"You don't have to be trained as a swimming instructor to support us in the teaching pool," Kruse explained. "It is important to be willing to get involved one to three times a week - just like in one's own everyday life. Everything else follows". The tasks of the beginners among the instructors are very simple. In the starting phase experienced leaders are locally involved in each case who support the new swimming coaches with the induction, says Kruse. "One sticks to a training plan, which reaches from water acclimatization, over practicing preparatory motion sequences up to actual swimming. The club organizes courses for those who want to continue. "The children learn with us to deal with the water and to move safely in it", he explains. Only this safety can ensure that a child learns to correctly assess its abilities in the water, but also the pitfalls of the element. The practice of certain movements, which finally form the complete swimming moves, often takes place in a playful way.

After the basic training on the four lanes of the teaching pool, the youngsters have the opportunity to refine their techniques on a lane in the "large" sports pool or to train with one of the competition teams given the appropriate talent and regular willingness to train. "Especially in the area of popular sports we would urgently need support", says Kruse.

Information to the association and the training times as well as contacts of those interested should be sent to info@sg-wago.de, 0228-52880139 or can be entered on the homepage www.sg-wago.de. Since 2014, SG WAGO has been very successful with over 10 participants at the German Championships and numerous active members of the district and state squads.

The Godesberg Gymnastics Club is also looking for reinforcements. Course leaders need a valid license or a similar qualification, however, in order to lead one of two gymnastics departments in the Johannes Rau school or the trend sports core training and Planking, which take place starting from January in the primary school Heiderhof. Information on the association can be found on www.godesberger-tv-1888.de.

In the post-sport club, on the other hand, there is less a lack of exercise leaders than there is a lack of training facilities. "Above all, we lack water times," said the club's managing director, Jürgen Schütt. One could fill at least four to five swimming courses problem-free, the need is there. "There are associations, which have waiting time with the swimming courses of over one year, says Schütt. Since however the Kurfürsten bath and two school swimming pools are closed and further baths are getting old, its association suffers from the same problem as many swimming associations: „We would gladly ensure that the children learn to swim but we don't have enough swimming pools." In addition it can happen that the water times reasonable for children up to 5pm are not given priority of the schools. Since the referendum had overturned the construction of a new swimming pool last year, it is also unlikely that anything will change in the foreseeable future, said Schütt.

(Original text: Petra Reuter; Translation: Mareike Graepel)