Children are the future and hope of the Chinese nation. Attaching importance to and caring for children not only reflect a city’s love for children, but also impact the happiness of all families. This year Jiaxing has launched three projects beneficial to the people: to construct Happy Outdoor Activity Space for Children Near Home, and Community-based Nurseries and Kindergartens, and organize free swimming training for students. What is the progress of these projects? What are their social responses? What is to be done next? This program “Exercising State Power for the People - We Are Happy Flowers” will show you our governments’ love for the people and caring for the children.

In the hot summer, children have aspired to swim and many parents in Jiaxing are eager to find suitable swimming training classes for their children in the market.

However, they have their concerns: “Are swimming coaches qualified? ” “Some training fees are more than 1,000 yuan. It is too expensive.” ... Ms. Huang, a citizen, has made four phone calls in a row to choose a swimming training class for her son, a primary school student of Grade 4, but she is still in two minds now.

In response to people’s needs, a free swimming training this summer is coming. This year, the government has included “organizing free swimming training for over 20,000 primary school students of Grade Three to Grade Five of Jiaxing” into its work plan to meet children’s needs to learn to swim, and prevent and eliminate the hidden dangers of children’s drowning.

Students of Grade Three to Grade Five can sigh up for free swimming training at 41 training spots.

“I have mastered breaststroke and freestyle,” Xu Botao said proudly to his mother.

Xu Botao is a Grade 5 student at Jiaxing Changshui Experimental School. In the first period of every Tuesday afternoon, the swimming pool of his school is bustling. The coach explains the professional skills of freestyle, and the children then practise in the swimming pool according to the instructions. Soon water splashes, and laughter echoes throughout the swimming pool.

“We will offer easy or difficult swimming courses to students according to their situations,” said Fang Li, a physical education teacher of Jiaxing Changshui Experimental School. This year, this school will provide corresponding courses for all children of Grade Three to Grade Five in the school’s existing facilities, and now 598 students have signed up for and participated in the swimming training.

There are 14 primary schools with swimming pools in Jiaxing to participate in free swimming training. As an important government project beneficial to the people this year, the free swimming training is held in 41 points including schools, stadiums and swimming institutions.

Why does this project focus on the students of Grade three to Grade Five?

Every summer, children’s drowning accidents happen frequently. 57,000 people die from drowning in China every year, of which children account for 56%, according to the incomplete statistics of National Health Commission and Ministry of Public Security. Drowning has become “No.1 killer” of accidental deaths of primary and secondary school students in summer vocations.

“Drowning accidents occur mainly to primary and secondary school students and the children of kindergartens. The students of Grade Three to Grade Five are old enough to learn swimming; moreover they can learn it quickly,” explained Li Gang, an official from Bureau of Sports of Jiaxing.

The swimming pools outside schools is another venue for the free swimming training. One of the important principles to choose out-of-school swimming pools as free swimming training spots is the fact that they are not far from students’ homes. According to the situations of each county, county-level city and district, most free swimming training spots are located in the urban center, and some towns are taken into consideration as well when these training spots are chosen.

Nowadays, the online registration channels have been put into operation in some counties, county-level cities and districts after schools’ publicity. This year’s training gives priority to the children who can’t swim at all in order to make more children learn to swim and reduce drowning accidents.

Make every effort to build a protective network against drowning

Safety is a top priority in the process of swimming training. Parents are concerned about many issues such as “Are the coaches qualified? “Are the training spots equipped with emergency rescue facilities?”

In the swimming pool of Changshui Experimental School, the reporter finds when the training begins, three lifeguards are arranged to sit in the high chairs on three sides of the swimming pool, and an inspector goes around the pool to pay close attention to children’s every move in the pool.

“We arrange most children to study in the shallow water zones. The children who have ever received swimming training before are arranged to swim in the deep water zones. Once a student is found in danger, the lifeguards will take immediate measures,” said Fang Li. The swimming pool of his school is equipped with life-saving equipment and medicines to cope with emergencies.

National Fitness Center of Pinghu has the largest swimming pool in Jiaxing, and is also one of the out-of-school free training venues. In the swimming hall, Zhang Yong’an, a “chief coach on the shore”, always walks around the swimming pool to prevent dangers happening. He used to be a national-level athlete with more than 20 years of teaching experience, and now serves as the chief director of this swimming pool and the trainer of the  swimming coaches. Every Monday morning, he will organize all the coaches for internal training. “We ensure our teaching progress and quality, and most importantly, we must ensure the safety of all children,” said he.

Bureau of Sports of Jiaxing has made strict security checks of all the venues responsible for the free swimming training this year. Those venues are required to be equipped with lifebelts, life poles, stretchers and AED, as well as lifeguards and inspectors to ensure training safety. All the coaches for the free swimming training are required to obtain the qualification certificate of a primary swimming coach or above, or the certificate of a social sports instructor (swimming) of Level Three or above.

What can a child learn? How to check training effect? ... which are parents’ concerns as well.

“Different children have different learning progress. Generally, the children with no swimming foundation can swim after training,” said Li Gang. According to children’s basic swimming skills, this free swimming training is divided into primary training and improvement training. In the primary training, children can master a swimming stroke, continuous breathing techniques and basic treading water skills and can swim 10 meters or more after attending ten swimming training classes. The children with some swimming foundation can master a swimming stroke and swim at least 25 meters after their study.

This summer, what we want is to make children feel cool and master survival and first-aid skills happily in the swimming pool, which will benefit them for life.