Malcolm Cooper speaks to swimmers Saturday during a youth meet at Kihei Aquatics Center. The Hawaii Aquatics Foundation has launched the Keiki Water Safety Initiative, a pilot program teaching 2nd-graders how to swim at no cost to schools or students. Cooper runs the foundation’s Maui program and began teaching students at Pukalani Elementary School last month. The Maui News / CHRIS SUGIDONO photoLongtime Maui swim coach Malcolm Cooper recalls rescuing five to 10 people from drowning over the years after their leash broke and they could not reach their board because they did not know how to swim.“I went out windsurfing in Kanaha and this guy was 5 yards from his board and he couldn’t get to it,” the Pukalani resident said Sunday. “I said, ‘Here take mine’ and I swam to his board to get it back for him.”Encountering residents — even surfers — who are unable to swim is not unusual for Cooper, despite living on an island surrounded by water. That is why he and several others have launched a statewide initiative to teach the next generation of residents the basics of swimming.“The idea is that everyone in the state should have some water safety knowledge and learn how to swim,” he said. Read More…
Malcolm Cooper speaks to swimmers Saturday during a youth meet at Kihei Aquatics Center. The Hawaii Aquatics Foundation has launched the Keiki Water Safety Initiative, a pilot program teaching 2nd-graders how to swim at no cost to schools or students. Cooper runs the foundation’s Maui program and began teaching students at Pukalani Elementary School last month. The Maui News / CHRIS SUGIDONO photoLongtime Maui swim coach Malcolm Cooper recalls rescuing five to 10 people from drowning over the years after their leash broke and they could not reach their board because they did not know how to swim.“I went out windsurfing in Kanaha and this guy was 5 yards from his board and he couldn’t get to it,” the Pukalani resident said Sunday. “I said, ‘Here take mine’ and I swam to his board to get it back for him.”Encountering residents — even surfers — who are unable to swim is not unusual for Cooper, despite living on an island surrounded by water. That is why he and several others have launched a statewide initiative to teach the next generation of residents the basics of swimming.“The idea is that everyone in the state should have some water safety knowledge and learn how to swim,” he said. Read More…
