Why we wear swimming hats

We would like to remind all customers that from the start of this term, all children over the age of 3 years are required to wear a swimming hat to their lessons. This has been a decision long in the making. On the content, you cannot swim in a public pool without a swimming hat and goggles. This has contributed to them having some of the most hygienic swimming pools in the world. I’ve had lots of questions from parents asking “ why have Neptune decided this” so here is a quick low down on the Pro’s of wearing a swimming hat:

Stinging eyes - Everyone knows how this feels, the intense itchy/burning sensation associated with learning to swim. Many parents tell their children “ Oh it means there is too much chlorine in the water, that's why it huts”. This is, in fact, a myth. Here comes the science lesson - The water stings children's eyes due a bi-product of chlorine reacting with contaminants within the water. These are everyday things like sunscreen, moisturiser, conditioner ect ect. Therefore, by all our children wearing swimming hats within the water it reduces the amount of contamination from loose hair ect - making our water cleaner and less “stingy”. All children have the option to wear goggles, our teachers do not - so if your eyes hurt, ours do too!! We hope by reducing contamination in the water we will be able to improve its quality.

Stop, Stand up, Brush Hair, Swim - Our swimming teachers face a daily battle with this very sequence. Children who have long hair often tend to stop, stand up, brush the hair from their face and carry on swimming. This is far from a productive way to learn to swim. Even long hair that is properly pinned back will still work loose in the water. If children are wearing a swimming hat, they will have a more productive experience as they won't spend lots of time stopping to move their hair - therefore more swimming.

It's all about speed! - If you have ever watched competitive swimming on TV, you will notice that every single swimmer wears a hat - no exceptions - But did you know most of them wear 2?? The bottom one to hold in their hair, then the top one to secure their goggles. Now we aren't asking every swimmer to do this but wearing a swim hat, especially for Jellyfish and Dolphin swimmers will increase their streamlining and speed as they travel through the water. If anyone has ever swum with, or watched Steph teach her older classes, she often refers to children as Formula 1 Cars - The more streamlined they are, the more effectively they move through the water. You will also have heard her token phrase - “IT'S ALL ABOUT SPEED GUYS! “

We try to impart on our children from early years how to make correct choices - manners, eating healthy and being kind to others. So we want to impart good habits on our swimmers from the early years. This way as swimmers progress through their learn to swim journey, wearing a hat in the water is just the same as wearing a coat to school on a cold day. They won't think twice about it. All our new swimmers are being issued with swimming hats once they join the swim school, so for these children, it will be normal from the start of their journey. For our current swimmers this transition may take a little more time. Don't forget there are many different types of swimming hats on the market for your children and we will be able to help you find one that best suits them.