In a country of a hundred thousand lakes, it may surprise you to find out that 32 percent of Finnish adults cannot swim. But one swimming instructor tells Yle that despite the shame some grown-ups feel about taking swimming lessons, almost every person to take the plunge soon takes to it like a duck in water.
Ismo Kalevo, the City of Seinäjoki physical education and swimming instructor, is an old hand at teaching swimming to adults. The basics are exactly the same as with young children learning the same thing: you start out by familiarising yourself with the water.
“Some warm water and a shallow teaching pool, that’s where we start off,” Kalevo says.
The Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation defines the ability to swim as being able to swim 200 metres after hitting the water, of which 50 metres are covered by swimming the back crawl. (more)
Read he whole story: http://yle.fi/uutiset/one_in_three_finns_cannot_swim/7392904
Source: YLE