Scores of B.C. children are being turned away from public swimming lessons in Surrey and Vancouver at a time when fewer than half all of Canadian children say they can swim.

A recent Ipsos Reid study suggests that while nearly 75 per cent of Canadians of all ages know how to swim, “disturbingly, only 46 per cent of children are able to do so.”

This is despite the fact that the Lifesaving Society suggests that every child should, by Grade 3, be able to tread water for one minute and swim at least 25 metres without stopping. The further they can swim, safety advocates say, the better chance they have of surviving an accidental fall in open waters.

“With swimming lessons, to us, this is a life skill that kids need, especially in B.C. where there’s so much access to water,” said Deanna Udy, water safety program representative with the Canadian Red Cross. “So many people are on the water or recreating around the water even when they’re not intending to ... when they’re walking a dike, they’re near water. You never know when you’re going to need those skills.”

About 60 per cent of all child drownings occur during just three months: June, July and August, according to the Ipsos Reid survey, which polled 1,103 parents with children between April 29 and May 7 this year. And if past trends continue, the survey suggests, 34 children in Canada will drown before Labour Day.

The situation prompted four national organizations — Swimming Canada, the Canadian Red Cross, Lifesaving Society Canada, and the Canadian Medical Association — last month to partner together to launch Getswimming.ca, the online home of a Canada-wide effort to teach every Canadian child to swim. The goal of the so-called “world’s largest swim team” is for every youngster in Canada to be able to swim 25 metres non-stop before completing elementary school.

“Basic swimming ability is a fundamental requirement in any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada,” Ed Bean, communications director for the Lifesaving Society.

The move comes as the demand for swimming lessons continues to rise in B.C.

Surrey and Vancouver officials say they try to accommodate an increasing demand for swimming lessons, but they often don’t have the capacity, especially during the hot summer months. Surrey, which is building two new pools and already offers lessons at its eight outdoor pools as well as its indoor facilities, last year turned away 760 children, and now has 125 children on a summer waiting list.

Vancouver would not give specific numbers as to how many children don’t get the lessons they want each year, but acknowledges it can be a challenge, particularly at popular locations such as Hillcrest and Killarney, or the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, which is attractive to parents of younger children learning to swim.

The city usually sees about 425,000 enrolments in learn-to-swim programs each year.

“I do know there are occasionally waiting lists for classes, so we can’t always accommodate everyone, in part because there are many competing demands for pools, especially at prime time,” said Sean Healy, who is in charge of aquatics for the Vancouver park board. “We have an open registration system, so if we can’t accommodate somebody at that moment we look for other classes at other facilities first. ... It’s just a question of whether it can be immediate or has to have a start date down the track.”