– I think it’s a bit difficult to swim all the way to the bottom, but I can do it. This is what Mali Fjorne (9) tells us, who has school swimming every week in Hundvåghallen in Stavanger. Together with the other students in class 4 A at Skeie School, she practices various swimming techniques. – We practice swimming on the stomach and back, and floating and diving. Mali Fjorne. Photo: Marte Skodje / news Twice as many children in Stavanger and Bergen manage the competence target at stage 4, compared to the rest of the country, according to the Norwegian Swimming Association. The swimming association has no doubts; children need to get a lot of pool time to become able to swim. And close follow-up. More adults in the water Today, only 4 out of 10 students pass the competence target at the 4th stage (external link) in Norway. In Western Norway, the trend is far more positive. At some schools in Bergen and Stavanger, 9 out of 10 pupils now master the swimming requirement, according to the Swimming Association. – This works because we have many adults present. That’s what Ivanka Moralieva says, who is the leader and chief instructor for the pilot project Swim Stavanger. Stavanger and Bergen collaborate with the swimming sport regarding swimming training in primary schools. Ivanka Moralieva is head of Swim Stavanger. Photo: Marte Skodje / news The project in Rogaland originates from Bergen. For several years, they have used the method, with good results. – What do you do differently here than what you did before in Norwegian school? – The difference is that the swimming clubs are involved and contribute. They help and strengthen swimming lessons during school hours, says Moraleva. She goes on to say that the scheme has produced good results and the pupils’ swimming skills have noticeably improved through the project. The key word is systematic training for students in both 2nd and 4th grade. Divides according to skill level – The students’ skills are clearly much better. They learn faster, says Per Karlsson, who is a teacher at Skeie School. Per Karlsson is a teacher at Skeie School in Hundvåg. The municipality’s teachers are involved in the water and they still have responsibility for the training. Photo: Marte Skodje / news He has been a swimming teacher for six years and greatly appreciates the help of several trained and experienced instructors in teaching. – Previously, we were two adults with 20 children. With the swimming alliance, we are four, five or six adults, says Karlsson. With several adults on the team, they have the opportunity to share and carry out the teaching, based on skills. The students follow a systematic and proven scheme for basic swimming training with gradual progression from one skill to the next. – The students are given challenges at their level. We see that more and more children are becoming able to swim, says Moralieva. Theo Malmin (9) says that he learned to swim this summer. Now he wants to use the swimming lessons in Hundvåghallen to get even better. – It’s fun to be able to swim, because then you can do more things. Like, for example, being in the deep end, he says. Theo Malmin. Photo: Marte Skodje / news Costs several million kroner This is the seventh year that Bergen has collaborated with swimming. In Stavanger, they are now starting the third. In the first year, 250 pupils at five schools in Stavanger took part in the project. The following year, it was extended to apply to 800 pupils spread over 19 schools. This year, all pupils in 2nd and 4th grade in Stavanger will receive adapted swimming training according to this model. Leiv Richard Brystøl-Hill is a swimming instructor and teaches children in Hundvåg to become good swimmers. Photo: Marte Skodje / news The project is financed by the municipality, with grants from public health funds, and has an annual cost frame of NOK 4.5 million. Swimming is part of the subject physical education. – The curricula contain targets for what the pupils should master in swimming, just as they have targets for what the pupils should be able to do in subjects such as Norwegian and mathematics. With the work we are doing now, we believe that more people are being put in a position to be able to reach the goals, says Moraleva.
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Stavanger and Bergen strengthen swimming lessons with more professional swimmers – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
