In Canada, where people take fitness seriously but have perhaps a more offbeat approach to this as a way of life, a high school student has developed a new way of exercising that may have adults climbing the walls. Chris Bell, who attends Nantyr Shores Secondary School in Innisfil, Ontario, has taken a creative approach to swimming. To be exact, Chris swims without water—in his school’s hallways. No doubt his principal and other school staff will be tearing their hair out with legal counsel to discern whether such an activity can be banned in order to avert any possible liability should injuries result.
This form of a work-out is ideal, if done properly, that is, with safety in practice. No chance of drowning; no reactions to chlorine or other pool chemicals; no ruined hair or puckered skin from spending hours in the water. Those partaking in this atypical exercise may do well, however, to avoid wearing either swimsuits or good clothes while kicking across the floor. Imagine what so many kids’ mothers must be thinking as they sort laundry that has been used, inadvertently, to clean school floors! Let’s hope that, considering the slush and mud of Ontario’s climate even in April, the halls are not subject to dirty shoes and boots. (Of course, the same goes for any swimming on floors--your clothes are going to suffer.)
Other caveats to observe in hall swimming are the constant need to avoid accidents. You must ensure any pedestrians are not harmed. A strong kick could cause injury to bystanders. Also, a hall swimmer should take care not to hurt feet or ankles by propelling off lockers or walls. Head traumas, too, are a possibility if an overenthusiastic student bounces off a solid surface. As in all sports, stretching prior to the workout can help avoid muscle strain and injury.
Many observers of this new “sport” will certainly chalk it all up to merely a fad. Yet when you consider the lack of opportunity to swim in some schools and communities, it definitely does give people an outlet for their desires to do such exercise. As well, it costs nothing to perform such a routine as opposed to membership in a gym or other facility with a pool, nor are swimsuits, towels, or other paraphernalia required. Even those who cannot swim can be sure of getting some benefit from this exercise, not to mention a lot of fun.
Oh, to be sure, it’s only a matter of time before some sourpuss official comes along and declares Thou Shalt Not Have Fun: no hall swimming, no creativity, no thinking outside the box allowed in schools. The student who devised this adaptation of swimming, though, should be commended for coming up with an alternative, amusing and absolutely harmless (if done carefully, same as with “real” swimming) method of keeping fit when weather and circumstances confine people to indoor life. He may be figuratively swimming upstream against the establishment, but it’ll be interesting to see what else Chris develops in the future.
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