Why We Need to Bring Swimming to the Public

Out of 10.7 million pools in the US only around 2.89 percent of them are public. Whilst I have been lucky enough to swim competitively with my school, many are currently unable to because they don’t have a public swim team or even a pool. It’s important to help public schools find themselves a pool, and to fund other non-scholastic free-to-join swim teams, because of the benefits it can offer. Learning how to swim is the primary reason why some people join swim teams but there is so much more than that. From its physical rigorousness, its building of life skills, and the construction of community, joining a swim team is very beneficial. This is especially evident in this era of social isolation and diving into electronics, as swim teams are a way to forge real connections with others and improve your mental health. Unfortunately, people in underserved communities are often unable to learn how to swim because of a lack of access.

The benefits of swimming are present no matter your age or level of fitness, and this is why it should be made more accessible. Swimming is a very efficient sport. Doing many different strokes during practice allows people to exercise almost all their major muscle groups. These sorts of exercises allow anyone to get in a full body workout almost every day. Secondly, when swimming the body’s joints are under way less stress than when doing any other land sport. Swimming not only reduces the chance of injury but also can help with pre-existing conditions such as arthritis. Another positive effect swimming has is that it greatly improves your cardiovascular health. The sport teaches your body to better use the oxygen it has; this exercises the heart and trains your muscles to be more efficient. Swimming can also boost your mental health. Repetitive exercises like lap swimming have been proven to reduce stress. This is very relevant for everyone today as stress-filled lives have caused record levels of anxiety. Some disabilities make it particularly hard to do any sport. For these people it could be very beneficial to swim as it’s been shown the advantages of swimming may be accentuated for those who have a physical disability. Funding more communal pools and opening more swimming spaces up to the public can be especially efficient ways to increase accessibility to swimming. Obesity rates have been decreasing over the past couple of years with the introduction of various weight loss drugs. We should encourage this trend by allowing more people to access pools that could greatly help people of all backgrounds and abilities. However, the sport isn’t just isolated to staying healthy.

Joining a swim team encourages you to form good habits. This is a benefit that is truly universal no matter the background. In a time where we are easily distracted by the world around us, swimming encourages you to stay grounded in your goals and keep on working to achieve them. To improve at swimming you are forced to slow down and reflect on how to improve; an essential skill in life that we are losing in this information age. Next you also improve other executive functioning skills such as time management. As a student, learning how to balance school and swimming can help improve your ability to prioritize, and schedule. Finally swimming keeps you anchored to a routine. Staying rooted in consistent practices and routine training helps people stay more relaxed as well as making them happier. Overall joining a swim team, especially as a student, can help you stay focused despite distractions and teaches you many essential life skills. These lessons are really helpful in life and are another reason why people need to push for more public pools and teams. 

Finally joining a swim team helps you build your own community and friend group. In a period of unprecedented loneliness joining a swim team will help you make real connections with those around you. A lack of these relationships can be truly isolating and can lead to depression. Through communal work and exercise you strengthen the bonds you have with those around you. These are only accentuated by the communication skills you build as you talk with others in the team. As a member of a team you learn to support and help others during and outside of practice. Swimming can help forge various positive relations, and I personally have benefited from forming these bonds with my teammates. 

It’s important to keep on pushing to make the pros of swimming available for everyone. Programs like “Every Child a Swimmer” already push for such goals in the US, but as of July 2026 only 8 states have signed the act. As citizens we should push to make the beneficial sport accessible by pushing the Massachusetts state legislature to sign this act.