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EBB TIDE BIMINI KIDS SWIM TEAM PROGRAM

BIMINI, BAHAMAS – Josh and Bonnie Waitzkin initiated the Ebb Tide Swim Safe program after discovering that so many Bahamian children don’t swim. On the Island of Bimini, and throughout the Bahamas, mothers teach their children to fear sharks and barracuda and to avoid the clear turquoise water that surrounds this tiny island. The beaches and reefs that are a playground for tourists are the walls of a prison for Island children, especially girls, who never learn to swim and dive.

The summer swim classes were initiated to penetrate this culture of fear and expand the world for Island children to include the sea and its abundant resources of coral, shellfish, fish and ocean mammals, as well as to offer Island boys and girls the opportunity for athletic training, to learn competency, to overcome fear of their environment, and to open new employment possibilities. In the Bahamas, a swimmer can feed the family conch, lobster and fish, guide tourists, maintain boats, as well as stay physically fit and enjoy the beautiful reefs that are their backyard.

The program began with a four week summer session supervised by James Rolle, an island elder, who was hired to oversee the integration of The Art of Learning principles and the overall development of the program. In it’s third summer the program expanded to span 8 weeks. The children learn about water safety, proper equipment use and care, treading water, proper kicking and arm strokes, underwater swimming, and most important, building a trusting relationship between themselves and the ocean.

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Through the principles of Value Process Before Results, Investment in Loss, Beginner’s Mind, and Using Adversity, the children will not only learn to be comfortable in the water, but will develop greater self-esteem and feel inspired in other areas of their lives.

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