Taking a splash never goes out of
season
As October rolls around and the routine
of school kicks back in, nothing works better to distract children
mourning the loss of summer than a bit of wholesome physical
activity. Beijing parents searching for just such a release need look
no further than the Dragon Fire Swim Team.
Started in 1994 by Kevin Hua, Dragon
Fire began with a modest 20 swimmers but has since expanded to a
membership of over 200. The team is a consortium of students from
various local and international schools in Beijing, though practices
are conducted primarily in English by Kevin and his squad of eight
coaches.
“There are kids from Germany, France,
Britain and other international countries,” observes Becky Koblitz,
whose 13-year-old, Avril, has been swimming with Dragon Fire for the
past two years. “It’s a real blend and a good atmosphere, and
Kevin really cares about the kids.”
In addition to learning the basics of
swimming, the Dragon Fire team also competes in national and
international events, as well as inter-team meets held at least once
a month.
“Swimming is good not just in terms
of getting exercise,” says Lisa Li, whose 9-year-old Vivian and
8-year-old Matthew both swim with Dragon Fire. “I think knowing how
to swim is very important – it’s really a kind of expertise.”
“It takes a lot of mental strength,”
says Alex Hsieh, who began swimming with Kevin at the age of 10.
“It’s pretty much you against the clock, so it takes a lot of
self-motivation.” Alex graduated from the International School of
Beijing earlier this year and now swims for Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore, Maryland, where he recently started college.
“There are a lot of benefits to being
on a swim team,” Kevin explains. “It helps kids learn how to
overcome obstacles and understand the value of persistence, and it’s
a very clean and safe sport – not like soccer or basketball, where
it’s easy to get injured.”
As well as building cardiovascular
strength, kids who take part in Dragon Fire have opportunities to
give back to the community. The team has collaborated with UNESCO in
the past by raising money to purchase supplies for schools in
northeastern China, and more recently a Dragon Fire swim-a-thon
garnered what Kevin estimates to be around RMB 30,000 for the 2007
Special Olympics, hosted in 2007 by Shanghai.
Parents have the option of enrolling
kids in as few or as many practices as they want, with sessions held
seven days a week on three different campuses ranging from
half-an-hour to two hours at a time. Classes are broken into three
main categories: beginners who have never swum before, intermediate
swimmers with basic skills, and advanced swimmers already with a
strong grasp of all four strokes. Parents can also join in the action
with the Dragon Fire adult swim team, and even babies will soon get a
chance to take part once Kevin starts offering baby swimming lessons.
“People have been asking me to do
baby swimming for a long time,” he says. Now that he has a newborn
daughter of his own, he plans to start offering a class for babies
before the end of the year. “In fact, the best time to teach a
child how to swim is when they are between 3 months and 3 years old.”
Regardless of whether you’re 3, 13 or
even 33, it’s never too early or too late to learn how to swim, or
to be part of the Dragon Fire Swim Team.
Schedule
- British School of Beijing,
Shunyi Campus
Monday to Friday 4.30-6.30pm - Canadian International School of
Beijing
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
3-6.40pm; Sunday 9am-12pm - WAB Swimming Pool
Saturday 9am-3pm
Prices
One-time annual registration fee (RMB
200); prices vary from RMB 1,400-5,800 per season, depending on class
level and age group. Single session rates are also offered. Contact
Kevin Hua for details at 136 0106 4534 or
dragonfireswimming@gmail.com. www.dragonfire.com.cn