Walk-ins still available as part of Y's Water Safety Week

The YMCA of Greenville is offering free water safety classes at three of its locations through March 25 as it hosts its annual Water Safety Week.

The participating branches are:

Caine Halter Family YMCA – 721 Cleveland St., Greenville
Eastside Family YMCA – 1250 Taylors Road, Taylors
Prisma Health Family YMCA – 550 Brookwood Point Place, Simpsonville

This year, each location has a goal of serving around 100 people with water safety classes and with registration mostly closed, they are close to doing so. Although individuals may not be able to register, each branch may still be able to accommodate walk-ins for remaining sessions, unless the session is too crowded, said Eastside Family YMCA operations director Rebecca Barnes.

Also, while many of this week’s classes are targeted for children between 6 months to 12 years old, water safety is something people of all ages should learn, she said.

“I have an adult water safety week running,” said Barnes. “They’re mostly over the age of 30. I will work with them not only on the water safety stuff but how to be comfortable in the water. At that age, a lot of what they’re looking for is ‘How can I be in the water with my kids and be comfortable?,’ so we will be working on that.”

Among the safety tips covered in Water Safety Week, as well as the YMCA of Greenville’s regular swim lessons, are:

Reach and Throw, Don’t Go – where the person out of the water throws something to the person in the water to grab so they can be brought to safety
Tips to stay safe if you fly off of a water tube while on a lake
How to stay safe if you fall out of a boat
Encouraging children to call 9-1-1 in the event of a water emergency
Teaching children to how to turn onto their backs in the water and float
Jump, Turn, Reach — learning to turn and reach for the side once you get into the water

With the week almost halfway over, the YMCA of Greenville is starting to plan its free Water Safety Day, which will be held at the end of May or the beginning of June at an outdoor pool in Simpsonville.

For more information, visit ymcagreenville.org.