Here's a troubling statistic: 10 people die from drowning in the US every day.  Even more troubling: A recent Red Cross study found that 80% of us believe that we can swim, but only about half of Americans can.  Just 56% of us are able to do the 5 things required of most basic swim tests:

  1. You should be able to stay afloat or tread water for one minute
  2. Swim a full length of a pool without stopping
  3. Be able to get out of a pool without the use of a ladder
  4. Jump into deep water and come up for air
  5. Spin around in water and find a way out

The fact that almost half of Americans can't pass the “water competency” test is troubling, so the American Red Cross has announced that they plan to teach 50,000 people to swim as part of a campaign to reduce the rate of drowning deaths by 50% over the next five years.

So be honest: could you pass the water competency test?

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