Iceland review - 2016, Page 71

ICELAND REVIEW 69
Rachel Mercer dives into the world of infant
swimming in Iceland, which is steadily gaining
ground; chatting with instructors and parents, and
trying it for herself with her six-month-old son.
PHOTOS BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
I don’t teach babies how to swim. I
teach them everything but swim-
ming,” says Snorri Magnússon, one
of the first people to introduce baby
swimming to Icelanders, in the early
1990s. He operates his own pool in
Mosfellsbær in the capital area and has
been offering three classes a day, six days
a week for almost 30 years. He estimates
that he’s taught over 5,500 babies over
the years, including his own twin daugh-
ters, who were his first students. “I teach
them balance. Balance is the foundation
of every movement we make,” Snorri
explains.
RINGMASTER OF THE POOL
Parents and their babies, between three
and 12 months old, attend twice a week
for at least a month; though many con-
tinue for two to six months. While the
class may vary slightly from week to
week, it generally follows a set routine
that involves exercises the parents do
with their babies, singing songs, tak-
ing the babies underwater, and stand-
ing them up by supporting their feet
with one hand. The class is structured
such that parents themselves do most
of the activities with their babies, while
Snorri demonstrates correct techniques
and encourages the parents to interact
with praise, and to assist their little ones.
While the parents follow along, Snorri
leads with his commanding and exuber-
ant presence, singing loudly, clapping
and drumming on his belly while the
babies ogle at him—as he gives a short
lecture on pertinent parenting issues;
such as introducing solids and the trou-
bles of teething. It’s a class to be sure, but
it’s also a performance. Snorri is at center
stage and the parents—but especially the
babies—are usually transfixed.
FILLING A NICHE
Infant swimming techniques have been
present in the US, Australia and some
parts of Europe since the 1960s and 70s.
When Snorri became interested in the
phenomenon in the late 80s, no one else
in Iceland was doing it. His interest was
sparked when he saw a video of a baby
swimming underwater. He had recent-
ly graduated from the Icelandic Sports
School (now part of the University of
Iceland), with training as a competitive
swim coach for children and adults. He
recalls, “I thought to myself, we have a
lot of small indoor swimming pools with
warm water, so we should start baby
swimming in Iceland. When I started it
was underground, with just my children
and a few of my friends’ children. Then it
grew within a few years.”
Now there are roughly 25 people in
Iceland teaching baby swimming, with
about ten in the Reykjavík area. Snorri
heads a baby swimming association called
Busli – Félag Ungbarnasundkennara,
which meets once a year to discuss meth-
ods, as well as regulating the certification
of new teachers. Erla Guðmundsdóttir,
who has been the secretary for Busli
since 2006 and teaches baby swimming
in Hafnarfjörður, explains that people are
required to have a Bachelor’s degree in
sports science, physiotherapy or nursing
before taking the weekend-long course
to become a baby swimming instructor.
The trainee must then shadow a profes-
sional instructor for at least ten sessions.
Every-other-year, the Nordic Swimming
Federation holds the Nordic Baby Swim
Conference, where instructors share new
information and techniques. This helps
keep the status of baby swimming in
Iceland up to date.
F A M I LY
Baby swimming instructor
Snorri Magnússon leads
one of his classes.