City of Santa Clarita:

The City of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, will be a part of setting the new world record for the largest simultaneous swim lesson during the 2013 World’s Largest Swim Lesson happening on Tuesday, June 18, beginning at 8 a.m. at the Newhall Park pool.

Thousands of swimmers of all ages across the world will simultaneously take a swim lesson that covers basic water safety and skills in attempt to set a new world record. This is fourth year of this Guinness World Record setting event that has been held and it is to help raise awareness and bring attention to the importance of teaching children how to swim.

For more information about the event or to learn more about future aquatic events, contact City Recreation Supervisor Lance O’Keefe at (661) 250-3767.

YMCA:

The Santa Clarita Valley Family YMCA will participate in The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson to build awareness about the importance of teaching children to swim.

The Santa Clarita Valley Family YMCA is one of 26 braches that comprise the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, which built the city’s first public swimming pool in 1908. Its 33 community pools comprise the largest single source of swim instruction in Greater Los Angeles.

The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson was created to serve as a platform to help local community aquatic facilities and the many different national, regional and state wide water safety and drowning prevention organizations work together to tell this important story on a local and national level.

The current world record stands at 24,873 participants representing 15 different countries across five continents.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 18, 2013; 8:00 a.m.

WHY: Every day, approximately ten people die from unintentional drowning. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death of children ages 1-14 and drowning rates and research shows that if a child doesn’t learn to swim by the third grade, they likely never will. It is estimated that 40% of Americans don’t know how to swim.

Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children aged 1 to 4.

WHERE: SCV Family YMCA

26147 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355

ABOUT THE SANTA CLARITA VALLEY FAMILY YMCA

The Santa Clarita Valley Family YMCA is one of 26 branches of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, a non-profit organization that serves more than a quarter million families each year. Welcoming individuals of all ages, faiths and socio-economic backgrounds, the Y is committed to nurturing everyone’s potential in spirit, mind and body through programs that promote youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. To learn more about the Santa Clarita Valley Family YMCA, visit www.ymcala.org/santa-clarita or call 661.253.3593.