Indian River County nonprofits hope to increase minority youth swimmers; offer free lessons

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — In a state with a year-round swimming season and a county with 26 miles of shoreline, a handful of area nonprofits are working together to ensure minority and low-income youth are skilled and confident swimmers.

Nearly 400 children have learned to swim for free in just five years, thanks to a partnership between Float Hope of Indian River County, the Gifford Youth Achievement Center and the county's three Boys & Girls Club chapters. 

Float Hope provides swimming lessons, equipment and registration to USA Swimming competitions at no cost to combat the cyclical pattern of children from low-income families not having the resources to learn how to swim, said Jeff Powers, the organiztion's chief executive officer. 

“You’d be amazed when you look at the percentage of people of color who don’t swim, and the socioeconomic disadvantages,” Powers said. “It’s a huge discrepancy. In the area we live in. There’s great opportunity for improvement.”

Children are recommended to Float Hope by the GYAC and Boys & Girls Clubs, Powers said. The afterschool programs also transport kids to and from swim practices at the Gifford Aquatic Center and North County Aquatic Center in Sebastian.

The goal of Float Hope is not only to teach youth a life-saving skill, Powers said, but swimming also fosters new friendships, promotes exercise, teaches accountability and exposes students to a sport with potential college scholarship opportunities. 

Water safety and drowning prevention 

Knowing how to swim is a matter of life or death, Powers said, and, according to a 2017 study from the University of Memphis, inadequate swimming rates disproportionately affect Black families compared to Hispanic and Caucasian families. 

The study found 64% of Black children have no swimming ability, compared to 45% of Hispanic and 40% of Caucasian children. Moreover, if a parent has little to no swimming ability, the chances their children won't either are high — 78% for Black families, 67% for Caucasian and 62% for Hispanic. 

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The study also reported 79% of children whose yearly household income is less than $50,000 have no swimming ability. 

Florida was ranked the highest in the country for its unintentional drowning death rate among children aged 1 to 4 years old from 2017 to 2019, according to the state health department. Annually, there are enough children under the age of 5 lost to drowning to fill three or four preschool classrooms.

Thirty-five Indian River County residents have accidentally drowned in the last decade, including children ages 2, 3, 15 and 17, according to data from the District 19 Medical Examiner in Fort Pierce. 

A preliminary cause and manner of death for 18-year-old Bidensky "BT" Termidor — a senior at St. Edward's School in Vero Beach who jumped off the private school's dock April 30 — was that the teenager died by accidental drowning. Data shows there have been no other drowning fatalities in the county this year. 

More ► High school senior in water nearly 20 minutes after jump from dock

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Indian River County also has the least amount of drowning fatalities on the Treasure Coast. St. Lucie County reported 85 deaths since 2011, 15 being children, and Martin County had 65, seven of whom were minors. 

Two siblings, aged 7 and 9, found submerged in a pool in Jensen Beach on April 23 who later died are not included in this data; autopsies have not been completed. The children were described as being experienced swimmers and proficient divers. 

"Knowing how to swim in our county, and in the state of Florida, is very, very important," Power said. "We’re doing our part, but it’s relatively small, and we’re trying to make more out of it."

Float Hope

Float Hope has just under 100 children currently in the program, but Powers expects enrollment to jump to more than 150 swimmers come summertime. 

Powers hoped to encourage new members by bringing Stephanie Akakabota — a 17-year-old swimmer at Seminole High School in Sanford who is heading to the U.S. Olympic Trials and signed a National Letter of Intent to swim at the University of California, Berkley — to speak at the GYAC April 22. 

"I would like to spread the message and inspire young Black students, and all young students, that they can reach whatever goal they want to," Akakabota said to the crowd. 

About 100 students attended the speaking engagement, and a handful expressed interest in joining Float Hope after Akakabota spoke, Powers said. 

The nonprofit's motto: "Learn to swim, like to swim, love to swim." 

About 90% to 95% of kids who turn to Float Hope do not know how to swim, Powers said. Most are ages 6 to 9 years old.

Children can continue training and participate in USA Swimming competitions after learning how to swim until high school, Powers said, where they're then encouraged to join the school's team. About 80% opt to stay with the program. 

Float Hope swimmers have at least three practices weekly and train alongside the Treasure Coast Swimming team coached by husband-and-wife duo Scott Barlow and Holly McClain. 

Barlow introduces pool newcomers to the water slowly, he said. Every child is different, but Barlow added that it usually takes about a month for beginner swimmers to be comfortable in the water. 

A typical practice involves 10 or 15 minutes of warm-up exercises on land and then moving into the pool to start working on basic movements such as floating, kicking your feet and breathing rhythms. 

Once a swimmer feels confident to move on, Barlow said coaches introduce proper strokes — backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle — and help build endurance for competitions.

The progress a Float Hope swimmer makes inside and outside of the pool is the most rewarding experience, Barlow said. 

"It’s been really heartwarming to see these kids improve and how swimming has changed their life and improved their confidence," he said.

"You see how their life changes. They start doing better in school, they start learning work ethic and social skills, and a lot of these kids didn’t have any of that before."

For more information about Float Hope, visit the nonprofit's website at floathopenow.org or call 772-321-4997. 

Catie Wegman is TCPalm's community reporter. You can keep up with Catie on Twitter @Catie_Wegman, on Facebook @catiewegman1 and email her catie.wegman@tcpalm.com. 

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