STAYING AFLOAT - WITHIN-GROUP SWIMMING PROFICIENCY FOR WHITES AND BLACKS

Generally, Blacks are less likely than Whites to be proficient at swimming. Blacks also have higher rates of drowning and are underrepresented in competitive swimming and in occupations requiring swimming or water safety skill. In this study, physiological, demographic, and biodata measures were used with military academy cadets to determine the individual factors contributing to within-group swimming proficiency among Blacks as well as Whites. The best predictor of swimming skill was the age at which the cadets had learned to swim. Other items pointed to fitness, sociocultural, and learned or dispositional differences between better and poorer swimmers. Implications for increasing swimming proficiency among Blacks and for future research are discussed.