These are the exact skills tested by the team from the Institute of Sports Science at Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF), in collaboration with the German Sport University Cologne, as part of the Europe-wide Swim Check 2024.

Nele Schlapkohl and Sarah Schmidt aim to optimize swim training to sustainably improve children’s swimming skills.

The Swim Check is part of the international research project "Aquatic Literacy For All Children". Its goal is to investigate differences in swimming education across European countries and to understand how they impact children's swimming skills. Through this pan-European analysis, the initiative aims to identify successful swimming education models that can be applied to other countries, ultimately making training more effective. "By examining how differences in swimming education affect swimming abilities, we can identify best practice examples," explains Dr. Nele Schlapkohl, the project leader at Europa-Universität Flensburg. In Portugal, for instance, swimming instruction is organized through public sports programs rather than schools, as is the case in Germany. Whether this is a better solution will ultimately be revealed by the data, which is still being collected. "Based on the data we’re now gathering across Europe, we can make swimming instruction more efficient and potentially adjust structures and funding, including in Germany," adds researcher Sarah Schmidt.

Across Europe, children aged 6 to 12 are being assessed on their swimming skills. In Flensburg, 13 school classes have already participated in the Swim Check. During three sessions, children of all swimming experience levels completed tasks such as jumping, floating, diving, and breathing, as well as navigating a special obstacle course while clothed. Sociodemographic data was also collected to gain insights into the children’s living environments.

In the long term, Dr. Schlapkohl and researcher Sarah Schmidt hope that optimizing swimming education will sustainably improve children’s swimming skills. "Fewer deaths from drowning is a key goal. But it’s also about enabling children to participate more actively in their world — whether through school trips to the pool or engaging in water sports," Schlapkohl added.

The Swim Check thus lays the foundation for improved, child-friendly swimming education across Europe, aimed not only at making children safer in the water but also at fostering a lifelong enthusiasm for water sports.

Contact
Dr. Nele Schlapkohl and Sarah Schmidt
Institute of Sports Science
Europa-Universität Flensburg
Auf dem Campus 1
24943 Flensburg
+49-(0)461-8052709
 schlapkohl-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de; sarah1.schmidt-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@studierende.uni-flensburg.de