Poor minority children, specifically African-American and Hispanic/Latino, are at a significant disadvantage concerning swimming ability. Female subjects were notably more "at risk" regarding their swimming ability than male subjects. Age, race and socioeconomic factors (lunch programme and parental education) were significantly associated with children who have low swimming ability.

The purpose for this research was to determine if reported swimming participation myths (barriers) for minority children were authentic. Previous research on minority children's swimming patterns has been limited, while drowning rates for these groups are high. Nationwide survey research supported by USA Swimming was conducted using six cities across the U.S. Trained staff members from YMCA non-swimming programs were used to solicit participants and to supervise survey administration. A large, purposeful sample (n = 1,680) was gathered that targeted poor, minority children. Parents of children aged 4-11 years and adolescents (12-17 years) completed surveys. Descriptive statistics were observed on selected myth statements by demographic variables. Several barriers were revealed to be myths and not real barriers. Potential barriers revealed, which include parental involvement factors, were noteworthy for marginalized children.

This community-school-home initiative using a professional team's celebrity platform within a certain locale is largely overlooked by school districts and should be considered as a positive strategy to confront childhood obesity.

Previous research has shown a decline in physical activity (PA) across college years, females being less physically active compared with males. Scholars have suggested studies to understand gender differences in PA and to examine motivational processes to facilitate college students' PA. Grounded in self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between college students' exercise motivation and weekly PA participation. The study included 96 college students (33 males, 63 females, aged 18 to 24) in a metropolitan college. Findings confirmed a significant gender difference, with males responding more positively concerning intrinsic motivation (t = 3.40, p = .001). In addition, through an analysis of variance, we found level of PA had a significant in

Swimming is an important source of physical activity and a life skill to prevent drowning. However, little research has been conducted to understand predictors of swimming ability. The purpose of this study was to understand factors that predict swimming ability among children and adolescents in the United States (US). This was a cross-sectional survey conducted between February and April of 2017 across five geographically diverse cities. Participants were accessed through the Young Christian Men’s Association (YMCA) and included parents of children aged 4–11 years old and adolescents aged 12–17 years old. Independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Several factors were significant (p ≤ 0.05) predictors of swimming ability and explained 53% of the variance in swimming ability. Variables that were positively associated with swimming ability included: ability of parent(s) to swim, child/adolescent age, a best friend who enjoys swimming, water-safety knowledge, pool open all year, and encouragement to swim from parent(s). Variables that were negatively associated with swimming ability included: fear of drowning, being African American, and being female. Interventions and programs to improve the swimming ability of children and adolescents could be developed with these predictors in mind.