[KHTS] – About 50 residents of the city of Santa Clarita attended the second annual record-breaking event The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson Friday morning at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.

At the free event, residents joined thousands of kids and families across the globe in a 30-minute swim lesson that organizers hope will not only break the World Record, but teach life-saving water safety skills and spread the word that learning to swim saves lives.

“It went well,“ said Taryn Flatt. “We did have low attendance but the participants recieved good instruction and it was a good way to introduce lessons to swimmers of all ages.”

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of five years, but learning to swim isn’t just a kid issue.  In a recent survey conducted by The Red Cross, 80 percent of adults claimed they could swim, yet 44 percent of respondents believed they would fail a basic swim test.

The youngest attendee was one-and-a-half years old while the olden attendee was 43 years old. Families who attend the Academy Swim Club in Valencia also joined in at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.

Each summer thousands of children and residents of all ages enjoy a variety of programming at one of the City’s six pools, including swim lessons, water exercise, recreational swim, swim team, and junior lifeguarding, among other programs.  The World Record attempt is just one way the City is working to make sure every person is water safe.

In 2013, swimmers of all ages in the City helped set the record with 32,450 participants worldwide.  Swim Lessons are the perfect opportunity for people of all ages to learn basic water safety skills and it is never too late to learn!

For more information about the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson, please visit worldslargestswimminglesson.org or call (661) 250-3700.