SKWIM ™ – A New Gateway to Lifesaving and Olympic Water Sports

SKWIM™ – A New Gateway to Lifesaving and Olympic Water Sports

SKWIM, the emerging water-disk sport, is catching fire with communities and aquatic professionals across the globe.  The game features the first-ever soft foam disk that skims the water surface with ease and accuracy.  “SKWIM blends swimming with captivating dynamics found in surfing and water rescue,” says Kevin McCarthy, lifeguard and founder.  SKWIM International launched the sport in 2008, and the soccer-like game continues to grow because it’s fun for the whole family and teaches vital skills for open-water safety.  Players, fitted with special swim fins, use teamwork to score into their opponent’s floating goal while engaging with the hydroplaning disk, team opposition, and changing conditions.

SKWIM is faster-paced and easier to play than other water sports – just two of the reasons why the game attracts people from all walks of life.  Unlike sports requiring exceptional speed or power, SKWIM emphasizes team strategy and communication – prerequisites for water safety. The sport builds a new foundation of water-smart swimmers and helps qualify more youth for both lifesaving and the traditional water sports played at the Olympic level.

Goal action in a school P.E. game of SKWIM, at Corona Del Mar Middle and High School in Newport Beach CA USA

Historically, the growth of land-based sports outpaces aquatic sports.  McCarthy, a seasoned youth soccer and basketball coach, hopes to narrow the gap by leveling the playing field. Though not yet an Olympic discipline, SKWIM is already helping children prepare for Olympic water sport participation by better equipping new, young swimmers.

Hellas players have taken naturally to SKWIM in Greece, where ancient disk sports first originated.

 ON LAND – Children typically learn popular sports games like soccer and basketball in the primary grades, when still developing motor skills for running.  The game-play keeps kids interested.  Later on, competitive foot racing is generally introduced in middle school or high school as an adjunct to team games.   High numbers of students run in school track programs as a way to refine running skills, stay in shape for sports games, and, for some, to satisfy a passion for racing.

IN WATER – By stark contrast, swim racing is the traditional first sport and common gateway to all other Olympic water sports.  But few children reach the level of proficiency needed for racing, even by middle school.   Subsequently, most youth never consider water polo, diving or synchronized swimming.  They most likely never consider lifeguarding either.

SKWIM changes aquatic convention by building what McCarthy calls Primary Aquatic IQ.  “Intelligence in the water equates to an enhanced awareness and responsiveness to others.  I like to see family game-play and team competition prior to a focus on swimming speed.  SKWIM encourages an outward interactive focus and helps qualify more youth for all of the Olympic water-sport disciplines, especially racing.  Advancing the Aquatic IQ of more children earlier in life enriches aquatic sports and public safety,” reasons McCarthy.

The game blends teamwork with motor-skill development at a pivotal time for children.   The incorporation of swim fins increases mobility, heightens interest, sustains participation, and leads children to confident team interaction in less time.  The SKWIM fins are the ‘athletic shoes’ of the sport – helping improve stroke technique and game performance, with increased enjoyment and safety.  A comparison can be made to soccer, and the advantage of wearing soccer shoes.

SKWIM Programming is growing in Southern California, where the game was first conceived 30 years ago.

Lifeguard Richmond Bash applies his years of coaching youth soccer in Ghana Africa toward his SKWIM sessions with Accra Youth, and sees parallels. “The two sports have many similarities, and like soccer, the excitement of SKWIM play continues even after the game has ended.  Our schools want to incorporate SKWIM!” Richmond concludes.

Mark Rauterkus, Carnegie Mellon University Women’s Water Polo Coach, lifeguard and organizer of Pittsburgh School’s ‘Summer Dreamers’ water sports camp remarks, “For us, SKWIM is a fantastic team game that introduces rules, terms and concepts that are new, yet simple for the kids to follow.  Lessons in sportsmanship, teamwork, fair play and swim stamina are central to our SKWIM play.”

Mark continues, “SKWIM is friendly to the kids and to the others at the pool too. The kids like to compete, yet boys and girls, fast and slow, can all find roles within their teams and in this game. We see the kids developing new friendships, new relationships, and then being rewarded through their success with SKWIM.”

Richmond Bash, Ghana Africa SKWIM Coach, certified lifesaver and swim instructor, mentors backhand passing technique.

“SKWIM uses a tried and true recipe,” says McCarthy. “The top-10 sports in the world today are all interactive games – easy to learn and entertaining for both participant and spectator.   Sports-games are a microcosm of life and tell a brief but compelling interpersonal story.  They’re the original ‘reality show’, revealing virtue and determination in real-life characters.  People become engaged.  Thus, the most popular games are lifetime games, learned in childhood, played as a family, and therefore building community tradition,” adds McCarthy; “SKWIM brings the family sports-game recipe to aquatics with fresh ingredients.”

One of those key ingredients is the International SKWIM Certification (ISC), a 5-level program for pool and open-water safety, built within the SKWIM curriculum.  This program is designed for schools, YMCAs, summer camps, and park & rec facilities.  Players progress through the levels from beginning swimmer to lifesaving certification.  Students learn vital survival and response skills for pool and open-water, within a simple-to-use program that centers on game play.

“Kids like to compete, yet boys and girls, fast and slow, can all find roles within their teams and in this game.”

ISC Level – 1 is the prerequisite for deep-water pool play.  Players obtaining ISC Level – 4 qualify to play open-water SKWIM.  ISC Level – 5 SKWIM Masters (ages 16 and up) are certified lifesavers and qualified to begin coaching and officiating SKWIM.  Teammates help and encourage one another at each ISC level while also advancing in game skills.

In summary, SKWIM equips and prepares children, teens, and adults for a safer pool and open-water experience while prompting the practice and benefits of fin-swimming within the context of family-fun and competitive game play.   To find out more about SKWIM, contact play@skwim.net or go to www.skwiminternational.org.

School students listen to open-water SKWIM instruction on Lake Hannan at Camp Hamilton, Monroe WA USA

This is the first of a 5-part series on SKWIM™ the original water-disk sport. Look for upcoming articles discussing: SKWIM game origin, SKWIM rules, fundamentals and Life-Ring philosophy, International SKWIM Certification, and the SKWIM 2016 “Dare to C.A.R.E. Campaign”. SKWIM™ – the original water-disk sport is a trademark of SKWIM International. All rights reserved.

To see the SKWIM™ Disk in action click here!