Wilson Family YMCA Executive Director Kathie Davis said losing the lessons for a year was unfortunate.
The swimming program is free to students.ĭue to the pandemic, however, about 760 second graders who would have taken swimming lessons this January and February weren’t able to do so. Until COVID-19, Wilson County Schools, the city of Wilson and the Wilson Family YMCA coordinated to teach swimming skills to more than 2,200 second graders from 2018-20. Lessons were offered in a combined spring-summer schedule as well as in fall and winter. Due to staffing issues, swimming lessons did not.Įllison said she’s faced a shortage of lifeguards for city pools this year because certification classes weren’t offered during the pandemic.īetween 900 and 1,000 people ages 4 to adult took the city’s swimming lessons each year, Ellison said. Some programs have returned since the pools reopened in the spring. Jonson Ellison, aquatics supervisor for Wilson Parks and Recreation, said the Wilson Recreation Center and Reid Street Community Center pools were closed in March 2020 in response to the pandemic. That leaves local swim instructors concerned about kids and water safety. For the second summer, the city hasn’t offered swim lessons at its two pools, and last winter, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Wilson County Schools second graders from having lessons.
Wilson youngsters haven’t had as many opportunities to learn how to swim since the summer of 2019.