Safety in the surf is the real goal of a very large number of parents. The outdoor water environment is inherently a tremendously less predictable and more treacherous water environment. Ranging from extreme changes in temperature, ever-changing footing,
water movements that cannot be seen or known in advance to water movement that is
ever present but more dangerous than we tend to give it credit for. Rapids in rivers,
waves onto the shore, riptides in the ocean from the beach out to sea and waves in the
lakes are a constantly changing reality that we need to be aware of and plan for.
Continued confidence through skill development and planning are the road to safety
here. The skill that is the cornerstone to these common risks is speed. Speed in a
swim is the only way to keep control in getting out of a riptide. Speed is the best way to
overcome being to far from solid ground. Speed is the way to discover the skills that
allow you to bide your time efficiently.
Safe in the surf teaches that freestyle swim and then the vertical treading of water so between the two you can pick a place too swim too and effectively swim there. Along the way we maintain the same confidence level that we created in the safe in the pool program. In addition a safety stroke is taught to connect the SITP technique to the freestyle stroke. It acts as a way to create an easy long distance swim that is as slow or as fast as the student needs it to be. SITS is taught in a pool, its application is in the surf but the surf is not a proper teaching environment.