that he had a chance to go to Hampton University on a swim scholarship in the 70s and chose not to accept it. I did not understand his reason for this. It sounds like he was counseled against it.

My oldest child is graduating from High School this year, and she has a job as a swim instructor and recently passed her lifeguard certification exam. When I suggested to her that she swim in college, she wasn’t interested. When, in the past I’d mentioned that she could get a swim scholarship to college, she wasn’t interested.

Here is a swimmer who’s not interested in being part of the swim culture in college. Why? She doesn’t want to deal with the hair issue in college. Not even after I told her about the Hampton swim coach who advocates saran wrap.

It is disheartening. My son is another anti-swimming hard case. He had such a negative experience swimming hundreds of laps each practice, he can’t see himself volunteering to swim again. Could it be that the rigors of competitive swimming training are enough to turn off the very students it trains? Or is hair a deal-breaker? What do you think?

The Blueprint from Jayson Jackson on Vimeo.

Happy Martin Luther King Day. At the University of Michigan, where I went to Undergrad., this was the day that kicked off Black History activities, which ran until April 4th, the anniversary of King’s death. There were just too many things to fit into February.

On that note, I’d like to mention some Black History swimming events to put on your calendar:

1. The 9th Annual HBCU Swimming Invitational.
Florida A &M University hosts this year.

Time: February 6, 2010 from 2pm to 4pm
Location: Morcom Aquatics Center
Street: 2525 Pottsdammer Street
City/Town: Tallahassee
Website or Map: http://www.seminoles.com/faci…
Phone: 850 599 3028
Event Type: swimming, competition
Organized By: Douglas Carrington

2. Free Swim (a documentary) at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

Time: February 7, 2010 from 1pm to 3pm
Location: THEATRE 39
Street: The Embarcadero and Beach Street
City/Town: San Francisco
Website or Map: http://www.oceanfilmfest.org/
Phone: 516-232-5709
Event Type: film, festival
Organized By: Jennifer Galvin
For festival tickets, go to http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaID=194765

3. 24th Annual Black History Invitational Swim Meet
The Black History Invitational Swim Meet is hailed by USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming, as the “premier minority swim competition in the United States.”

Time: February 12, 2010 to February 14, 2010
Location: Takoma Aquatic Center
Street: 300 Van Buren St. NW
City/Town: Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 550-3622
Event Type: swim, meet
Organized By: DC Parks and Recreation

If any of these events are in your area, or if you feel up to a little February travel, check them out! Let me know what you thought.

“Cleto, you should try water aerobics. It’s fun!” Says Cleto Rodriguez, a comedian on Laugh USA. He continues with a hilarious routine, full of the stereotypes of a water aerobics class.

My brother also tells me to try water aerobics. I don’t understand why I’d do that if I could swim. There is nothing more frustrating to me than to be in a pool not swimming.

My brother is different. He was always much more of a water person than I was. When we were little, he’d never want to come out of the water, even when his lips would turn purple and he’d be shivering all over. I was a thicker child. My lips never turned purple, and I never got too cold to be in the pool; I just got tired of being in the water.

A few years ago, my brother was in a motorcycle accident. He shattered both of his kneecapss, and the once powerful semi-pro football player was unable to walk. He has had surgery and lots of rehab since then, and he walks without a cane. He does have a limp, however.

Water aerobics is a good part of his rehab program. I was at the Y yesterday trying a fitness class. I dropped the babies off at the tot spot, which is across the hall from the pool viewing area. When I picked up the babies, I saw a big black man in the middle of the water aerobics class. It was my brother. He is faithfully sticking to his program.

I finally had an appreciation for water aerobics. It is making the difference between crutches or a wheelchair and walking for my brother. He is able to burn fat and build muscle without further injuring his knees.

He also has flippers and enjoys swimming a few laps when he has the time. So, while he is still a water person, swimming is not his sport of choice. That might still be football.