Swim Camps Resume at YMCA Day Camps with Pools

The Y of Greater Pittsburgh has announced that all swim activities at its 12 day camps with pools have resumed full operation. 

The swim programs were suspended after a 6-year-old almost drowned last month on a field trip from Carson Middle School to the Baierl Family YMCA. 

Following the incident, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare notified the YMCA of its decision to close the Carson Middle School Day Camp. 

The incident prompted the YMCA to review its safety and supervision practices at all of its summer day camps to ensure that all appropriate safety measures are being met.  

“The YMCA’s number one priority is safety for all of our members, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to the well-being of the children entrusted to our care,” said Rig Riggins, chief executive officer of the Y of Greater Pittsburgh.  “We are very glad that our lifeguards at the Baierl Y were well-trained and able to rescue the child in danger, but we felt that it was in the best interest of all the children in our day camps to suspend all of our swim activities so that we could review our practices, introduce new procedures and ensure all staff demonstrated competency.”  

The new system provides an additional layer of supervision that ensures every child swims with a counselor in an environment that supports their individual swimming ability, the Y said in a statement. 

The Y has also instituted a new wristband safety measure to further increase safety.  The color-coded wristbands clearly indicate each child’s swimming ability and their supervising counselor. Children will wear wristbands that denote their swimming skills: red for non-swimmers, yellow for middle-level swimmers and green for advanced swimmers.

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