Goggles and Water Competence: An Addendum

Authors

Marek Rejman, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport SciencesFollow
Robert Keig Stallman Ph.D., The Norwegian School of Sport Science (emeritus), International Drowning Researchers Alliance, The Lifesaving Foundation, The Norwegian Lifesaving Society, The Tanzanian Lifesaving SocietyFollow

Disciplines

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Exercise Physiology | Exercise Science | Health and Physical Education | Kinesiology | Leisure Studies | Public Health | Sports Sciences | Sports Studies

Abstract

We offer this short addendum to the 2017 article that appeared in IJARE, ‘’From swimming skill to water competence: Towards a more inclusive drowning prevention future’’ (Stallman et al., 2017), as an editorial to argue that the essential water competencies ought to be mastered “without goggles.” The focus is on the potential negative effect of goggle use during beginning swimming instruction along with their likely absence during unintended and unexpected immersions in natural bodies of water that often lead to drowning. Rejman and Stallman (2024) demonstrated the development of dependence on goggles among young adults and described its negative effect on the development of breath control skills, perhaps the most important of all water competence elements.

Recommended Citation

Rejman, Marek and Stallman, Robert Keig Ph.D. (2025) "Goggles and Water Competence: An Addendum," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 14: No. 4, Article 8.
Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol14/iss4/8