OK, so as of the beginning of April 2018, I didn’t know how to swim. As a child, I was never sent to a swimming class, and I eventually developed a fear of going anywhere beyond the shallow side of the pool, or letting go of the wall. Worse, I have friends who have tales of how I jumped onto them out of fear pushing them under water, or grabbed on so tight when they were trying to help me learn how to swim that I left nail marks on their skin, or… You get the picture.
Anyway, in March this year (just before I managed to pinch my sciatica, aggravate my scoliosis and end up in a back brace – yep that’s another story), I saw a swimming class for adults wanting to learn on GuavaPass. I thought, doesn’t hurt to try this out, right? Right? On April 1, off I toddled to the location and got into the pool. I enjoyed that first class so much I signed up for the next term (it’s not on GuavaPass, you go directly through the academy), and then continued through the summer classes. Yep, it was pretty much the only thing I could do while undergoing physiotherapy.
And finally, on August 29, it happened… I swam the entire length of the pool! Not very gracefully, and certainly not in a conventional manner, but, nonetheless, I did!
Since I started my journey, I have been sharing updates on social media, and what has been great to see has been all the responses – from people who can swim encouraging me, as well as those who, like me, have managed to reach adulthood without learning this skill.
So, how did I go from being terrified in the pool to bobbing about in the deep end?
TLDR: Go to Urban Swim Academy (find the academy on Facebook here or on Instagram here).
But to find out why I have stuck with them and what makes them a good shout to learn how to swim – or indeed, go for the masters classes if you’re already a swimmer – read on.
I cannot continue this post without mentioning the instructor for the ‘adults learn to swim’ class: Diana Mruk. I genuinely do not know how or if I would have ever been able to get here without her. Her insanely patient nature is why she put up with me and my fear – there were days when I just stood at the edge of the pool for minutes, freaking out about gliding because how would I survive, or days when I somehow managed to go underwater and then panicked while trying to stand up from a float, and so many other random moments.
What I also LOVE about her is her ability to take on your individual quirks to make them work for you. It’s never been about the “right” or “traditional” way to do things, it’s about, how can we make this work for you? I have so many examples (and honestly I feel really silly because of this but hey ho) to share. Here’s just one: My core has no strength or balance, so it was a struggle learning how to get out of a front float in the first place, but what’s been even more difficult has been the freestyle stokes, because every time I turned to take a breath, I’d lost control of my body and flip on my back, like a helpless turtle. While this has caused plenty of merry mirth among my friends, it’s clearly a problem if I can’t do anything after that except float uselessly. Diana helped me convert that problem into an advantage… I now take a few strokes, flip on my back, and then flip again and keep moving forward. It’s not the most elegant way of swimming a length but until I can figure out how to balance my body, this works!
Everything was a milestone to Diana, and to me. It honestly felt like no one was cheering for me as hard as she was. Learned how to float? WAHEY! Learned how to get out of a float? High-five! (Seriously, it took me a while to sink from a float.) Worked out how to tread? YASSSS! And so on.
Our classes happen at the same time as the ‘masters’ sessions, and while I have never had to work with him, I see Brett Hallam (the academy director) training veritable merpeople as they swim multiple lengths, with the same passion and dedication that Diana has always shown us. All the advanced students I’ve interacted with before we begin class seem to love coming there and polishing up their skills, so there are classes for accomplished swimmers as well.
So where are these amazing classes? Up until August 2018, Urban Swim Academy was using the pool of a school in Umm Suqeim. But from the start of the September term, we will be at Talise Fitness at Madinat Jumeirah. All you need to do is contact the academy and they will share term times, prices, and so on. It’s totally worth it. SEE YOU THERE!
And I’m proof that it really is never too late to learn how to swim. I absolutely love it, and my goal is to one day join the more advanced class, and I’m pretty sure I’ll get there – especially if the amazing instructors at Urban Swim are there to help me.
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