City Offers Low-Cost Water Safety Courses to Santa Barbara Residents

Santa Barbara is soon to be returning to its sunny California self — and with our gorgeous beaches and local pools, the City of Santa Barbara is committed to keeping children safe this upcoming season. This May, for National Water Safety Month, the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department is providing low-cost water safety programs for youth residents starting in June. The program is available to children ages six months to 17 years and aims to teach water safety practices such as basic swimming skills, ocean safety, and how to respond in an emergency. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14. The city aims to combat these statistics with proper water education through a series of affordable swim lessons, junior lifeguard training, and lifeguard certifications at Los Baños del Mar and Ortega Park Pool. 

“Water safety is a top priority for us, and we want to ensure kids in our community have the knowledge and skills to stay safe in and around water,” said Tony Sholl, Aquatics Supervisor for the City of Santa Barbara. “Knowing how to swim is a critical life skill that everyone should be able to learn, not just those who can afford it. Being able to safely and confidently enjoy our ocean opens up the world for kids.”

For swim lessons, residents can register for a session of eight 30-minute lessons for $50, roughly $6 per lesson, which includes a summer swim pass good for one adult and two children to enjoy recreation swim at Los Baños del Mar for free. Families who cannot afford the fee can qualify for swim lesson scholarships funded by the PARC Foundation. A successful fundraiser has made 135 swimsuits available so children can enjoy their lesson in safe and comfortable gear. 

Beyond the pool, more than half of fatal and nonfatal drownings for ages 15 and above are in natural bodies of water. Children and teens aged 7 to 17 who already know how to swim are encouraged to register for the multi-week Junior Lifeguards program to learn ocean safety through daily workouts, emergency response training, first aid, and surf lifesaving, which significantly reduces an individual’s risk of drowning while teaching them to save others.

The Junior Lifeguards program runs from Monday through Friday for all eight weeks of summer for $550, approximately $14 per day, or a single two-week session for $250. Scholarships with the PARC Foundation are distributed through SBPAL’s Campership Alliance program. 

While children are at higher risk, anyone can drown. According to the CDC, there is an estimate of 11 drownings per day in the United States. To increase the number of community members with essential life-saving skills, a second lifeguard certification course is being offered over Memorial Day weekend by the Parks and Recreation Department. A typical course costs around $200, but residents can participate for $50. 

Those who complete the course will leave with American Red Cross certifications in lifeguarding, CPR, AED, and first aid, equipped to respond in the event of a water emergency. A third reduced-cost course may be added later this year if community demand for the training remains high. 

Registration is now open for all water safety programs at SBParksAndRec.org. Families interested in scholarship opportunities must create their own online accounts before reaching out to Aquatics@SantaBarbaraCA.gov. 

Those interested in supporting water safety programming scholarships can donate to the PARC Foundation and indicate “Aquatics” as the designation for their donation.