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Learning to swim in Thuringia: Is the crowd too big for the courses?
Swimming courses in Weimarer Land are in high demand after the pandemic. Where are there still places available and what are the challenges?
Learning to swim in Thuringia: Is the crowd too big for the courses?
Swimming lessons for children are booming in the region, especially after the backlog left by the corona pandemic. In Thuringia in particular, people are working hard to make learning to swim an integral part of childhood again. Loud MDR Registrations for swimming courses have reached a new record in many cities. The swimming courses are busy, but there are still free spaces that parents can use.
In the Galaxsea leisure pool, popular with little water lovers, up to 32 different children's courses took place per week in 2022, with over 320 enthusiastic participants. Also in 2024, a remarkable 707 children were trained in seahorse courses, plus 245 kindergarten children. The expectation for 2025 remains optimistic, with utilization levels similarly high as in previous years.
Courses throughout the region
In Leinefelde (Eichsfeld), for example, the courses in the Leine-Bad are currently fully booked, while courses in the Vitalpark-Therme in Heilbad Heiligenstadt are also experiencing a high level of interest. Parents enjoy this because they can register their children online ten weeks before the course starts. The Nordhausen bathhouse offers additional swimming courses during the holidays, but many places were quickly filled and waiting lists had to be set up.
The demand for swimming courses is enormous, especially in the south of Thuringia. There are still a few places available in the summer swimming courses in the “Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn” outdoor pool in Zella-Mehlis, as pool manager Thomas Thimet reported. The time gained by the water helps the children learn to swim in a playful way. The water rescue service in the Schönbrunn outdoor pool is also active and offers two summer courses, which were also quickly booked up.
Not just a local phenomenon
The situation does not only apply to Thuringia. In Bavaria, for example, there are similar challenges. One example is six-year-old Moritz from Augsburg, who had to wait over a year for a place in a swimming course with his brother Franz. The courses are offered at the DLRG Augsburg, and the two boys are happy that they can frolic in the water with their flying foxes. The overall rush can also be seen in the swimming badges: in 2022, a total of 12,800 swimming badges were awarded in Bavaria, which represents a significant increase compared to 2018 BR.
An interesting development in the nationwide context is the increasing number of swimming badges issued. In 2023 there were 94,784 issues, 20% more than the year before and the best result in the last five years. The increase in bronze badges is particularly noticeable. ZDF reports that 44,755 children received the bronze badge, and even gold and silver awards saw an increase.
The DLRG emphasizes that despite the increased number of badges, the number of swimmers has not increased, which is a concrete sign of how important it is to promote swimming lessons. The increased registrations are seen as a catch-up effect of the pandemic, which, however, must also be given enough space in the future so that all children can learn to swim safely.