Summer Water Safety

Vickie Kourtelis, Rye Y Aquatics Director


Now that we have officially entered the summer here are a few tips to promote safety in the water whether it’s at the Y, an outdoor pool, or even the beach!

•Never let a child swim in the water completely unattended. If you aren’t in the pool with them please stay near them and actively supervise on land while they are swimming. Always try to have an adult accompany them in the water as at any given moment something can happen and they might need assistance.

•Communication between adults supervising the pool area is key! If you are going to be walking away from the water for a quick second communicate that with other adults so that somebody is supervising the children in the water

•Be cautious of surrounding swimmers! If in a panic, a distressed swimmer can latch on to surrounding swimmers for safety. Be careful of situations like these as children are sometimes not strong enough to help themselves under those circumstances.

 •Go over emergency procedures with the children (while in the car driving to the water, eating a snack, applying sunscreen, right before entering the water, etc.)

-If they are tired when swimming they can roll on their back and float OR swim to the closest wall to grab on.

-Treading water is a survival skill that they can use in case of an emergency.

-In case of an emergency don’t hesitate to scream for help loud enough to get the lifeguards attention. I suggest practicing this at home with the kids a few times. Go to a different room in the house and have them scream for help as loud as they can. Let them know if they are loud enough or whether they should be louder.

 •Practice makes perfect!!! Set aside 10 minutes every other day to do a mini lesson or just a couple of times during the week. Children like to PLAY in outdoor pools, not practice their freestyle, backstroke, etc. If you stay committed to the learning process through out the summer then they will improve a great deal.

•ALWAYS wear sunscreen and keep hydrated through out the summer.

•If you are at a private pool party make sure that there is a lifeguard on deck or that you are supervising right next to the pool.

•If at a pool with a diving board make sure to stress to the kids that they can’t jump until the person that jumped before them is at the wall and that there is nobody in their way.

•Practice swimming without goggles for a little bit each day so that they are comfortable swimming without them if there should be an incident when they fall in the water.


Please note that these are only a few tips to promote water safety in the next few months. For more tips or any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at Vickie@ryeyymca.org! Enjoy the summer!
 

We are Spartans

Ed Philipp, Rye Y Chief Operating Officer

A while back I wrote a blog post about staying motivated to lead a healthy lifestyle. One of the things that I mentioned was that I liked to appeal to my competitive nature to keep me motivated and that I was going to compete in the Spartan Race (www.spartanrace.com) on June 4th. I am happy to say that I trained hard and was one of the 73% of participants that completed the race. I am also happy to say that I was part of a team made up of mostly Rye Y staff that competed that day. While it was an extremely difficult race, all of us finished, albeit with cuts, bruises and covered in mud.

The race was billed as a 3.1 mile race with 10-12 military style obstacles that 99.9% of those that start finish, with the fastest time around 30 minutes. In my mind it was going to be like a 5k with mud and monkey bars. I figured if normally the winner of a 5K finishes in 17 min. and I can do it in 30 min, I should be able to finish this race in about 50 min. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The first thing I noticed when we arrived at Tuxedo Ridge Ski Area was that we weren’t going to be racing on the flat sections of the Ski Area, but rather on the mountain itself. I should have known that we would be running up and down the mountain, after all the race was at a Ski Area, it just never sunk in until I actually saw the course with my own eyes.

The race began at the base of the mountain which we were to run straight up. Half way up we were sprayed with water and had to jump over fire, the race was on. It was at this point I realized that there was no way I was going to last very long if I continued to run, so the race quickly became a brisk hike. Since most of the race was over rocks/boulders, up steep inclines and down equally steep declines, it would have been very easy to get hurt if I became too careless.

For the most part the obstacles were the “fun” part of the race; some of them were relatively easy such as the monkey bars, cargo net, 8 foot wall, inclined soapy wall, and tire carry. Others were difficult such as the balance walk, rock wall traverse and the spear throw. I failed on all 3 of these and my punishment was 30 burpees for each obstacle. As I said, for the most part the obstacles were fun; however, there were some downright insane obstacles.

The first insane obstacle was the 5 gallon bucket carry. We had to fill our standard orange Home Depot bucket ¾ full with gravel and carry it up the mountain about 200 yards and then back down. The bucket weighed about 25 lbs. filled and was awkward to carry. I actually had to stop a few times on the way up and down to rest; this is not something I readily want to do again. (I was amazed to learn at the finish that one of my teammates, Kaleena Ladeairous, carried two buckets in order to help out a teammate.) The next insane obstacle was the barbed wire mud crawl. Keep in mind that the website for the race said this was going to be 40 yards long, in reality it was 400 meters long and up the mountain. It must have taken me 20-30 mins to complete and I was completely covered in mud. At one point my sunscreen combined with sweat and got in my eyes, I was in such pain I couldn’t open my eyes and I surely couldn’t wipe them due to all the mud on my hands/arms. Thank goodness there was water being sprayed on us at that point and eventually I could open my eyes and see again. The final insane obstacle was the barbed wire ice crawl. You would think after going up and down a mountain on a warm June day that you would welcome the opportunity to crawl around in some ice, and I did. I was wrong though, by the time I finished the 40 foot crawl I was in pain from the cold. The good news was the finish line was near.

After another jump through fire, the only thing between me and the finish line were 3 “Spartans” armed with pugil sticks. I made it through all 3 without getting knocked over and finished…in 1 hour and 33 minutes. My teammates were close behind and I was able to cheer them on as they finished. What a sense of accomplishment we all had as we talked after the race (and that was before we realized only 73% of the racers finished the race and not the advertised 99%). I think all of us said the race was the hardest thing we had ever done, some on the team had run full and half marathons, and we vowed we would never do this again.
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Summer can be a learning opportunity

Next week YMCAs across the country are challenging kids and parents to stay academically sharp over the summer by celebrating Summer Learning Day on June 21. Many students lose more than two months of learning over the summer. Summer learning loss has the potential to be an enormous obstacle for kids when the school year begins next fall.

Here are a few resources suggested by www.summerlearning.org to make learning a part of your summer routine.

Visit your local library.  Libraries often sponsor reading activities during the summer and librarians can suggest grade level books that will interest your child. 

Take educational trips.  Several Westchester County libraries, including the Rye Free Reading Room, offer free museum passes to museums like the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and the American Museum of Natural History.

Get outside and play.  Physical activity and exercise contribute to healthy development.

Keep a schedule. It makes sense to continue daily routines during the summer and to continue to provide structure and limits. The key is providing a balance and keeping kids engaged.

Prepare for fall.  Find out what your child will be learning during the next school year by talking with teachers at that grade level.  Preview concepts and materials over the summer.

Do good deeds. Students learn better and “act out” less when they engage in activities that aid in their socialemotional development, such as community service.

There are also several websites filled with activities and ideas for summer learning.  Here are just two:

The Family Education website has reading lists, science, math and arts activites for ages preschool through middle school.

http://school.familyeducation.com/summer/family-learning/36089.html

The Thinkfinity website is another resource with educational games and activities.

http://www.thinkfinity.org/summer-fun-activities

What are some of the summer learning activities that you enjoy with your family?

Happy Birthday YMCA!

167 years ago the Y was founded!


The Y’s contributions—both past and current—are far-reaching as evidenced by these highlights on the Y’s timeline.

Y housing began in the 1860s. By 1940, rooms exceeded 100,000, more than any hotel chain. Andy Rooney, Dan Rather, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jack Kerouac stayed at the Y.

In 1881, Boston Y staffer Robert Roberts coined “body building” and developed exercise classes. 

Camping became a cornerstone in 1885 when the Y started Camp Dudley, America’s first known summer camp program, at Orange Lake, N.Y.

In the 1890s, Y instructor William Morgan merged basketball, tennis and handball. In 1896, his invention became known as volleyball.

In 1891, James Naismith hung peach baskets to the bottom of a second-level running track and taught men his new game: basketball. It’s second only to soccer in popularity.

In 1893, evening classes began at the Boston Y. By 1950, Ys operated 20 colleges, many of which became institutions of higher learning.

In 1909, George Corsan arrived at the Detroit Y to teach swimming using radical methods: group lessons and confidence-building land lessons. He taught 800 boys to swim in four weeks.

In 1910, 25 Ys for African Americans were built in 23 cities. They included clean, safe rooms and eating facilities, which were a boon to black travelers in a segregated era.

During WWI, the Y operated 1,500 canteens, set up 4,000 recreation and religious huts and raised more than $235 million—equivalent to $4.3 billion today—for relief work.

During WWII, the Y and five other organizations founded the USO.

In 1950, Y volunteer Joe Sobek invented racquetball. Like previous Y inventors, Sobek was not paid; he bestowed his invention as a gift to all who play the game today.

Many Ys became rallying points for Civil Rights. In 1967, Ys banned racial discrimination.

In 1991, Y-USA formed the Public Policy Office in the nation’s capital. It champions the Y mission with lawmakers, and helps Ys advocate for kids, families and communities.
 
In 1992, Ys held the first Healthy Kids Day, the nation’s largest free health day for kids and families. An annual April event, it underscores play in keeping kids healthy and happy.

In 1998, Y-USA established the arts as a national program, spotlighting their importance to imagination, critical thinking, communication and social skills.

In the 1990s, baby boomers with families became prominent members. Ys created programs like family swim and fun night; providing positive opportunities to play and interact.

The Y responded to Sept. 11, the Pacific Rim tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake through rebuilding programs that rekindled hope, especially among youth.

In 2004, before a U.S. Senate hearing, Y-USA launched Activate America, beginning a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Activate America is helping millions of people in more than 150 Y communities make healthy choices.

In 2008, the Armed Services YMCA and Y-USA partnered with the Department of Defense in the YMCA Military Outreach Initiative, which funds memberships for families facing deployment. 

Positioning the Y as a partner in preventing disease and childhood obesity, Y-USA garners the support of public officials. In 2010, First Lady Obama launched her “Let’s Move” campaign at a Y. 

In 2010, the Y revitalized its brand and began officially referring to itself by its most familiar name—the Y—for the first time.