SCDNR’s basic aquatic competency swim lesson initiative building safer futures for all South Carolinians
By Tom Mullikin
Swimming lessons that many of us grew up with are not something that all families have always had access to, and if the parents themselves haven’t learned to swim – and many have not – the problem of water proficiency sometimes becomes a generational issue.
Teaching every child Basic Aquatic Competency including floating, breathing, and calm is not merely learning a sport. It is providing that child with a lifesaving skill, a measure of confidence that he or she perhaps did not have prior to any level of water survival instruction, and it is helping guarantee a safer future around South Carolina’s waters for all.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) takes child water safety very seriously.
Drowning is a preventable public health crisis, and it is one of the leading causes of unintentional deaths among children in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning deaths have increased in recent years, with children ages one-to-four experiencing the highest rates of fatal drowning.
Formal basic aquatic instruction remains one of the most effective interventions available to reduce drowning risk. Peer-reviewed research published in pediatrics determined that participation in formal swimming lessons with basic aquatic competency including floating, breathing, and calm is associated with an 88-percent reduction in drowning risk among children ages one-to-four.
The need for basic aquatic instruction education is especially urgent in historically underserved communities. CDC data reveal significant racial disparities in drowning deaths. African American children ages 10-14 drown in swimming pools at rates 7.6 times higher than their White peers.
For generations, barriers to aquatic access, including segregation, limited access to pools, lack of swim instruction, and economic constraints, have contributed to lower swimming proficiency in many African American communities. National survey data show that more than one-third of Black adults report they do not know how to swim, compared to 15-percent of the overall U.S. adult population. Nearly two-thirds of Black adults report never having received formal basic aquatic competency lessons.
SCDNR’s Swim Lesson Initiative seeks to address these disparities by expanding access to affordable and culturally inclusive basic aquatic competency instruction and water safety education across South Carolina. By partnering with schools, community organizations, aquatic facilities, and local governments, SCDNR aims to provide life-saving swimming skills to children and families who might otherwise lack access.
The initiative recognizes that learning basic aquatic competency including floating, breathing, and calm in order to swim is not merely a recreational activity: It is a critical life skill that improves safety, promotes health, increases confidence, and expands opportunities for outdoor recreation and engagement with South Carolina’s abundant water resources.
The SCDNR Swim Lesson Initiative will:
1. Reduce childhood drowning risk through evidence-based swim instruction.
2. Increase water competency among underserved populations.
3. Address longstanding racial disparities in drowning fatalities.
4. Promote lifelong participation in healthy outdoor recreation.
5. Strengthen community awareness of water safety and drowning prevention.
Every child deserves the opportunity to learn a skill that can save his or her life. Through the Swim Lesson Initiative, we here at SCDNR are advancing public safety, promoting equity, and fostering a culture of water competency across the Palmetto State. By investing in basic aquatic competency education today, we can reduce preventable drownings, save lives, and ensure that all citizens can safely enjoy the state’s rivers, lakes, beaches, and waterways for generations to come.
– An accomplished swimmer and SCUBA-diving instructor, Dr. Tom Mullikin is the director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. An acclaimed global expedition leader, attorney, documentary film producer, former U.S. Army officer and retired commanding general of the S.C. State Guard, Mullikin served as the founding chair of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission. He has led the 1,100-plus S.C. Department of Natural Resources since early February 2025.
