By Cayman Compass contributor Alex Dakers
The Cayman Islands has been hailed as a model in improving water safety for nations across the globe after a local programme, Swim Free, was featured at last month’s World Convention on Drowning Prevention.
Taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the three-day conference attracted more than 400 attendees – including dignitaries from the World Health Organization – with the shared goal of tackling an issue that leads to hundreds of thousands of deaths annually.
Swim Free head coach Jeff Wiseman, who was invited to deliver a keynote presentation at the convention on 23 Nov., described addressing an audience of global experts and advocates for the first time as “both humbling and exhilarating”.
“I felt the weight of representing not just Swim Free, but the Cayman Islands’ commitment to water safety,” he told the Compass. “It was an incredible opportunity to share our vision and showcase how a small island nation can lead with innovation and collaboration.”
Drowning disproportionately affects young children, and addressing that oft-preventable problem is the main purpose of Swim Free, a programme offering swimming lessons to local government school students in reception through Year 2 – at no cost to their parents.
Funded by community sponsors including the Flowers Group, the Foster’s Group and DMS, the initiative is also backed by a government mandate that water safety is a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum.
Frank E. Flowers Jr., a founding partner of the programme, said Wiseman’s speech was one of the most celebrated moments at last month’s event.
“It reinforced the importance of aquatic literacy as a national priority and positioned the Cayman Islands as a leader in water safety innovation,” said the filmmaker, adding that the convention “opened doors for collaboration with international experts” and validated Swim Free’s approach as a model for other nations.
Wiseman continued: “Hearing strategies from other countries reinforced that our mobile pool concept and mandatory swim curriculum are not just innovative, they’re essential.”
Swimming lessons save lives
A National Institutes of Health study showed that organised swimming lessons – like those Swim Free provides by taking its mobile pool to primary schools – can reduce the likelihood of drowning in young children by 88%.
Globally, the World Health Organization estimates broader implementation of basic swimming instruction in schools could help prevent an estimated 774,000 drowning deaths by 2050.
Since its inception in 2023, Swim Free has taught critical survival swimming skills to around 2,500 children in Cayman, including tailored lessons for students at the Lighthouse School, Flowers said.
Beyond simple water safety, several dozen Swim Free ‘graduates’ are invited to participate in the Flowers Sea Swim each year.
Meanwhile, Wiseman said some particularly talented children have begun receiving sponsored memberships with local team Camana Bay Aquatic Club.
However, Swim Free’s core mission remains creating a country that feels safe and empowered around water, Wiseman said, adding that Swim Free plans to expand its scope to include Year 3 students in addition to strengthening its offerings for neurodivergent children.
Flowers also hopes to address the needs of adults in Cayman who have not yet learned to swim through another initiative.
To do all of this, however, Swim Free needs to build a second mobile pool.
“With an additional pool, we could significantly enhance our programme, extending our current offering from 10 lessons of 25 minutes to 10 lessons of 45 minutes,” Flowers said. “Right now, it takes the entire school calendar year to complete the existing programme, but a second pool would allow us to deliver more comprehensive lessons, ensuring every child gets the life-saving skills they need.”
Alex Dakers is a London-based journalist who was born and raised in the Cayman Islands.
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With so much bad news making the headlines, it is a wonderful breath of exhilarating fresh air to read about the Swim Free programme. My hope is that it can be beefed up to include giving swimming lessons to caregivers and babysitters, so that we add to the protection of little children by arming those who are entrusted to watch over them.