The forum on diversity in aquatics continues. Here are some great quotes:

“If the Africans knew how to swim when they came to the Americas, slavery would have ended before it got started.” –

“Man, we don’t need to swim we play basketball, football and even golf and tennis now!” and my reply is always the same, ‘Ah yes that’s true. But – to the best of my knowledge – I’ve never heard of anyone dyng because they couldn’t dunk, catch a sideline route pass, shoot three under par, or volley at the net.’

I just didn’t see swimming as that deep until Naji, open water swimmer, put it like that.

Another forum gave a creepy face to the drowning rate. Statistics are one thing; pictures of victims are a whole different thing. AK relates images that probably still haunt her—images of drowning victims in various pools she’s used.

The victims’ stories are eerily the same. The pool was closed or off limits. The kids snuck in to have some fun. They couldn’t swim, and neither could their friends. They drowned and couldn’t be revived.

Suddenly, swimming morphs from an athletic option to a life or death scenario. Naji says it should start there. That swimming is first and foremost a lifesaving proposal. After you get to the point where you can save your life, then you can talk about swimming as sport.

My husband found the piece that connects the puzzle: swim teams train you to be proficient enough to be safe in the water. If you want your child to know how to be safe enough to save themselves in the water, I suggest you sign them up for a swim team. You don’t have to already know how to swim—that’s a myth. The coaches can teach the swimming.

You supply the heart.

I remember seeing the movie Jaws when I was a child. I was scared of the water, all water, even baths, for YEARS. I know that learning how to swim was a miracle for me.

I must have just gotten over my water fear the summer or so before I learned how to swim.

I mention that to say that I understand what it is to be afraid of the water. Black people have historical fear of the water. This crippling fear leads to thinking about not knowing how to swim all the time. Or thinking about dying all the time, huh?

This kind of fear takes faith to overcome. I will never forget when I made the decision to go in the deep water for the first time. Deep water was the last barrier to my really learning to swim. I remember thinking, “what’s the worse that could happen? I could drown. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. .. ” That was faith. And I’ve looked at swimming as a gift from God ever since.

If you can’t swim, and all you ever think about when you’re near water is dying, you can overcome that fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear. If you ask Him, He can free you from that fear. Then you can go on, free from that fear, free to live your life. Just ask Him.

I use the product name for clarity, but in actuality, we don’t have saran wrap in the house. We have food service film, or some such thing–a gigantic box of plastic wrap we bought at Sam’s Club. It’s a good thing we have so much plastic wrap, or I might have cringed at the idea of my daughter wrapping her head in plastic wrap before putting on a latex swim cap.

You see, I made the poor planning mistake of getting my daughter a hair appointment the day before she went to work at the pool. She had been wanting to try the saran wrap solution we discovered from the Hampton University Aquatics Director. Now the stakes were just a little higher, is all.

It worked, for the most part. Her hair maybe got a little wet, and I am not sure whether that was from sweating or actual pool water. But she was far from drenched, and even managed to keep most of her hairstyle. Score! I can’t wait to try it myself.

I’m still getting over rowing being swimming. Let’s just call it aquatic, like boating. Come to think of it, I didn’t get all hung up about boating and swimming, so I’ll just drop it, ok?

Anyway, I briefly mentioned David Banks in an earlier post. As it turns out, Banks is dedicated to growing his sport by encouraging black folks to try rowing.

Banks and his partner Charlie Cole finished fifth in the 2009 World Championships in Poland. He talks about his sport: “I think our sport builds character and discipline and good qualitites in young people.”

The two-time Olympian is pleased with the distinction of Male Athlete of the year, but would prefer more medals. Here’s hoping 2012 will be his year.

I would think that rowing would be a sport where price could get prohibitive. Maybe you don’t buy your own equipment? Any opinions/facts about rowing?

Ok, so I may be beating a dead horse, but this is the issue that just won’t die. There are so many opinions, and I am forming mine as I research the issue. Here’s another go round.

1. financial reasons

I originally dismissed this one out of hand. It’s a stereotype that all blacks are poor, and I’m not going there. But this article approached the issue from a different direction. So much about swimming is about time. You really must put the hours in, and that’s where finances can become an issue. You must pay for all that pool time, and many of the practice and meet hours may conflict with working hours. Add to that issues of one or no car per family, and you have a problem.

2. lack of role models

My research has me leaning toward this as the major factor. Swimming just doesn’t seem like a ‘black thing’ if you can’t find anyone black who’s ever excelled in it. The reason I talk so much about Cullen Jones here is that he’s the dude who’s out there taking names now. We need more people to bust down the doors and keep them open. I think it’s only a matter of time. It helps that Cullen is doing Make a Splash and trading on his celebrity to encourage other black kids to get in the water. Time shall tell.

3. fear of the water

This is the generational factor. ie., My mother was afraid of the water and she told me to stay away from the water, and I’m scared. . . This is a vicious cycle that perpetuates itself. The problem here is that this fear has done nothing to curb the drowning rate. Being afraid of the water is a dangerous stance to take. I think we address this with understanding coaches, and black swim teachers and lifeguards can’t hurt.

4. hair

I was talking to my cousin the other day about my daughter’s plans to go swimming on her Christmas vacation. I had thought it would be an awful lot of trouble for her to get her hair wet while away from home. My cousin lamented that hair would even be an issue. I do too. I quit getting perms so I could pursue swimming. I wore braids and and now get my hair done a couple times a month to accommodate my love of swimming. It is doable, but still a pain. I definitely want to try wrapping my hair in plastic wrap before putting on my cap! I will let you know how it works.

5. history of racism

I didn’t want to go there, but when we have stuff like what happened in Philadelphia this last summer flare up, you know it’s an issue to contend with. I’ve talked about the incident here, and I found this article which also addresses it. Part of our reluctance to swim comes from being denied access to pools. Godfrey Cambridge joked in the 60s that the colored pool and the white pool were just the same, only the colored pool had no water in it, and the diving board was higher. The idea that blacks and whites definitely better not mix in the water has been prevalent in this country for a long time, and the Philadelphia incident shows that it has not died quite yet. I’m not sure, but I think excellence, influence and affluence will address this issue. Excellence like what Cullen Jones and younger swimmers behind him are pursuing. These young swimmers also carry the burden of influence on their backs. Just doing their thing will influence other swimmers to come and join them, not to mention normalize the whole idea of black swimmers. Affluence is something all of us can attain. Make your plan, put your head down, pursue it, and then open your own pools, clubs and resorts. And use good old competition to drive the racist institutions right out of business.

Yesterday I asked the question if black swim teachers matter. Here’s a black coach speaking for himself. Let’s keep this dialogue going. What do you think?