World Aquatics Launches Innovative Discover Water Programme on World Drowning Prevention Day

The programme aims to provide young children around the world with the necessary education and skills to enjoy aquatics sports safely.

Today, on World Drowning Prevention Day, World Aquatics has launched its innovative Discover Water programme focused on promoting aquatic participation and water safety globally.

World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam officially launched Discover Water with top international athletes including Anthony Ervin and Pernille Blume at the municipal Piscine Gerard Durant in the Clichy commune of Paris. Symbolically, Clichy is just a short distance from the Paris 2024 Aquatics Centre, where the world’s best will be battling it out for Olympic glory.

Discover Water is particularly aimed at children aged 6 to 12, but its educational tools and learnings can serve to benefit individuals of all ages. To maximise the potential and the reach of the Discover Water programme, World Aquatics will adopt a collaborative approach with National Federations to execute activations.

Speaking at today’s launch event, President Husain Al-Musallam underlined World Aquatics’ role in promoting water safety around the world.

“World Aquatics and our 210 National Federations remain committed to working with the entire aquatics family to promote water safety and reduce the risk of drowning, and this initiative is just one of the many steps we are taking,” he said.

“For this programme to be sustainable and effective, it is so important to target young children aged from 6 to 12 to develop their aquatic literacy and equip them with key education and skills  to enjoy and experience the water.

“I am proud to be here on World Drowning Prevention Day to launch the Discover Water programme. Aquatics should bring joy to people and enrich their lives, and we are confident that this programme will give more people the confidence to safely engage in aquatics.”

Working with its partners, World Aquatics has developed a toolkit including a Guidebook and Playbook. The toolkit is designed to provide educators and coaches with the resources needed to effectively implement the programme and promote holistic development in aquatic education.

The Guidebook presents the overall concept and educational approach of the programme and provides recommendations on the implementation of Discover Water initiatives at a local level. The Playbook recommends activities developed by practitioners around the world, and includes advice and examples on assessment, checklists and guidance on creating curriculums and evaluating successes.

The launch event was held jointly with the Fédération Française de Natation (FFN), celebrating its drowning prevention initiative 1,2,3 Nagez while the spotlight is on France for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Earlier in the day, World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam also attended the United by Sports Forum organised by Sport dans la Ville and Global Sports Week Paris and highlighted the occasion of World Drowning Prevention Day and the importance of water safety initiatives.

Developing Discover Water

The launch of Discover Water follows research and extensive consultations with World Aquatics’ experts and partners to develop a programme which capitalises on the aquatics community’s unique position to promote water safety.

This included a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of learn-to-swim programmes to gain a greater understanding of their concepts, ideas and content, and work from an expert group with representatives from all five continents.