Poll: Can you swim?

[Sougo]

Ah, the wonders of salt water; The salt makes you more buoyant. If you ever get a chance to swim in the (can't remember if it's the dead sea or the red sea), try it. I hear that it's so salty that it's impossible for a human being to sink in it.

I believe its also too salty to swim. Anybody taking a few dips in that sea is gonna get dehydrated quickly. Not to mention if you swallow any of that water and you'll be too busy gagging.
Oh and its the dead sea.

 

[FISHFINGERS]

Yeah I used to be a very strong swimmer. Not as strong as my older brother (who swam in county championships).

I always enjoyed school swimming lessons. Once I had a 50m freestyle race with the most athletic guy there (bear in mind that I was and still am slightly overweight). The kids watching said that he kept up with me for the first 1/4 of the length of the 25m pool.

I just couldn't point out that is when I probably started kicking (I think I had embarrassed him enough).

 

[Billion Backs]

Swimming is easy. It's been one of my favorite physical activities to do since childhood, although I haven't really had a chance to do it too often - only a couple of times a week, at most.

So, yeah, I can swim ad-aqua-tely although in the past 2 years I didn't get a chance to practice at all. I'm a pretty good diver, too, when it comes to being underwater for a long time. I love water...

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Yes.
I pretty much flail for motion, but yes, I can swim.

 

[Griff]

I'm a lifeguard so I hope I'm a good swimmer

 

[koriantor]

I can swim for a little bit, but I don't last very long. Yes I can swim, but I don't count on it very often.

 

[Socius]

as we do learn in in primary school, most Norwegians swim!
We also learn to wreastle polar bears to survive in middle school!
my favourite class however is Iglo building.
of course they are just subclasses for the "polar survival class" or in Norwegian:
"Mordi e mann"

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

I could, last time I went.

Of course that was a long time ago, and I'm not likely to ever go swimming again due to severe skin grossness.

 

[Summerstorm]

Well, i am a fat, lazy man... but of course i can swim. Got the bronze grade when i was 10 or so, but swam earlier of course, just with no grading. (It's is beginner - bronze - silver - gold) But i can't open my eyes under water (VERY sensitive eyes), so i couldn't fulfill requirement for gold i think. I had to fetch underwater for bronze and had to do it by memory and intuition *g*.

But yeah.. nowadays i more float than swim... but hell, i don't NEED to outswim a shark... or so i want to believe.

 

[Jonluw]

I can swim pretty decent. Well, I don't have anything to compare to, but I can swim a 1000 metres or further without trouble, as long as I don't try to swim unnecessarily fast.
My father taught me to swim around the age of 6 or 7, though my parents had been taking me to baby-swimming before that.
The method my father used for teaching me to swim was simply helping me with some basics and then saying "If you can get across the pool you can go to the toy store and get anything you want." That, coincidentally is also the story of how I came in possession of my first video game system: A gameboy advance that I use to this day.

as we do learn in in primary school, most Norwegians swim!
We also learn to wreastle polar bears to survive in middle school!
my favourite class however is Iglo building.
of course they are just subclasses for the "polar survival class" or in Norwegian:
"Mordi e mann"

Also, I guess, if my father hadn't taught me to swim, elementary school would.
How would we manage without Mordi e mann?

 

[Tonimata]

I've been swimming since I was 2, and when weather is suitable, I swim for an hour every day...

So that I can cross the English channel! (Cookie for reference!)

 

[Socius]

I can swim pretty decent. Well, I don't have anything to compare to, but I can swim a 1000 metres or further without trouble, as long as I don't try to swim unnecessarily fast.
My father taught me to swim around the age of age 6 or 7, though my parents had been taking me to baby-swimming before that.
The method my father used for teaching me to swim was simply helping me with some basics and then saying "If you can get across the pool you can go to the toy store and get anything you want." That, coincidentally is also the story of how I came in possession of my first video game system: A gameboy advance that I use to this day.

as we do learn in in primary school, most Norwegians swim!
We also learn to wreastle polar bears to survive in middle school!
my favourite class however is Iglo building.
of course they are just subclasses for the "polar survival class" or in Norwegian:
"Mordi e mann"

Also, I guess, if my father hadn't taught me to swim, elementary school would.
How would we manage without Mordi e mann?

happy times ^^,

 

[Zhukov]

Yes. Learned when I was about six.

Certainly not a strong swimmer though. A few years ago I had to do a swim test as part of army training. Thirty metre swim followed by two minutes treading water. All while wearing a shirt and long pants.

I passed it, but they had to hook me out of the pool with a pole afterwards.

 

[Penguinness]

Only really went swimming with the school when I was 8ish. Never went swimming after and so now on the couple of occasions where I've been in water, I haven't been able to sucessfully swim. So nope, can't swim.

 

[Mistermixmaster]

I can swim yes, but seriously, you can go for a leisurely stroll faster than I swim xD So, yes, I swim very SLOW =P

"Learned" it when I was around 12-13... maybe 14? I dunno, at my age my brain hardly remembers anything. I think I may be developing Alzheimers (just kidding of course)

 

[Battenbergcake]

like a spastic, yes, although most of the thrashing's probably attributed to my tourettes syndrome.

 

[ultrachicken]

If so, how good are you at swimming, and at what age did you learn this wicked skill?

I was afraid of water form the age of 2 when dad forgot me in the sea and I almost drowned(it was keen deep for him, but I almost drown, man!), but at the age of 14 I decided that I should let go of the past and learn how to swim(my dad always kept offering to teach me, but I always refused). So I took courses with 5 year old(rather embarrassing), at the local pool, and after 1 month of intense training I learned how to swim.

Now I'm a fairly mediocre swimmer, but should my life depend on it, I think I can manage.

So, how about you guys(and girls)?

You just explained my exact situation, just with less drowning.

 

[mip0]

Interesting numbers, good poll. (Along with "can you ride a bike?".)
Yes I can swim (and ride a bike).