[jambutty]

Originally Posted by mick

This is not true jambutty when i took my GOLD A.S.A part of the test was to go through a hoop on either side of the deep end which was 9ft deep
you had to do this 10 times so it meant swimming round the pool 10 times and each time diving down to the hoop on each side so that's 20 times in all you had to keep your eyes open so you could see where the hoop was.
After i finished i got out my eyes where all red and sore with all the chlorine and by the time i was ready to go back to school i could not see a thing it was 6 hours before i got my sight back so yes you can go blind swimming.
and yes i did pass and went on to take and get my RLSS Bronze but the school would not let me go any further as they said they don't consider swimming as a sport

But by then you had learned ‘water confidence’.

I think that you should qualify your statement to read; “so yes you can go blind swimming - after spending a long time in chlorinated water.” It’s the chlorine that makes your eyes sore not the water. You can get the same effect in sea water.

We kids spent more time diving for pennies or a ‘brick’ than actually swimming length after length. And yes our eyes became red and sore. I never lost my sight though. But I had the added effect of uncontrollable itching of my nose.

Haven’t swimming baths stopped using chlorine and use ozone aerated water instead?

My school in the fifties sent each class to the baths once a week. We were taken by corporation bus to the baths and brought back. Those who couldn’t swim were taught to do so and those who could practiced to get better at it. And it included diving from a diving board at 6 feet or so high.

There was a ‘width’ certificate, one for a length, one for ten lengths, quarter, half and mile. (1 Mile = 71 lengths at Accy baths) We were encouraged to get the Bronze and Life Saving. The really good swimmers went on for the Silver and Gold. All during school time.

We were also taken by corporation bus to King George’s Playing Fields to play football or cricket.

Like all the others of my era, my school had an annual school inter house gala and also an inter school gala. There was also the inter house school sports day and inter school sports day. No one blubbed when they came last either and no one took the pith out of them either.