Swimming, which is defined as self propelled movement through water has over the years grown to be one of the major human activities.
People swim for a variety of reasons.
There are for instance those who undertake swimming for recreation, and going by the number of mentions swimming warrants in people's hobby lists, it is clearly a popular hobby all over the world. In the past, the occurrence of swimming as a hobby tended to be limited to people living near large water bodies, for instance lakes and oceans. And while this is still a major trend, we are seeing more and more people living far from lakes, oceans and other large water bodies mentioning swimming as their major hobby, thanks mainly to the emergence of inland swimming pools, which are nowadays considered almost a standard and essential fixture in high-end homes and recreation clubs.
Then there are those who swim for occupational purposes, that is, people to whom swimming is a source of livelihood. This category includes those who are employed as swimming instructors in various swimming clubs as well as those employed as 'life-savers' in the same clubs. The number of people in this category is also huge and growing, considering that in many jurisdictions, every swimming club must have a lifesaver every time it is put to use. And in the same vein, many schools are offering swimming lessons to their students, calling for the employment of more and more swimming instructors. Apart from the instructors and 'lifesavers' another category of people getting their livelihood from swimming are the various professional athletes, whose lives revolve around competitive swimming.
While acknowledging that not everyone is inclined to undertake swimming as hobby or an occupational activity, it is considered prudent for everyone to make an effort to know at least the basics of how to swim - as it is an essential life skill. Going around without any knowledge of swimming (and especially when going around involves traveling in water vessels) means that the person doing so would be in a very bad predicament should, for instance, the vessel capsize.
Before engaging in swimming, it is important for one to be aware of some of its hazards, most of which arise out of the fact that man is not an amphibian being by nature. These hazards include the risk of drowning, the risk of infection by micro-organisms resident in the water one is to be swimming in and the risk of hitting unseen objects in the water. Therefore, it is essential to wear a proper swimming costume, swim caps and needful protection accessories, before you jump into the water. Yet these should not be a put-off to anyone keen on learning swimming, as they can all be avoided with proper precautions.
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