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Author - Michael Friedlander

Hurricane Sandy Crept Up on a Boy Who Couldn’t Swim. Guess What He Did.

Published: August 11, 2013Author: Lisa W. FoderaroSource: The New York Times After Hurricane Sandy brought the ocean to his doorstep, Kenrick Sultan felt a new sense of vulnerability. A shy 15-year-old, he has lived by water his entire life — but he never learned how to swim. He was born in Antigua, the Caribbean Island known for its 365 beaches. For the past decade, he has lived in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. Before this summer, he had set foot on the...

August 12, 2013Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...

Drowning: Second Leading Cause of Accidental Death for Children 14 and Younger

Author: Clem Richardson, Daily News Staff Writer Source: NYDailyNews.com Nearly 60% of African-American children living in urban areas can’t swim, according to a 2005 USA Swimming survey. The statistics read like some deadly math problem. Add that to the fact that drowning ranks second - behind car crashes - as the leading cause of accidental death for children 14 and younger and the results are predictable. African-American children 5 to 14 years old are three times as likely to drown than white children, according to...

June 10, 2013Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...

Swim Strong Aims to Reduce Rockaway Drownings

Source: The Wave - Rockawav.com According to information compiled from media reports and released recently by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Pool Safely campaign, 137 children younger than 15 years drowned in a pool or spa during the traditional summer season of Memorial Day to Labor Day this year [2012]. An additional 168 children of that age required emergency response for near-fatal incidents in pools or spas during that period. The media figures for this summer show that 54...

June 10, 2013Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...

Groups Look to Boost Swimming Skills of Immigrants and Minorities

Authors: Sabrina Felice and Seth Hoffman, Children’s Pressline Source: NYDailyNews.com Seven-year-old Taylor Shire is too scared to play in the water at Rockaway Beach. “I am nervous going into the water again because I almost did drown once,” said Taylor, of Rockaway Park. “I was out [in the water] and then the wave came, but we learned in school to swim the other way when you get caught” by a wave. Blacks and Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to drown as whites, according to...

June 6, 2013Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...

Swim Strong Foundation Puts Water Safety First

Author: Patrick Clark At one end of the pool, 25 youth swimmers—many from competing CYO swim teams—streak across the water in preparation for an upcoming meet. At the other end, 40 beginning swimmers receive semi-private lessons, learning basic water skills in groups as small as two or three children per instructor. In spite of all the activity, however, the prevailing mood is one of calm focus. There is no shouting, no careless splashing and certainly no running. Swimming pools are not usually so...

June 6, 2013Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...