How I Swam To Success

Email To a Friend 09 July 2009 I could recall swimming since I was about 2 years when my mother first threw me in the pool of our Manchester estate. My name is Sam and I love being in the water. As recreation, I would swim laps in the pool until sunset. My mother was a professional swimmer in her youth and has since created her own successful magazine dedicated to selling aquatic accessories. My parents enrolled me into the ELITE swimming club at Doncaster DARTES when I was 11 years old. I learned so much from the young ladies at the program and cherish my time there. I didn’t end up becoming a professional swimmer like my mother or the other girls at the club, but I did make tons of friends that I still keep in contact with.

After secondary school, I took a part-time job at the Scarborough Resort as a lifeguard which eventually led to a full-time position at the beach. I loved the water and couldn’t see myself being anywhere else. After three years as working at the beach, I noticed a young boy had disappeared about 20 feet off shore. As I had prepared to go after him, I knew he had gotten caught in a rip-tide.

As I went in after him, I almost lost my composure as I also became engulfed in this same rip-tide. Riptides are very dangerous, as the waves approaching shore meet with the water regressing from shore, creating an underwater current that engulfs you without being able to gain stability in the water. If it hadn’t been for my extensive training at the Doncaster club, I wouldn’t have had the expertise or the stamina to pull us both to shore. What a scary moment. Luckily, we both survived. After news of this incident spread amongst the staff at the resort, I was approached by facility management to become a manager and after 2 years, a Director of Aquatics at the resort.

I have definitely come into my own and absolutely love my job; Being in the water and saving lives in the process!

Sam, Doncaster.

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