On June 14, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. the Guelph Marlins Aquatic Club was a host of a special swim lesson at Centennial Pool as part of The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson™ to build awareness about the vital importance of teaching children to swim to help prevent drowning and to help spread the word that Swimming Lessons Save Lives.™
I arrived at the pool around 10:15 to find the parking lot absolutelly packed! I was very impressed for a few minutes only to realize taht at the same time there was a highschool track and field event.
Kendra was told that a couple of classes from school would be attending this special event but at 10:45 we realized that wasn't the case. We needed at least 25 participants to make the event count and 10 minutes before we just realized that wasn't happening. I was tempted to just be content with whatever… but Kendra started texting people.
She could just have given up. Instead she made sure back up people was coming, I made quick phone calls and we got what we needed so we started sharp at 11:00
The lesson was a blast. We had fun, the kids had fun, the parents had fun, and as I told Chris, the reporter from the Guelph Mercury: The important is not so much the Guinness World record. The important is the fact that this kids were pulled out of class to do this. The teachers had to ask why, the class mates will ask them when they go back to their classroom: Where did you go?
And the answer more likley will be : I was in a fun swim lesson ! This will help to spread the word … as well as the local papers, and all of our contacts and you dear reader will talk about this. Soon enough we will have lots more people talking about it. That way we have done something very positive.
On the other side, we learned. Kendra and I will be more prepared to work on this project for next year and will try have all swimming pools in the city of Guelph participating.
At the end of the day we feel very good with the experience and I will write to let you know if this year there is a new Guiness world record!
Thank you all.
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