Local children learn to swim; one dog paddle at a time
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
 |
| McClean Hobson, Founder of the St. Kitts Survival Swim School |
BASSETERRE, St.Kitts – FOR almost twenty years the youth of St. Kitts have been taught to swim and appreciate the marine environment by ex-Coast Guard member turned Maritime Affairs Director McClean Hobson.
Nearly every Saturday since 1989, Hobson has been teaching Kittitian youth the importance of learning the “foundation techniques” of swimming. he currently teaches with the assistance of Pompey Elsworth, another ex-coastguard member who Hobson called "vital" to the current success of the program. "We mostly teach people how to dog paddle and tread water because those are the most important survival lessons,” he said.
He said the program began as a way for people to better understand the coastguard.
“I didn’t think people really knew what the role of the coastguard was, so I started the St. Kitts Survivor Swim School as a way for the public to interact
 |
|
Hobson and one of his students, Yarinique Gillard
|
with the coastguard and learn more about what they do.”
Though Hobson is now the Director of Maritime Affairs and no longer works for the coastguard, he says his swimming school has only taken on more personal significance for him.
“I want to help Kittitians better appreciate the marine environment because it is part of who we are as a Caribbean people. It is about helping people feel more comfortable in the water.”
Hobson stated that perhaps his greatest satisfaction with his work over the years has come from teaching the children of persons he had taught in the past when they were only children themselves. Hobson said he has taught kids as young as four years old and currently has a two year-old under his wing.
 |
|
Chavez Lawrence, one of Hobson’s long time students
|
“I get a special feeling of accomplishment and pride when I see persons swimming at the beach and then they say hi to me, only to realize I taught them to swim as a child.
Some even bring their kids to the program because they themselves learned to swim that way.
I always hear people comment that others have tried to teach them to swim but it never worked. I encourage them to get a professional to do it and maybe they would get better results,” he said.
Until this point, the program has survived entirely by word-of-mouth advertising and Hobson said he feels good that his and Elsworth's work is now enabling the next generation of swimmers to go from no training at all to being calm and confident in the water.
As for the future of the swimming school, Hobson has no intention of stopping any time soon. He is hoping to write a book in the near future based on his experience and to build a training program in conjunction with the sailing school scheduled to open this year on the southeast peninsula.
“Our goal is to teach survival swimming and help nurture an enjoyment of the marine environment that people can carry with them for the rest of their lives,” he said. ~~Adz:Right~~
The St. Kitts Survivor Swim School meets every Saturday from 10am to 12pm at its new location on the north of Bird Rock beach.
