Hurrah! Your child is about to get up for his diploma! After all that hard work, the time has finally come, your child is ready to swim with clothes on for the first time. But what clothing is actually suitable for diploma swimming? And which ones don’t at all? In this blog you can read all our tips about swimming with clothing.
T-shirt
At the first diploma, your child can still wear a short-sleeved t-shirt. You can choose to let your child swim in a long-sleeved shirt right away, but you can also just choose a short-sleeved shirt with diploma A to let your child get used to swimming with clothes.
With diplomas B and C, on the other hand, it is mandatory to wear a long-sleeved shirt.
For both types of shirts, it is better to choose a shirt that is a bit looser, but not too big. You can imagine that taking off a wet shirt is difficult enough, but that it certainly doesn’t get any easier if that shirt is very tight or much too big. A pajama shirt is a good example, and of course one without sequins or other crafts that can fall 😉 off in the pool
Trousers
Long pants are mandatory for all three diplomas. In the past, this was allowed to be shorts with diploma A, nowadays the requirement is really that it is long pants. These pants must have a closure and they may not be leggings, tights or sweatpants. Again, wet skinny jeans are impossible to get off, so looser pants would be ideal.
Shoes
It is important when choosing shoes that the shoes are closed at the front, side and back. The shoe must also have a hard sole. For example, you can use clean sneakers for this, but a water shoe is also allowed. Make sure that the closure is not too difficult, it is the intention that your child can put on and take off the shoe himself.
Coat
With diploma C, the children also have to wear a coat. This can be a jacket or a raincoat, preferably one without a hood. Well, there are not many raincoats without a hood to be found, so you can choose to cut it off or roll it up and fold it inwards, so that at least no water runs into it while swimming.
Prepare your child
And finally, prepare your child when he goes swimming with clothes on for the first time. Of course, it swims much harder with wet clothes on and it will therefore take your child much more effort to stay upstairs. Explain this before the lesson starts, or even better, “practice” with clothes in the bath or shower, so that your child does not sink to the bottom the first time😉