"I'm very scared of the water" Over 700,000 adults can't swim - this is how they learn

In Switzerland, eight percent of the population cannot swim. If you want to learn, you need a lot of patience. It's not just about the right technique, but above all about feeling safe in the water.

Kajsa Bornhauser leans over to a course participant who is clinging to the edge of the pool, rests her forehead on her forehead and looks her in the eye. "You have done it! You swam! I'm so proud," she exclaims. The woman grabs the pool noodle with one hand and continues to cling to the edge with the other. She looks at Kajsa and laughs.

She is one of the eight percent of the adult Swiss population who, according to a survey conducted by the research institute gfs on behalf of the Swiss Life Saving Association SLRG in 2024, cannot swim. That's over 700,000 people.

And she is one of ten who want to change that, which is why she is taking a basic swimming course with swimming instructor Kajsa Bornhauser from Sportaktiv, a non-profit organization that aims to promote popular sports in Zurich.

Many of them have never learned to swim. Like Milos. He used to only go as far into the water as he could stand. Now he wants to learn because of his children. "So that I can react if something happens to them in the water," he says.

Another study by the SLRG shows that in 2024, 13% of 13 to 15-year-olds had not received any swimming lessons according to their parents - even though it is actually part of the curriculum. The reasons for this are a lack of infrastructure and too few trained teachers.

Milos has a clear goal: he wants to swim in the sea. At the moment, however, Milos is still finding one thing in particular difficult: "Breathing properly." He is not the only one struggling with this. "What if the water goes up my nose?" asks another participant as she swims from one side of the pool to the other. Things that experienced swimmers have automated have to be learned step by step here.

"Many people struggle with breathing, not just beginners," explains swimming instructor Kajsa. "A lot of things are different in the water than on land. If you're not used to water getting in your ears or nose, or that it's wet when you open your eyes, then it's very uncomfortable." You have to get used to it first.

Kajsa speaks clearly and directly, but always remains empathetic. When the participants have to do an exercise, she demonstrates. "Imagine you are scraping a bowl with your hands and then licking it," she explains, demonstrating swimming movements with her arms.

You quickly sense that she is not looking down on the participants. For her, they are people who achieve extraordinary things. "Learning to swim takes so much courage and effort. I'm impressed by the people who do it. It's so amazing."

Especially because many are also afraid. If they have had traumatic experiences in the water, for example. "These are people who actually already knew how to swim, but then just couldn't manage it," explains Kajsa. According to the gfs survey, 17% of respondents said they had ever been afraid of drowning in the water.

Leslie's story shows just how deep-seated fear can be. "I'm very scared of the water," she says. She could actually swim. But then she had a panic attack underwater. "I haven't been able to swim since," she says.

Sometimes she is embarrassed. "For example, when I want to go swimming with friends, but I always have to have a swimming noodle with me." She no longer dares to go into the water without it. "If I can no longer feel the bottom, I panic."

Children who are learning to swim are also afraid of the water, explains Kajsa, who has been teaching adults for two years and previously gave courses for children. With adults, however, it often runs deeper. "In my experience, fear is closely linked to not knowing what's coming," says Kajsa, "not knowing what the water will do to you." Fear is uncertainty and insecurity. She repeats this phrase often that evening.

Kajsa's main aim is therefore to make the participants in her course feel safe in the water. When they get into the pool at the start of the course, they first have to submerge their heads under water three times. Only then do they do various exercises. In between, they always gather in a circle in the middle of the pool, hold their breath, dip their head in and out of the water.

This is the central theme of the course: If you want to swim, you have to feel comfortable in the water. And that is often more difficult than learning the right moves.

"Technique is easier to correct, so I can say things like: 'Open your hands more'," says Kajsa. A different approach is needed for fear. "You have to want to understand people - and walk the path with them." Some need more reassurance, others need to be given the chance to try things out for themselves.

The fact that Kajsa herself loves swimming is not only revealed by the sea creatures she has tattooed on her left upper arm. As soon as she talks about water, she beams: "Water is such a cool element, I love being in it." She wants to pass on this enthusiasm. That's one reason why she teaches the basic course.

The other reason: Kajsa knows how quickly water can become dangerous. She is a lifeguard and knows lifeguards who have had to rescue people from the water. That's why she sees a greater responsibility in her courses. "The best way to prevent drowning is to learn to swim," she says.

You can only really swim, says Kajsa, when you feel safe in deep water. On the last day of the course, the participants therefore have to jump from the edge of the pool into deep water, submerge briefly and swim out on their own. "Then it's clear to me that they can save themselves," says Kajsa.

Until then, however, they will enter the water in the school swimming pool a few more times on Monday evenings. They will often cling to the edge of the pool, give each other a few high fives and count off together before swimming off at the same time. "Have you learned anything?" Kajsa will ask at the end of the lessons, "and did you feel comfortable and safe in the water?"

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