Grenada is gearing up to host its annual Sandals National Learn to Swim Week between July 6 and 10, capping off a foundational instructor upskilling program that aims to raise the bar for swimming education across the island nation, including its smaller sister islands Carriacou and Petite Martinique. This year’s event brings a major upgrade to local swim instruction: for the first time, Grenadian instructors have completed the internationally accredited Discover Water Swim Instructor Course developed by global governing body World Aquatics.
The rollout of the program traces back to earlier this year, when the Grenada Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) sponsored Tara Baksh, Grenada’s newly appointed national Discover Water lead, to attend a specialized training conference in Aruba. Baksh returned with full certification to deliver the World Aquatics-endorsed curriculum to local instructors, marking the first time the standardized program has been brought to the country.
Unlike traditional training that focuses heavily on stroke technique, the Discover Water program takes a holistic approach to building capable, confident swimmers. Beyond core swimming skills, the curriculum trains instructors to embed water safety, survival protocols, critical decision-making in aquatic environments, and confidence-building into every lesson. All participating instructors also completed full CPR certification as part of the training. The program emphasizes modern, child-centered teaching methods designed to make lessons more engaging, fun, and effective for young learners.
Reflecting on the recent training sessions for local instructors, Baksh highlighted the high level of engagement among participants. “The instructors were engaged, eager to learn, and willing to participate both verbally and practically. I felt I was able to demonstrate how to incorporate fun into every lesson while still teaching children the core swimming skills they need,” Baksh said. She noted that while local instructors already had foundational teaching experience, the program added critical new tools to their practice: “This course has provided them with valuable tools for communicating more effectively with younger swimmers, so they understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how to think critically and solve problems in the water.”
Looking forward, Baksh and local swimming advocates have ambitious plans to embed this global training standard into Grenada’s national swimming ecosystem. She aims to make the Discover Water certification a permanent core requirement for all new swim instructors in the country, through ongoing collaboration with GASA and local non-profit Get Grenada Swimming. Longer-term goals include expanding the child-centered teaching methods to primary schools and after-school programs across all three islands.
This year’s Sandals National Learn to Swim Week will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. daily across 15 different locations spanning Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The event is coordinated by Get Grenada Swimming in partnership with Sandals Grenada, aligned with the organization’s long-running mission to ensure every child in Grenada has access to free swimming training, an essential life-saving skill. For families unable to join during the official event week, additional follow-up lessons will be offered between July 13 and 24 at six participating locations: Grand Anse, Grand Mal, Gouyave, St Mark, Sauteurs, and Grenada Marine in Corinth. These extended sessions are run in partnership with the Ministry of Sports’ Holiday Recreation Programme.
With a cohort of newly certified instructors, evidence-based global teaching methods, and expanded access across the country, 2025’s Learn to Swim Week is positioned to be the most impactful iteration of the event to date. All lessons offered during the initiative are completely free for participants. Families interested in registering their children can sign up through the official Get Grenada Swimming website at www.getgrenadaswimming.com, or direct questions to the event hotline at 404-5237.