Among adults, eight out of ten who responded to a Novus questionnaire, produced by the insurance company Trygg-Hansa, said that they can manage to swim 200 metres. However, out of those who believe this only every third person has swum that distance in the last year.
– Many people think that if you’ve once learned to swim you’ll always be able to swim but you need to test your abilities every year, explains Louise Brädde, expert at SLS.
During the political event in Almedalen recently, SLS was there and let people test their swimming abilities in the water outside Visby.
– It was tougher than many people think. There is also a difference between swimming in a pool and swimming in open water. In a pool you are somewhat safe. There are no currents, waves or wind. The water is also lighter so you can see where you are and know that you have a bottom underneath you, she says.
The ability to swim is decreasing
Many of the close to 25 people who have died by drowning this year are children.
Louise Brädde says that many people have a preconceived idea about what happens when someone drowns.
– We think that they will wave and cry for help but often it’s a quiet drowning. You hold your hands under the surface to float and try to breathe with your mouth so you can’t call for help, she explains.
That is why it is important to be present if you are a parent, not looking at phones or other screens and monitoring what is happening among the children playing.
Good weather means more accidents
There is also a trend in society that the ability to swim decreases among children.
– It’s a worrying trend and we have introduced water safety training courses together with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB, in order to increase safety for people who spend time in and near water, says Brädde.
Another reasons for why there has been more drowning accidents is the nice weather.
– You can draw a parallel to the warm weather. It was like that in 2018 too and now we are going towards a warm summer again so we feel an intense sense of worry, says Louise Brädde.